How to Achieve Your Drumming Goals I recently had a chance to talk with Ed Francis aka “The Drummer on the Round Rock” to ask him to share some of his drumming wisdom with the community here at Makedrums. Ed shared some really incredible insights on attaining your goals as a drummer, but don’t be fooled! These tips can help …
Makedrums.com Top Posts of 2011 (according to Google Analytics)
It’s been amazing year for Makedrums.com and I wanted to recap some of the most visited blog posts and pages of the site for the year 2011. If you are brand new to the site, this is a great place to start! Enjoy, and please join in the conversations and leave some feedback in the comments area! HERE’S to an …
5 Drum Building Tools That Will Improve Your Custom Drums
Drum Building Tools I have been a customer of Drum Foundry for about 7 years, and every interaction I have ever had with the people at Drum Foundry has been extremely pleasant. As far as I know, they are the only company that actually creates and innovates drum building tools specifically for the at home/garage custom drum builder. These products …
33 Drummer and Drum Related Gift Ideas For the Drummer In Your Life
Gifts for the Drummer Big Fat Snare Drum This is my top pick for 2015. I started using BFSN this year, and I have gotten more compliments on my snare sound from sound engineers and concert-goers than I have ever gotten. If you don’t have a BFSN yet, you should stop making excuses and get yours today! KBrakes Probably my …
How to Create a Drum Chart – Why I Use Them, and Why You Should Too
How to Make a Drum Chart Most great ideas and inventions are birthed from people seeing a need that is not currently met in society and then creating a method or product that meets that previously unmet need. I started using drum charts when I found myself getting confused with song structure, and drum parts for the multiple bands that …
Benny Goodman – Live at Carnegie Hall – Review
For some inexplicable reason, columns devoted to musicians and their lifestyle always seem to lead in the same direction – directly toward a gutter. Perhaps editors are convinced that the public yearns to know of carnal exploits rather than creative triumphs, that Iggy Pop’s latest bloodletting, for example would be better suited for public exposee than his latest single. The editors are undoubtedly right, but let me assure you, dear reader, that my type is capable of serious discourse, too. And there are a bevy of “legit” musical topics on which to expound.
That much said, I have decided to devote the next several hundred words (that’s pretty substantial, isn’t it?) to one of the greatest musical triumphs in history. To properly dig, you must transport yourself back to another era: the year 1938 and a place called New York City. On the evening of January 16, a young bandleader called Benny Goodman assembled one of the greatest musical lineups of all time for a little hoedown at a class joint known as Carnegie Hall. We are most fortunate that the resultant events were recorded, for the fellas that night created a stunning musical document, a testament to the glory of swing and jazz: “Live at Carnegie Hall.”
Ludwig Drum Company: Innovation That Paved The Way For All Custom Drum Builders
Ludwig Drum Company History In 1909, the brothers Ludwig, William and Theobaldner, were the founders of what is now the Ludwig-Musser Company, which is owned by Steinway Musical Instruments. Ludwig Musser is a leading producer of drums and other percussion instruments. Ludwig’s initial product was an improved pedal for bass drums that could beat faster than competing products. The brothers …
The History of the Drum – Early History
Modern drums have evolved from rudimentary instruments that were played by beating with the hands and/or sticks. Early man probably beat out rhythms on rocks or fallen trees. The earliest recognized drum dates back some 8,000 years to Mesopotamia – specifically the Babylonian and Sumerian empires. Ancient drums consisted of animal skin stretched across some sort of hollow shell. Another form of early drum consisted of hollowed out logs that were beat with sticks.
The Best Warranties for Full-Time Drummers
About 10 years ago after cracking countless cymbals (yes, I know that I had bad technique for striking the cymbals, and I was really into Metal) I finally decided to try out this warranty thing. The reason I had never used the warranty before was because I thought that it would be a huge hassle or I had already lost the receipt. When I started making a living as a musician I realized that I could save all my receipts and use them as a deduction on my taxes, which encouraged me to keep all of my music “business” receipts in a safe place. Since then I’ve probably gotten about 6 free cymbals from sending them in because they cracked while they were still under warranty.
In order to use most warranties you must:
Have original purchase receipt
Purchase date must be within warranty coverage period.
Item under warranty must have only been subjected to normal conditions
David Milwain on The Importance of Reading Music for Drummers
Rhythm and drumming has been a part of society dating back thousands of years. Something so primitive and natural is simply engrained in our being. We, the individual, need nothing but to harness the rhythm and express it.
When learning a new instrument, be it guitar, piano, drums or any other, the student has the option of learning to read the notation or playing solely by ear. Although learning by ear may be easiest or quickest for a beginner, I am a strong believer that learning to read the notation leads to a more holistic understanding of the instrument. Some music teachers focus solely on the basics of how to play; in my lessons I focus not only on the basics of drumming, but I also place emphasis on sight reading drum set and rhythmic notation along with proper counting and steady breathing techniques to make the student a more well-rounded drummer.