Recently, a few of my peers have talked with me about having had a bad drum performance. These guys were devastated and desperate to be sure that they would never have such a bad gig ever again. I know that feeling all too well so this month’s tips will address this issue that affects us all at one time or another.
DetailsHave you ever been at a rehearsal or gig and had the other guys (or girls) in the band complain about your time? If you said, “yes.” you’re not alone. This is an issue that comes up over and over again. This month’s tips will address this and hopefully offer some possible solutions.
In pop music (anything you might hear on the radio), a drummer’s role is quite simple: play beats and mark changes. The changes I refer to are, for example, the transition from the verse to the chorus of a song. Seems simple enough. Then why do most of us have trouble filling this simple role from time to time? I think it’s because although the job description is quite simple, doing the job really well is quite difficult.
DetailsOccasionally, you will experience drum hardware malfunctions. Many times, especially with bass drum pedals and hi-hat stands, this is due to something being out of adjustment or simply misassembled. When it’s clear that something is just broken, sometimes you can easily ( and inexpensively) fix it yourself, thus saving money on maintenance costs.
Stripped threads on wing nuts, bolts, or other threaded surfaces can often be repaired by simply replacing the damaged part that you can probably find easily at your local hardware store (mom and pop places of course). In the case of stripped threads in larger objects (tom mounts, cymbal stands, tom holders, etc.), it can be a little harder to deal with.
DetailsWhen looking to buy your first drum kit or replace one you already have consider this: If your purchase involves cymbals, get good (read more expensive) ones, if they sound best to your ears. While you can do a lot to change the way a drum sounds (head selection, tuning, muffling, etc.) you can do very little to change a cymbal’s sound in a positive way. Sure, you could put tape on them or something but that would probably just make you like the cymbal less.
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