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December 22, 2019

Tips For The Advanced Drummer (aka How To Get The Gig)

This article post is designed to follow on from my 2 previous posts regarding Tips For Intermediate Drummers & Tips for Beginner Drummers.
At this point it is assumed you have the playing side of things somewhat down. It’s always a work in progress but it’s time to sort out the one percenters that can make all the difference. Lot’s of people are really good drummers.
So what is going to set you apart? How do we become hireable and valuable?

1. BE ON TIME. BE ON TIME. BE ON TIME: No excuses. Got it? Okay let’s move on.

2. KNOW THE MATERIAL: It doesn’t matter how fast your single stroke roll is if you don’t know the tunes. Do your homework or don’t do the gig.

3. DON’T GET DRUNK: People lose gigs and even get kicked off tours for this all the time. You have to have self-control. You couldn’t turn up to a 9-5 job and get raging drunk. This is no different. You don’t have to become a Monk. One beer is fine, 12 isn’t.

4. DON’T PLAY DURING SOUNDCHECK OR BREAKS: This screams unprofessionalism. There is nothing more annoying and distracting than a drummer trying out his best licks at inappropriate times. Of course you DO need to soundcheck. Do your soundcheck and be done.

5. NEVER OVERPLAY: Play the music. Don’t try and dominate the gig. You are a sideman and your job is to make everyone else sound good. If you are easy to play with you WILL get hired. The music needs to feel great. Random polyrhythmic linear bursts of that new hot lick are not required.

6. IMAGE: Yes this IS important. Maybe more important than your playing. Are Britney Spears or Justin Bieber the best singers in the world? No. You have to have a great attitude. Be easy to work with. Beam confidence and ‘vibe’ with whoever you play with. Always dress appropriately for the gig.

7. SMILE: Cheesey? Maybe… maybe not. If you look bored, the crowd will not give you anything back. It’s a give and take relationship. If you are having a GREAT time, the crowd will too. If you aren’t happy on the night for some reason, fake it. If you notice someone in the band not giving 100%, give them a stupid look. Do a stick trick. Anything to make them laugh and snap back into reality. Looking like a sad sack on stage is unacceptable. If there is a genuine issue you or a bandmate is going through, DON’T gig till you sort it.

I swear if you can tick off everything on this checklist, things WILL happen for you. You have everything working in your favour.

Let’s recap what we’ve covered and what you can work on to tip the scales in your favour from the last 3 posts. Imagine you were hiring or looking for a musician and they ticked ALL of these boxes!?

  • They have fun playing.
  • They practice diligently and with purpose.
  • They have a coach.
  • They transcribe songs.
  • They practice with a metronome.
  • Their gear sounds great. 
  • They record themselves to improve and stay honest/humble.
  • They are ALWAYS on time.
  • They know all of the repertoire inside out.
  • They are always sober and in control but still a blast to hang with.
  • They play for the song. 
  • They have an awesome image, presence and smile. 

Just imagine THAT player? It could be you!

Take Care!

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Andrew Rooney
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December 17, 2019

Tips For The Intermediate Drummer

This is the follow up to a previous blog post Tips For Beginner Drummers.
I would classify an intermediate drummer as someone who is gigging around Town a bit. Progressing nicely through their lessons. Is developing an understanding of theory and can play different styles. Probably someone who has a lot of musician friends at this point and loves to talk drums and music. How can we turn into someone who gets noticed and maybe even stands out at a gig? Someone ‘hireable’, valuable and sought after by other musicians. Here are some great ways to get to that next level!

1. TRANSCRIBE: Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate. Transcribing is crucial to your development as a musician. All great musicians have done it, a lot of it! At first the task can seem daunting (even impossible). You CAN do it. Just start out with something simple and build into the harder stuff. Transcribing builds your musical vocabulary better than anything else, and helps you commit things to memory.

If transcribing seems out of reach. Get help from an experienced teacher. You got this!

2. USE A METRONOME: Impeccable time is what separates a good musician from a GREAT musician. It’s so elusive. Very few musicians have excellent time. It comes down to a lot of practice and control of the instrument. It’s generally hard to play things very fast or very slow. Use a metronome at all different speeds, not just for trying to get really fast at double kick licks! Apart from playing along with actual songs, i would recommend doing ALL practice with a metronome.

3. LEARN TO TUNE YOUR DRUMS: This sounds silly but it’s crazy how many people can’t get the most out of their gear. There are many schools of thought on how to do this. I have a really fast and straight forward trick i hope to post soon. Whatever system you choose, get REALLY good at it! There’s no point doing hours of practice if your gear sounds like tin cans and cardboard boxes.

4. HAVE GOOD GEAR: By ‘good’ i mostly mean reliable. You don’t need the latest sparkly DW stuff. Just solid and robust gear that can handle lots of trips in the car and multiple set ups. Cymbal choice is crucial and depends on your style of music. If you are a jazz guy there’s no point in having ultra bright Paistes.

5. RECORD YOURSELF: Did you ever hear a recording of your voice and say (or think) ‘oh my god, do i actually sound like that?’. Yeah well drumming is a bit like that. My heart was broken when i first recorded myself. I sounded absolutely dreadful. I could hear myself speeding up and slowing down. I was making massive and obvious mistakes that in the moment i didn’t notice. And worse of all, some of my favourite licks just didn’t work! Listening back and analysing your playing is an incredibly powerful way to improve.

6. LEARN ANOTHER INSTRUMENT: Preferably piano. This will give you a much better appreciation for the ‘bigger picture’. Most top drummers are top MUSICIANS. It really changes how you view music.

Ultimately (whether you know it or not) you want to be a great musician, not just a great ‘drummer’. 

7. Be Organised, Prepared, Professional & Punctual: 
Boring? Yeah maybe. 
But it can’t be overstated how crucial your personality is. Turning up late, unprepared or with a bad attitude will get you nowhere FAST. 

‘Good news travels fast… bad news travels twice as fast’
– Rich Redmond

Good Luck!

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Andrew Rooney
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December 10, 2019

Tips For Beginner Drummers

Here are some quick thoughts that I have had after many years of teaching and observing what works and what doesn’t with my students.

There is no way a beginner student can process and absorb ALL the information handed out over those early lessons. The co-ordination and concepts can be overwhelming. What’s more, some exercises can seem pointless and mundane when being learnt at a very basic level. I mean a ‘Single Stroke Roll’ is hardly very exciting as 8th notes at 80bpm on a practice pad! So let’s take a step back and simplify our goals and approach…

1: HAVE FUN! This seems obvious, but it’s crucial your lessons (and practice sessions) are enjoyable. It’s hard to get good at things you don’t like. You should want to practice. It can’t be a chore. If lessons aren’t enjoyable let your teacher know. After all, YOU are paying for their service. If things still aren’t happening for you… try a different teacher. (Yes, i said it!)

2: HAVE A PRACTICE ROUTINE: It may be 1 hour, 30 minutes, 10 minutes a day, 1 hour once a week, it doesn’t matter! But you need to find what works with your schedule and STICK to it. This is your time to work and improve. Make it non-negotiable DRUMS time.

3: DON’T SKIP LESSONS: Obviously things pop up… but overall it’s in your best interests to be as regular as possible. I have had students who didn’t practice over the week and therefore through guilt thought it was best to cancel the lesson to not ‘disappoint’ me. That is just digging the hole deeper!

WARNING! The following 2 tips are HIGHLY technical and i have found them to be profound. They are as close as i can see to the ‘secret’, the ‘key’, ‘shortcut’, or whatever magical drum potion there is that makes someone a very good player. Ready…? Don’t hurt yourself….

4: PRACTICE SLOW: Slow and Steady beats Fast and Sloppy everyday of the week. Remember we are trying to develop muscle memory and the ability to HEAR when our drumming is working well. Trying to run before crawling will only lead to frustration or even worse… missing out on playing for that new band because you can’t play in time! Also just quietly… having to re-learn things REALLY sucks.

5: REPETITION: This is one thing students don’t realise. The amount of time and repetition that EVERY good drummer has put into their instrument. It can look effortless and just natural when a great drummer is in full flight. This is ONLY because they have done all these movements before a thousand times. It’s very comparable to driving a car. You are making lot’s of little decisions and constant adjustments during any drive, yet it’s all second nature after years of driving. Ever get to a destination and not remember the actual journey? Yes!

Bonus round!
JOIN A BAND: I know what your thinking… ‘But i only just started!?’. It doesn’t matter. If you can hold down a basic beat, get out there! I’m not saying audition for The Foo Fighters. But get amongst it and start playing music with people. It’s really fun and the ultimate fast track to develop your playing.

Good Luck!

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Andrew Rooney
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September 29, 2019

Thoughts On Music Education

No smarty pants, number 1 isn’t ‘drums’ and number 2 isn’t ‘cymbals’. If you don’t already have those things you don’t qualify as serious!

No gimmicks, let’s get down to it…

1 – HEARING PROTECTION
Your ears are your livelihood if you are a working musician. Don’t delay. Get into healthy habits in terms of listening to music and playing. This is number one on my list for a reason. DON’T delay.

Budget options:
– Over the ear construction work style ‘ear muffs’. These block out a decent amount of noise but all you need is a tool belt and you’ll look like you are playing drums for The Village People.
– Foam ear plugs. These are handed out on planes along with eye covers to help you sleep. These are discrete as they almost entirely fit in your ear. They do block a good amount of noise but you get a distorted view of what things actually sound like.

MY TIP. Musician Earplugs. Spend a bit more money and get custom made ear plugs. Treat yourself. The benefits of these are too numerous to mention. Not least is you are getting an accurate representation of the frequency spectrum. This is the best purchase i have ever made in my career. That is not an exaggeration.

Cost – Varies a lot. Mine cost $150 (NZD). Call your closest audiologist for a quote on getting the moulds made. Best money you will ever spend.
Thank me later!

2 – IN EARS
These are fantastic for doing anything where you have to listen to click tracks or backing tracks. They are far more discrete and direct than over the ear headphones. Here is a more than decent pair of over the counter in ears.

Some companies do Musician Earplugs and In Ears in one. Ultimate Ears are a good place to start if you want quality custom made in ears. But the price does jump!
https://pro.ultimateears.com/

3 – A RECORDING SETUP
Something… anything. You do not need to recreate Abbey Road in your bedroom, but you do need to record yourself. Recording yourself on your IPhone is fine for now if you have no gear. I’ll talk more about recording on another blog post! Video is also helpful. Seeing yourself play is as crucial as hearing yourself when it comes to identifying weaknesses and bad habits.

If you have never heard/seen yourself play in a recording you don’t know what you actually sound/look like. Get ON IT!

Cost – Free. A camera and mic are already in your phone/ipod. If you don’t have a phone you can pick up an HD camera very cheap.

4 – METRONOME
Metronomes are no longer cumbersome boxes that constantly run out of batteries. Head to your app store and load a free metronome into your phone or IPod.

Cost – FREE

5 – DECENT HEADPHONES
I did a lot of research into this. I ended up going with Audio Technica. They have a nice range and the prices are not outrageous. I settled on the ATH-M30x. They are not as flat as i would have hoped for (a little bass heavy). But they are light years better than what i was using previously. Good headphones will help your transcribing a great deal and just make listening more pleasurable. You are transcribing…. right?

Here’s some of the Audio Technica range. Something for every budget.

 

6 – A VARIETY OF STICKS
It is a good idea to have different types of sticks in your kit bag. Especially if you’re racing in and out of the studio and off to various types of gigs. Sometimes brushes can provide the perfect flavour for a Jazz Ballad or Country tune. And Cane Sticks (Hot Rods) can take the ouch factor out of an intimate cafe gig. Be versatile!

7 – SLOW DOWN SOFTWARE
It can be a game changer when you have the ability to slow down tricky parts and figure things out properly. Check out ‘Audacity’. Essential for transcribing. And if you are serious you need to be transcribing regularly.
www.audacityteam.org

Cost – FREE

8 – MOONGEL/BUZZ KILL
If you don’t know what moongel is you shouldn’t be reading this article! Will kill a bit of yucky overtone (but not too much) in the studio or live. Good stuff.

Cost – Cheap

9 – PRACTISE PAD
Being a serious working drummer you don’t have the luxury of time. You often have to warm up for a session or a gig silently and quickly. Often a kit is not available. If you are putting in some work on your hands, a pad is a much better option than an actual snare. Practise pads are a working drummers friend.

I hope this list helps you out. Let me know what i missed.

Good luck!

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Andrew Rooney
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