Early Access - YouTube Video of The Week PLUS Podcast - Brandon Green of Drum Mechanics

Download the free study guide here.

It’s week 3 of “list gets the youtube video early!” Today I have not just the weekly youtube video, but also the podcast that’s coming out next Tuesday.

Want to play drums injury-free into your 70s and beyond?

I sure do.

Today’s video guest, Brandon Green, was coaching elite athletes when a high school friend’s struggle with injury inspired him to utilize his skills to help drummers. Since then, Brandon founded the Drum Mechanics YouTube and Instagram channels, where he breaks down the setup and movement of some of your favorite drummers, and gives tons of free advice to help all drummers improve our setup and movement.

I wasn’t an uninterested party. Since becoming a “tall guy” I’ve always struggled with “Ichabod Crane Posture”, and over the past couple of years I’ve been experimenting with setup mental cues, and exercises to help me move better.

Brandon weighs in on the posture conundrum from both philosophical and practical angles.

Then I ask him to help resolve something I’ve always had confusion about: rack tom angle. And the answer surprised me. (But I’m making a change.)

The bite-sized YouTube video of the week is above, and if you want to see the complete, hour-long podcast episode with Brandon Green, that’s below.

Want to study with me one-on-one, in a “virtual college semester” experience, that includes 6 months of one-on-one calls, a custom curriculum we design together, unlimited feedback on your playing, and an awesome community of other drummers all working toward their goals?

For a limited time I’m accepting applications for new coaching students. It’s not cheap, but for the right drummer we can change the trajectory of your playing.

If you’re seeing this message, enrollment is still open.

Click here to learn more and, if this sounds like a fit, start your application. It won’t be open for much longer.

Early Access - YouTube Video of The Week - Don't Forget This Crucial Part of Your Drum Beats

Download the free transcription here.

It’s week 2 of “Nate sends you the YouTube video early just for being an awesome subscriber”, and so-far-so-good.

This week I have a video about the most neglected part of the body: the lonely hi hat foot. Hanging out down there all alone, with nobody to appreciate it…

(Sad violin)

In all seriousness, the left foot can be a source of confusion and consternation, especially for drummers who haven’t played much jazz or fusion, but my message to you is twofold:

• First, you should absolutely incorporate the left foot, as many great players of non-jazz genres used it to great effect

• Second, it’s easier than you think, and I’ll give you some basic exercises to get you started

Get ready for a fun tour of drummer you didn’t know were using the hats creatively, plus some you did, plus a catalog of basic and more advanced exercises to sink your teeth into your left foot.

Wait. That didn’t sound very…

You know what I meant.

We’ll even give you a brief crash course on the biggest mistake beginners make with the hats. And if you expected all caps in that clickbait, find another youtuber.

Know you’ll enjoy this one!

Early Access - Andy Prado on The Case for Chops, The "Why" Behind Drumming, and The Importance of Authenticity

Andy Prado is a drummer’s drummer.

Talk to practically anyone you’ve heard of about who their favorite drummers are, and Andy is likely to be in that sentence.

He’s one of a small list of drummers you could call “elite choppers” - a list that includes people like Ron Bruner, Mike Mitchell, and not too many others.

As such he’s in both an enviable, and an unenviable position. And you better believe we dig into the multi-edged sword of “chops”. (It’s way harder than you think to get them, you don’t have anything to “hide behind” like groove drummers, and when you reach the top of your profession everybody either wants to be you, hates you, or both.)

Andy touches a bit on the unhuman work ethic necessary to reach the level he’s reached. We also get into:

• Huey Lewis and The News - based or cringe

• Andy’s weekly routine and current projects

• The importance of being authentic

• Whether drummers’ outward personalities match their music

• How Andy is also an elite groove player

• and much more

I know you’ll enjoy this light-hearted convo with one of the LA OGs, the GOAT, as Forrest Rice calls him.

And if you haven’t caught my weekly video about a lick I adapted from another GOAT, Joel Turcotte, to escape from the bottom side of the kit, you can watch that below.

And here’s the free download to accompany that video.

Enjoy!

Early Access - YouTube Video of The Week - Don't Get Stuck on The Low Side of The Kit

Download the free transcription here.

I can’t promise this every week, but in my efforts to reward my email subscribers, and make being on my list inherently valuable - not just “Nate emails me the youtube video I could find on youtube anyway” - I’m going to attempt to add “sending you the youtube video a day early” to the other stuff you get just for being on the list:

• Early access to the podcast episodes (I’ve got Andy Prado coming Friday or Saturday)

• Exclusive access to list-only Q&As

• Occasional free lessons I don’t publish on youtube

In today’s video, I tackle a sticky little issue that doesn’t really have a name, but you kinda know it when you see it: getting stuck on the “bottom” of the kit.

Especially if you arrange your toms in a conventional “high to low” configuration, the lowest tom kind of has a “gravitational pull”. If you don’t want to crash the cymbal, it can feel awkward getting back to the other side of the kit to continue a fill.

That’s why, in today’s lesson, we’re going to explore two strategies:

The first inspired by my friend Joel Turcotte…

…and the second I probably ripped off from players like Dana Hawkins.

Even if you can’t do everything in this lesson on day 1, I think it’s an important conceptual framework.

Enjoy, and I’ll be back soon with the Andy Prado podcast.