Early Access - The Hardest Thing About Becoming Great At The Drums

I’m here today to talk about a paradox I haven’t heard many others speak about.

Even if you do drums as a hobby, you’re going to face challenges and have to reckon with how high the level goes, and still find a way to sit down and enjoy playing.

But if you harbor ambitions of being “great”, both sides of this double-edged sword can sting. Here’s the conundrum:

One the one hand, you have to become obsessed with getting better, to the detriment of balance in your life, your mood on many occasions, and many hours of your life you could spend doing other things. You have to live and breathe the drums, and do things others aren’t willing to do.

On the other, you have to accept yourself completely, be gentle with yourself, and nurture a little seedling of your own voice through the harsh winter winds of ego, extrinsic pressure to conform, mean comments online and in person, and the years it’s going to take to germinate.

Fall off one end and you risk spinning your wheels - never really getting purchase on your true potential.

Fall off the other, and you risk hating the drums, washing out, mental health badness, and lots more. Is anybody else talking about this?

Anyway, today I decide to explore this paradox, through a few examples from my own story, and tons of completely-scientifically-unfunded anecdote. Ready to come along for the ride?

Where do you come down on this supposed spectrum? How have you struggled for balance, and where have you found it? Leave a comment below!

Early Access - YouTube Video AND Podcast - How to Play The Ride Cymbal

Download the free transcription here.

If you’re reading this before Thursday, April 4, this thumbnail will probably change ;)

Today’s lesson starts with a very simple premise: hardly anybody talks about what to play on the ride cymbal. In a non-jazz context, that is.

Which is a shame, because there are a ton of possibilities, from just playing quarters, to “override”, to “claves”.

Huh?

Yea - turns out the ride cymbal contains multitudes. In this week’s lesson-of-the-week, I’ll take you through 5 levels of playing the ride cymbal on back-beats, from beginner to advanced.

And it’s a double-video week!

I was elated to get my friend Raghav Mehrotra on the podcast.

Raghav stared in the Tony-Award-winning rendition of School of Rock on Broadway, and he’s a frequent guest-drummer on The Late Show With Seth Meyers. But he came to my attention for his clear, crisp, simple, grooving instagram clips.

We talk about why he sounds so unique at a young age, what it’s like to develop the work ethic to get that good, and…yea. Mostly that. But I think you’ll find a lot to take away from this young master’s wisdom.

Enjoy!

Early Access - YouTube Video of The Week - How to Play Fast Chops on Drums in 2024

Download the free transcription here.

Chops aren’t for everybody. And they’re one of the least necessary things to get and keep the gig. Aaron Spears famously had one of the only gigs in show business in which the leader actually appreciated the chopping, and everybody got the idea that that’s how you were supposed to play.

On practically every venue, from the bar, to the coffee shop, to church, what we see on instagram is a carefully-curated highlight reel of moments from a tiny percentage of the gig, many of which probably still drew a stern look from the other musicians.

There are few ways to lose a gig faster than “losing the band” in a complex fill, then sticking your tongue out and laughing, like my friend Joel. He doesn’t even care.

With aaaaaall that aside…

…you still kinda wanna learn to chop, don’t you.

It’s okay. It’s okay. Hey. Bring it in.

[whispered]

Come back at midnight, and I’ll show you how.

In all seriousness, and with all the throat clearing aside, some drummers want to learn to “chop” because it’s fun. And if you’re doing fusion or jazz, or playing along with recordings, or doing a “shed” and “battling solos” with other drummers…go nuts!

And you don’t even have to come back at midnight. Because you’re on the list, I’ll show you how from the comfort of your home.

Know you’ll enjoy this one!

Early Access - YouTube Video of The Week AND Podcast - Heel Up vs Heel Down

Download the free show notes here.

If you’ve watched more than zero of my videos, you’ll know that there’s a kick drum technique that I endorse pretty unequivocally - simple heel up.

Sure, it takes some dialing-in, but my general feeling is it’s the most versatile/least “distance-sensitive” technique for avoiding tension at multiple speeds and dynamic ranges.

But what if I was wrong.

Today’s interview subject has the opposite take: whereas I switched to “heel up” after several frustrating years trying to coax more volume, power, and speed out of my legacy “heel down” technique, he switched to heel down, when he found heel-up made soft dynamics and playing off the head more difficult.

I’m speaking of YouTube OG Tim Metz.

In our extended interview, which you can view below, we get into his background co-teaching with Mike Johnston in Sacramento, gig scenes in general, his approach to teaching, and the like, but for purposes of the YouTube video, we went head-to-head to debate the merits of the two techniques.

I don’t want any of my students or viewers to feel like “one ‘expert’ is saying this, and another one is saying something else.” I want you to see the territory.

So I present to you this slightly-longer-form-than-usual YouTube video, in which Tim and I flesh out the pros and cons of each technique, then I test everything out.

Know you’ll enjoy.

And if you want to hear the complete interview with Tim, that’s below.