My Left Foot Became Like An Anchor, for My Right

Today I was brushing up on my right foot, rock chops. Mostly consistent 8th notes around 170-180 bpm.

While making sure every attack with my right foot was solid and at the same velocity, I brought my left foot into every pattern. It's a good test in keeping time, independence, and composure. A good accountability. The trick is to play everything thing you already know, but add the left foot on all the quarters to hold the pulse down. Play it well, and you'll increase your tempo and composure.

Pull out your iPod with a recent favored drum track. Play the song all the way through with your left foot on the quarter pulse (or 8th if it's in 6/8, ect). Don't stop. You should be able to play everything your hands and right foot have been doing all along. Make sure NOT to flam your feet when landing together on the downbeats.

If you are a begginner this may be a more advanced step for you, but since the average drummer's tendancy is to rush, it never hurts to start early in the game. It's in everybody's nature to do this. That's why this is a good thing. To remedy rushing.

Also, If ever I start to fumble, I stop playing with my hands. Play only the kick drum pattern a long with the hi-hat. When that's sounds good, I add my hands back. If it's still pretty rough around the edges, that's when you change your tempo.

A classic rule when focusing on any rhythm is, if you can play it slow, you can play it fast. This generally goes for all musicians. What you're doing is building both mind and body muscles. Think of it like body building. You wouldn't go to the gym and start lifting 250 pounds right away. And if you could, it wouldn't last long. You'd start out at a reasonable weight and build by steadily adding more weights.

Same with rhythm. If the metronome isn't already out, I get it out. Try starting about 10-15 bpm slower. It may be uncomfortable at first, but you're building your strength and composure. Increase the bpm about 5 beats faster at a time.

When you're back to the right tempo of the song you'll notice a HUGE difference. You may even thank me.

This stuff separates the men from the boys, if you know what I mean. The Chefs from the cooks. The pros from the interns. The... ok I'm done.

Christmas Acoustic Set

I'm doing this short December run with Everlife. Our rehearsals were at a house, and my dynamic wasn't needing to change much once we arrived to the shows. I really find it to be a respectable challenge to stay as minimal as I can when doing acoustic performances.

I felt I only needed one tom along with the kick and snare. hi- hats of course and then my sweet ride, which has a great wash when needed. Some may think it's dumbing down the playing, but I say it's opening up and exploring the different sounds of each drum.

First time I've every used only hot rods (someone needs to find a new name for them) and brushes for an entire set. A shaker appears for one song. So does a ride sizzle. Some rim clicks and heel down kick attacks and hi-hat pulses. Just keeping time and staying musical from here..