How learning a musical instrument can enrich a child's life experience

When it comes to learning a musical instrument the top questions I get from fellow parents are,

• ·       Will learning an instrument help develop better academic or creative skills in my kids?
• ·       Can kids get credit in their college application for private music education taken?
• ·       How long does it take for a student to learn the drums or a musical instrument?
• ·       What is the best teaching model or methodology to learn instruments like the drums?

Thus, I thought I would write this blog to provide my perspective to these questions

Yes, learning Music or a Musical Instrument can develop better academic & creative attributes!

         I.    Develop a Creative Spirit that not only enhances a child’s brain and development long term but also stays with you as a lifelong ability than can become your way to enjoy a wonderful social life adding joy to your near and dear ones!

Iam sure you have seen such people around you.. that Dad that can sing like a Rockstar at New Year bash, or a Mum that teaches an Instrument at her home etc.  These ‘accomplishment’ or ‘milestones’ add a lot of good memories and experiences as one paves through the journey of life! See this blog post I wrote for more details

       II.     Becomes an example to showcase a Student’s well roundedness in preparation for your college application process. This requires being able to show consistent perusal of the art form and some notable accomplishments (Certifications, Notable concerts or Ensemble performances etc) along the way to be a real talking point in your application

There are plenty of online College Application planning sites that talk to this subject in more detail. All parents who are planning their kid’s higher education journey should proactively spend time to read these details and then build this road-map. Just google to get started on this subject 😊

      III.   Builds foundational facility of Harmony, Ear Training & Theory that are required aspects if one is aspiring to pursue a professional career in the Music Arts field

Getting into a top music college like the Berklee College of Music or similar prestigious musical programs requires years of learning and practice as depending on your art form or musical instrument of choice the availability and acceptance rates can be very small

Learning the drums or any musical instrument is a lifelong journey, focus on what your goals are!

At Kidsdrum we focus on taking our kids through 5 levels of learning, practicing and enjoying the art form. This can be completed in 4-5 years depending on how regular the students are at practicing the art! Focus areas are,

1. Learning Drum Rudiments : a rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drum patterns. The Percussive Arts Society has defined 40 International Drum Rudiments. These consist of the traditional 26 rudiments along with a number of drum corps, orchestral, European, and contemporary drum rudiments

At KidsDrum students are taught how to play rudiments from the basic to the more advanced ones on the Snare drum first, then around the drums and finally with various beats and in fills/rolls in musical situations

2. Understanding and Interpretation of Time Feel: In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece or subsection thereof, how fast or slow. Tempo is related to meter and is usually measured by beats per minute. The ability of understanding and interpreting the various common time signatures is a foundational requirement to be a strong musician and drummer

At Kids drum we focus on setting up a strong foundation on the popular music genres in both common and odd time signatures with a focus on being able to perform and play the same in a musical setting appropriate to each learning level

3. Reading Drum Notations: Percussion notation is a type of musical notation indicating notes to be played by percussion instruments. As with other forms of musical notation, sounds are represented by symbols which are usually written onto a musical staff

We learn Basic Drum representation in Level 1. Then begin to read foundational notation books like Stick Control and Syncopation from Level 2 onwards. Key focus we have at KidsDrum is to get the student truly excited and serious about playing the drums along with reading and writing aspects of musical notations

4. Playing Musical Song forms: The ultimate joy to most musicians is the ability to be able to play along with a piece of their favorite song or better still play in a band their favorite songs! Learning song form structure and being able to interpret it in their playing often shows how good a drummer is

At KidsDrum we introduce students to Rock in Level 1 and progressively two more new genres at each new level. Additionally, they start reading and writing and performing with song structures in Level 3 but are encouraged to be playing along with songs right from Level 1 to develop their listening, counting and feel skills

5. Performing a unique piece of drum music: Performing a new unique piece of music is really about putting your best feet forward i.e.: Playing your favorite drum beats and rolls within a clear musical structure that has a beginning/middle/end and tells a story or is a Question/ Response act

Students at KidsDrum are expected to be building their unique pieces of music/solos etc by end of level 5. We aspire to see one of our students being recognized at competitions like the Guitar Center Drum-Off or better still making it big with their own band 😊

I hope this blog provided insights into getting engaged on this wonderful musical learning journey. You can get in touch with us by clicking here now to get your child started on the drums!

How playing an instrument benefits your brain

When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What's going on? Anita Collins explains the fireworks that go off in musicians' brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout

Common Drumming Terminology & Drum set Glossary

Ride, Kick, Hi Hat, Resonant head....ah confused ?? Well these are common drum terms drum kids(and their parents) should probably know..

So here is a quick reference guide of the most commonly used terms in the world of drums and drumming,

Bass drum » Large drum played with a footpedal. Sometimes referred to as the "kick drum" or "kick." The bass drum is used to anchor the bottom of the music mix and interacts with the bass to build the music's foundation.

Bass drum pedal » The pedal that you step on to play the bass drum. Uses a lever and tensioning springs.

Bass drum beater » The metal shaft that fits into the bass drum pedal, with a head that is made of felt, wood, or other material.

Bass pedal spring » The spring that pulls the pedal back after the pedal is depressed.

Bass drum spurs » Short metal legs that attach to the bass drum to prevent it from moving.

Batter head » A drum head that you hit, on the top side of the drum.

Bearing edge » The edge of the drum shell where it contacts the drum head.

Bell » The round, raised part in the center of the cymbal. Used for creating accents and variations in cymbal sound.

China cymbal » Special-effect cymbal of Chinese origin. Usually mounted in an inverted position on the stand. Has a trashy, dark, white noise sound.

Claw hooks » The hooks that hold the bass drum hoop, or rim, in place.

Crash cymbal » Cymbal with strong attack and fast decay used to create accents and crescendos.

Cymbal sleeve » A plastic or rubber sleeve that prevents the cymbal from contacting the metal rod at the top of the cymbal stand. Prevents cymbal damage and undesirable metal-on-metal sound.

Cymbal stand (straight and/or boom type) » Holds the cymbals. Boom stands have a movable arm, or boom, that extends from the stand at an angle, allowing you greater flexibility in placing your cymbals.

Double Bass Pedal » Bass drum pedal with two beaters and two footboards. Used in modern rock and fusion styles. Allows the drummer to play a single bass drum with two beaters for a double bass drum effect.

Drum key » Tool used for tuning drum heads by adjusting the tension rods. Sometimes used to adjust tom arms and other hardware.

Drum module » An electronic controller used to generate sampled and synthesized drum sounds.

Drum rack » Used in some modern drum sets to mount multiple tom drums and cymbals as opposed to individual stands.

Drum throne » A padded, height-adjustable, armless seat for drummers.

Drum triggers » Small sensors attached to drum heads or rims used to trigger drum and other sounds from an electronic drum module.

Drum head » The head that fits over a drum's shell. Originally made of calfskin, most modern heads are made of Mylar. The batter head goes on top of the drum and is the head you hit, while the resonant head goes on the bottom and enhances the drum's sustain and resonance.

Dry sound » Drum sound that has little or no ambience or effects.

Floor tom » The largest tom in a drum set, usually 14" to 18" in diameter. They usually have detachable metal legs for free-standing use or can be suspended from a tom or cymbal stand.

Footboard » The part of the bass pedal or hi-hat pedal that is pressed with the foot.

Fundamental note » The tuning at which a drum produces its most open and resonant tone. Determined to a large degree by the drumshell design.

Hi-hat cymbals » Pair of cymbals that are mounted on a hi-hat stand (see below). Hi-hat cymbals usually range in size from 12" to 15."

Hi-hat stand » The stand that is used to mount and play a pair of hi-hat cymbals. An integrated footpedal is pushed down to close the hi-hats and raised to open them.

Hi-hat clamp (or clutch) » The part of the hi-hat stand that holds the top hi-hat cymbal.

Isolation mounts » Tom mounts that allow the tom to vibrate freely by isolating it from the tom holder.

Lug » A bracket that is attached to a drum and accepts a tension rod that threads through the rim to hold the drum head in place.

Lug nut (or swivel nut) » The receptacle inside a lug that accepts the tension rod. Interior threads allow the tension rods to be tightened in order to tune the drum.

Mounted toms » Toms that provide various voices and timbres within the set, most often used in playing fills and solos. Mounted toms generally range from 6" to 14" in diameter, and commonly mount on the shell of the bass drum.

Piccolo snare » A high-pitched specialty snare drum, usually with a 3-1/2" depth.

Ride area » The large, slightly curved area of a ride cymbal that offers a balanced, consistent tone with good definition.

Ride cymbal » A cymbal with sharp attack, fast decay, and clear stick definition. Generally 20" or 22" in size, ride cymbals create a continuous "riding" pattern and are often used for accompanying instrumental solos.

Resonant head » The bottom head used on toms, snares, and on the front of bass drums.

Rim » The metal rim that holds the drum head in place and can be tensioned for tuning.

Shell » The actual drum cylinder. Usually made of wood.

Shell pack » A set of drums sold with minimal hardware usually including only the rims and tom holder.

Snare drum » Drum with a metal or wood shell and bright, cutting tone. Has a characteristic buzzing sound created by the sound of the snares on the bottom head.

Snares » Coiled metal strands that vibrate against the bottom (snare-side) head of a snare drum.

Snare side head » Thin head attached to the bottom of a snare drum.

Snare stand » Stand with an adjustable basket that holds the snare drum.

Snare strainer (or throw-off) » The device that holds the metal snares against the bottom snare side head. It has a lever that allows you to tighten or release the snares.

Soprano snare » Small specialty snare drum, usually with a 12" diameter.

Splash cymbals » Small, thin crash cymbals with a quick decay.

Tension rods » The rods that are used in conjunction with the lug nuts to tune a drum.

Tom » Drums of varying size that are typically mounted on the bass drum with a tom holder. Toms may also be mounted on a drum rack, and are referred to as suspended or hanging toms. Toms larger than 16" are usually mounted on legs, in which case the drum is called a floor tom.

Tom holder » Mounting hardware that holds one or more toms on the bass drum shell.

Trigger » Small sensors that attach to your drum heads and trigger sounds from an external drum module.

Washer » A metal disk that fits between the head of the tensioning rod and the rim.

Wet sound » Sound that has an ambient, spacious quality, with effects like reverb and/or delay

Wing nut » A nut with wing-like finger grips, used on the top of a cymbal stand

Make your Single Strokes sound Awesome in 3 easy steps !

Step 1: Practice the basic Left, Right single strokes at various tempos using a metronome on a pad for a long time until you are comfortable playing slow to fast tempos ( 50-200 bpm)  while counting loudly at given metronome speed for full exercise,

Bar 1-4 Quarter Notes  = 1,2,3,4......2,2,3,4....3,2,3,4....4,2,3,4

Bar 5-8 Eight Notes = 1&2&3&4&.....2&2&3&4&....3&2&3&4&.......4&2&3&4&

Bar 9-12 Triplets = 1&A2&A3&A4&A......2&A2&A3&A4&A...3&A2&A3&A4&A...4&A2&A3&A4&A

Bar 13-16 Sixteenth Notes =  1E&A,2E&A,3E&A,4E&A...2E&A,2E&A,3E&A,4E&A...3E&A,2E&A,3E&A,4E&A..4E&A,2E&A,3E&A,4E&A

Step 2: Now continue Step 1 while Accenting certain notes consistently on each bar. For example start with quarter notes for first set of practice and then gradually move to different sub divisions in following sets of bars

Step 3 : Now move to the drum set and play Step 2 while moving the Accents to the Toms while keeping rest of beats on the Snare drum

Now, how does that sound ? Feels and sounds better right ? Want to go a step further ? Then here's a tip..

TIP: Incorporate the Bass drum in place of the accents...

Once you master these step then let your imagination take over to discover your own cool ways to make the single strokes awesome when applying to different licks !

The Drum Notation Tree and Time Signature

Question 1- What is a Drum Notation Tree and how does it look like ?

Answer : A Drum Notation Tree looks as follows,

As you can see the tree branches out from the whole note to 16th notes above. You can even extend that to 32nd notes which is twice the number of 16th notes !

Now try this Single stroke exercise uniformly with Metronome at 60 BPM,

- 1 Bar of Quarter notes followed by

- 1 Bar of Eight notes followed by

- 1 Bar of 16th notes followed by

- 1 Bar of Quarter notes

- Rinse and repeat this for 5 mins non-stop !! 

If you have mastered this add in the 32nd note and repeat exercise !

Question 2 - What are odd and even time signatures and how do i read them ?

Answer - The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are to be contained in each bar and which note value is to be given one beat (per Wikipedia)

So 4/4 in below diagram means there are 4 beats per measure and you play 4 measures of the same

In the next diagram below, 3/ 4 means that there are 3 beats per measure and we play it 4 times. The tempo is demoted by the Quarter Note pulse and its speed is 100 BPM (Beats per Minute)

3 Drumming Tips from the Pro’s..

Tip 1: Set up your drumset correctly !

To set the drums up for the viewer so it looks cool from the front rather than for yourself. Set the drums up so that the bass drum is facing the audience straight on, rather than being off to the right if you are a right-handed drummer, because the bass drum is not the centre of the drumset.

Trying to make the drumset perfectly symmetrical or sitting too low or too high, or to set up the cymbals too far away from the player so you have to play with your arm completely stretched is a mistake

Try this exercise:Take your stool, adjust it so there is more than a 90° angle between your legs and your spine and between your upper legs and lower legs.

Then you set up the snare drum so it is comfortable, then a bass drum where the foot really sits, then a hi-hat where the foot really sits, and so on

Tip 2: Get a grip on your sticks

Hold your matched grip correctly with balanced fulcrum between you thumb and index finger steady and the remaining 3 fingers loose and ready to bounce the stroke. Next, do your warm up’s, be relaxed and breadth easy

Try this exercise: Make sure that your left hand and your right hand are equally strong by playing fast unison strokes in different patterns, in different cycles; groups of three, groups of five, seven, two 16ths and one eighth note, but with both hands at the same time. 

That way you make sure your hands are equally strong and you can concentrate on either the right or the left for timing and precision while you are playing

Tip 3: Sing your way to keeping better time 

Make an effort to learn some songs and just clock to your favourite tunes ! Get a metronome out and clock it to the song BPM. If you can remember tempo then you are less likely to speed up or slow down. That is achieved by association and muscle memory. The best way to do it is to combine the two

Try this exercise: Start a song, be aware of the quarter-note pulse and ‘sing’ it first. Then start playing the beat comfortably while keep the quarter note pulse

Once you have ace’d the beat on time now add in your roll’s during the ‘fill zone’ never stopping to sing the song or quarter note pulse even during the transitions from groove (paragraph) to fills (chorus) and back to groove

To read more tips from 2 of the hottest pro drummers in the world today Benny Greb & Thomas Lang click here 

Developing your hand speed..Slow down to Speed Up..

We all drummers like to play fast when starting out learning new beats and rolls BUT its very important that you learn to 'slow down to speed up' . So what does this mean ? Well it really means that,

a. You start with a Metronome and keep it simple by playing QUARTER notes counting loudly

b. Gradually move to EIGHTH note count when comfortable and able to play for a full minute in sync with the metronome

c. Finally move to SIXTEENTH note count and play it consistently for a full minute keep comfortably

Once you have done the above, the next step is to play these in patterns while counting loudly with the metronome. Here is how it should look like,

TEMPO = Quarter Notes + Eighth Notes + Sixteenth Notes + Quarter Notes

COUNT / CLAP =  1 2 3 4 + 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & +  1E&A 2E&A 3E&A 4E&A + 1 2 3 4

PLAY = 1 2 3 4 + 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & +  1E&A 2E&A 3E&A 4E&A + 1 2 3 4

Start at 60 BPM  and gradually increase by 10 BPM when fully comfortable. Keep going till you have reached about 150 BPM and very comfortable keep timing and rhythm !

Finally when you have reached this level introduce the 32nd NOTE count into your playing as follows,

Example 1 : Sixteenth Notes + Thirty Second Notes + Sixteenth Notes + Thirty Second Notes

COUNT / CLAP =  1E&A + (2E&A + 2E&A) + 3E&A + (4E&A + 4E&A)

PLAY = 1E&A + (2E&A + 2E&A) + 3E&A + (4E&A + 4E&A)

Example 2 :  Thirty Second Notes + Sixteenth Notes +Thirty Second Notes + Sixteenth Notes

COUNT / CLAP =  (1E&A + 1E&A) + 2E&A + (3E&A + 3E&A) + 4E&A

PLAY = (1E&A + 1E&A) + 2E&A + (3E&A + 3E&A) + 4E&A

Once you have mastered these insert other combinations of Eighth notes and Quarter notes along with your Thirty Second notes. NOTE - at all time start SLOW and gradually build up your speed without sacrificing your accuracy and sense of rhythm !

Fundamentals of proper Bass Drum FOOT technique

The bass drum is the foundational piece of a drum set. When the bass drum is played on time, correctly, and in its right place, the whole band sounds better and well knit. 

There are 2 main techniques to play the bass drum,

    

HEEL DOWN : Heel down playing is where you have the ball of your heel pressed down onto the bass drum pedal with your heel acting as a pivot point 

This is used to play lighter beats on the bass drum (also called feathering). It offers more control & used normally for jazz, softer styles of music

          

          

     

  

  HEEL UP: Here you use your whole leg to power the bass pedal. Instead of resting heel on the pedal, lift it up and rest your toe on the tip of the bass drum pedal

     This method is great for power bass drumming like in Rock music. Once you build enough control, you can also play faster with heel up since you can use your toes only to kick the drum 

     

      OK LETS GO ROCK IT NOW !!

The Essential Drum Notations

n a previous lesson we had learned about the Essential Music Terms that were fundamental to any musical instrument. In this lesson we are going to focus on key Drum notations and ways to read them for very commonly used 4/4 time signature pattern

Breaking down the above notes into a hierarchical view we have,

Reading Notes ( Notation TABLES):

1) Quarter Notes are read as – 1,2,3,4 and for a 4/4 time signature you will count the bar as below. Note that the underlined number denotes the measure we are on,

1   2  3  4

2   2  3  4

3   2  3  4

4   2  3  4

2) Eight Notes are read as 1&2&3&4& and for a 4/4 time signature you will count the bar as follows,

1& 2& 3& 4&

2& 2& 3& 4&

3& 2& 3& 4&

4& 2& 3& 4&

3) Sixteenth Notes are read as 1E&A 2E&A 3E&A 4E&A and for a 4/4 time signature you will count the bar as follows,

1E&A  2E&A  3E&A  4E&A

2E&A  2E&A  3E&A  4E&A

3E&A  2E&A  3E&A  4E&A

4E&A  2E&A  3E&A  4E&A

4) Similarly for Triplets in a 4 / 4 time signature the bar line would be read as follows,

1&A  2&A  3&A  4&A

2&A  2&A  3&A  4&A

3&A  2&A  3&A  4&A

                                                4&A  2&A  3&A  4&A

Next set your metronome to 60 BPM and play above 4 patterns one after another in alternate single strokes counting loudly. keep going till you have perfected the rhythmic flow so that your M&Ms develop quickly !

Increasing Attention Spans in Kids using drumming techniques & practices

One of the observations & learning’s I have had working with kids is how to get them to develop better attention skills. The ability to focus and pay attention is a foundational need to a host of other cognitive skills. 

Here is how we can use drums to impact & improve the 4 basic types of attention,

1. Creating a set of Start-Stop experiences while drumming to improve Sustained Attention – This task involves getting kids to focus on a single task for a sustained period of time. This can be developed by playing along a set of drum beat patterns in a start-stop manner while constantly changing the speed and flow. You can also incorporate a movement based intervention by having kids be the ‘leader’ as you move through each pattern while having the rest of class follow along                                         
2. Ignoring distractions & developing Selective Attention – playing in a band where-in the musicians have to listen to each other is a nice example of developing your selective attention skills. So have your child start playing drums to a song while specifically listening to the drum patterns and learning to play them effectively. While in class I like to have the class try and create some crowd buzz while one of them is drumming in order to develop an ability to isolate the noise around you and focus on the beat at hand                                                                                                                                    
3. Alternating Attention by using time signature variations or independent limb co-ordination – Drumming by definition involves training your various limbs to do different things. You could thus develop this skill by playing your basic rudiments in different time signatures while keeping the metronome to a steady pulse. Alternatively you can have the same pattern played by different limbs to an alternating pattern. Example: A 4/4 single stroke roll could be played as RLRL or LRLR or LLRR or RRLL or we can incorporate the foot and have RLFF or RLRF etc                                                             
4. Finally developing you Divided Attention – This is the highest level of attention and is usually achieved while developing excellence in any musical or performing act . In drumming this means paying attention to the foundational learning techniques, mind and body preparation, ability to parallel process like reading the musical notes while playing with a band etc. Reaching this level also means that you are in the moment where you are not thinking about the details anymore, you are essentially in the ‘feel’ and flowing seamlessly with the task at hand. Example: Play 4/4 pattern with your feet while playing 3/4 with your hands !