Working your weaker hand

Whether it’s playing a game or eating food or doing a physical activity, we tend to lead with our stronger hand. Focusing on this aspect and learning to use both hands equally can be a great starting point in being able to play the drums effortlessly with both hands

For most of us though this is a challenge, so here are 3 simple ways to practice on improving your weaker hand,

• Try the 8 on a hand exercise with the Unison (both hands play together) beat. Start slow at 60 bpm and go all the way to 120 bpm. Keep playing at each level  for 2 minutes continuously till you are comfortable then go to the higher speed (in 10 bpm increments) . Watch for flams and avoid them at all costs !

• Start playing the hi-hat with the opposite hand + starting your drum rolls with the weaker hand. Finding it difficult right? Good, keep working on it till you are comfortable playing them. Keep a metronome going so you can correct yourself as needed

• Play rudiments that stress the weaker hand more. Rudiments like triplets where you play twice with the weaker hand ( RLL/LRR or LLR/RRL) are good example of these. Play with a metronome starting as Quarter notes then Eighth notes then 16^th notes. Ensure that you are fully in time with the metronome and comfortable at a speed before increasing your speed

Finally, keep the metal focus on the weaker hand going as your progress your drumming. You will notice that just by realizing the fact of the weaker hand (M&Ms anyone?) and paying extra effort on using them more often may soon make it the stronger hand :-)

‘Sound’ Tips for Drummers

Sound is an essential output one gets or hears from the action of sticks repeatedly hitting on a drum-set. Long exposure to loud and unregulated sound can lead to loss of hearing or irritated neighbors. With the advent of technology and new materials it’s very easy to guard against these. Here are few tips,

For Drummer Hearing Protection,

1. Use a simple Foam earplug for basic practice. These are comfortable, reusable and widely available. The cons here are noise reduction ratios (NRR) is high so sound may be muffled, as if "under water"
2. A better option is to get Stereo Isolation Headphones. These may cost a little more ($25-$50) but have excellent isolation and great for recording or practicing
3. A few more advanced/professional options are as follows,

• Custom Musicians Earplugs - These cost between $150-$200 and are perfect fit with clear sound. Must have for professional musicians.
• In-Ear Monitor - These are expensive ($100 +++) and excellent for live monitoring and eliminates need for stage monitors

For Drum Set Muffling – Actions here may include modifying the kit or using additional components to reduce the sound impact

• The simplest idea is inserting an old pillow into your bass drum and covering rest of drum’s playing surface with circular pieces of shelf liner material to dampen sound dramatically
• More professional methods may include buying E-Rings or a Drum Mute set. These are more expensive and require matching to kit sizes and your budgets

For Drum Room Sound Proofing – Because of the way our ears perceive sound, a “sound proof drum room” may not need to be soundproof at all. If we only reduce the volume by as little as 10dB it will  make the music half as loud outside the room. Here are simple options with little incremental costs,

1. Carpeting is popular for soundproofing. So set-up your drum kit on a carpeted surface. Usually the rougher the surface the more sound waves it will absorb
2. Egg crate mattress pads offer a wavy sine wave looking surface and can be purchased at any discount store or store that sells bedding. It may be best to cut it into manageable pieces before you apply in sections to the wall.
3. Fabric furniture pads are also a common soundproofing product. Use dual sided and sewn mattress pads that appear quilted
4. Heavy fabric, drapes and blanket can also be used but will not provide as much sound dampening as the above items. Considering adding a drape on a curtain rod over doors to add extra soundproofing to doors and closet areas
5. Sound absorption sheets often referred to as ‘soundproofing blankets’ may indeed reduce volume levels if the space is properly treated. When hung throughout the room, these sheets absorb echoes, reverberation and noise reflection

M&Ms - How to get kids to love practice using the STAR process

Developing Muscle Memories (M&Ms) is a critical learning requirement for drummers. M&Ms can be defined as the ability to repeat a drum beat/rudiment instantly without using much of your brain memory during the drumming process

This is critical as trying to remember the various permutation & combinations of drum strokes can take you away from focusing on the task at hand like listening to the music, other band members playing or developing a groove feel within the time signature

Here is a good way to develop M&Ms using the STAR process,

1.      Start Slow – Focus on developing Control vs Speed. It is very important to start ALL lessons SLOW. The idea it to play real slow with repetition getting your muscles to memorize the particular movement/s

Start slow then gradually increase to a medium and fast tempo. You will know your limits when you start faltering your beat or lose control. Once you find that high threshold, practice going down to your medium and slow speeds. Then repeat steps

2.      Time bound – Next step is to break groove/beat down into small parts and practice in smaller chunks. Then start putting it together into required time signature. Practice these in various time patterns to become comfortable enough to apply to/with any song or groove

3.      Adapt – When we are learning new things there is a tendency to tense up. Thus it’s critical to first learn the right hand/foot technique and then relax while playing. It’s important to pay attention to your posture, distance to the various drum parts and breadth normally while practicing

4.      Repeat using a metronome – Finally it’s very important to develop your internal clock to play consistently at various tempos. So start using a metronome for your practice gradually increasing from Slow- Medium-Fast tempos until you feel very comfortable in being able to play the groove or beat without actually using the metronome

So go ahead and enjoy those M&Ms !