If you want to master the drums, there’s a mindset that you absolutely must have in order to ever see success. This has nothing to do with any particular techniques, drumming skills, or hacks. Instead, it’s an across-the-board mindset that applies itself to everything you ever do.

I’ll share with you this mindset, which will help you out big time if you’ve ever felt like you lack talent. Then we’ll wrap up with 3 super key things you can practice right now to get the fastest possible results on the drums.

Here’s what the big mindset is:

You have to be patient.

Without patience, you’ll never reach the potential that you’re capable of. But I get it! Patience is hard when progress is slow and you begin wondering if you lack talent.

Maybe you’ve started late in the game, and you’re afraid you’re simply too old to learn the drums. (Believe me, you’re NOT. I have students in their 60s, 70s, and 80s who...

Imagine you’re practicing a song on the drumset. It’s not a crazy technical song (assuming you’re not in a Rush or Tool tribute band), and it’s a song you’ve heard a lot and know pretty well from a musical standpoint (think “Enter Sandman” or “Back in Black” - that type of song).

What typical technical struggles might you encounter when practicing this song? Is it hard to play with perfect time, locking in with the recording? Is it hard to play the fills smoothly and finish them on time? Do you ever feel stiff and not able to relax while you’re playing? Do you feel like your sticks don’t move smoothly from one drum to the next?

These are some pretty common frustrations I hear a lot, and every one of us has been there. So what’s a productive, efficient method for eliminating these issues? Especially how do you solve this if maybe your kit practice time is limited and...

As we’re getting into springtime, many of us are getting our hopes up that the gigs of 2019 we used to know and love will start to come back around. I know this is different for everybody depending on where you live, but I hope that you’ve at least been able to get back to rehearsing with your band or playing at your church if that's what you were doing pre-covid. Even if things aren't the way they used to be, any chance to play music with real people is a huge blessing!

I'm speaking to two groups of folks today:   

1. Those who lost gigs due to COVID.
2. Those who have always been wanting to gig…but just haven’t had the chance yet.

...and maybe there's a third group of folks who have no plans of gigging...but you know you want to get better at your instrument for your personal enjoyment and satisfaction, which is still awesome. Mastering an instrument is great, regardless of what you choose to do with that.

Besides the obvious of...

If you’re totally honest with yourself, what do you think the biggest obstacle is standing in the way of your growth on the drums? I have an idea what it might be, but think hard for a moment before you keep reading…

BIGGEST OBSTACLE:

Feeling demotivated because you feel like you don’t have enough time to practice nor the right resources to make sure you’re practicing the right things the right way. So as a result you don’t really practice much, and when you do you’re not getting much done.

Now I know I’m speaking to a wide audience, but this is something I’ve personally faced and seen a lot of other drummers face, too. If this is you, we want to help you break past this. Know this one thing:

You have to “show up” to your practice space, and you have to put in the work on a regular basis in order to grow.

Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? But here’s the key. You have to show up and put in the work…even...

If you’re totally honest with yourself, what do you think the biggest obstacle is standing in the way of your growth on the drums? I have an idea what it might be, but think hard for a moment before you keep reading…

BIGGEST OBSTACLE:

Feeling demotivated because you feel like you don’t have enough time to practice nor the right resources to make sure you’re practicing the right things the right way. So as a result you don’t really practice much, and when you do you’re not getting much done.

Now I know I’m speaking to a wide audience, but this is something I’ve personally faced and seen a lot of other drummers face, too. If this is you, we want to help you break past this. Know this one thing:

You have to “show up” to your practice space, and you have to put in the work on a regular basis in order to grow.

Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? But here’s the key. You have to show up and put in the...

5 years ago I ran out of cash in New York City and almost didn’t make it back. The funny thing was…this was on my honeymoon.

My wife and I decided to do somewhat of an East Coast road trip for a week after we got married, and our tightly budgeted trip included a day trip to NYC from Washington DC. I’d never been to New York, and now was the perfect time to finally make it there - even if it was just for an afternoon. I’ve always been really excited to go to a place I haven’t been to, and this was no exception. 

Now if you do the math on those drive times, you’ll find that we were easily going to spend more than 8 hours driving that day. I had carefully scheduled out our time in the city, planning every detail of what we’d see and do and when we’d do it. We’d get to the “Top of the Rock,” stroll Central Park, see the new One World Trade Center, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, stroll the High Line…literally do...

I received a video topic request from someone recently, asking “what should a beginner practice…vs an advanced player?” We all know what the grip basics are, what the rudiment basics are, and we know the basic beats beginners can work on. But what exactly should a more advanced player focus his or her attention on in order to grow rapidly? Is there any crossover? What should EVERYONE practice? That’s what we’re breaking down today.

What Should a Beginner Drummer Practice?

A beginner should focus heavily on grip. After all, how you hold your sticks determines nearly everything about your playing. A small mistake here can wreak havoc on more complex skills you begin to work on later. Build a strong foundation by mastering good grip. Check out this video that breaks down exactly how to do this.

A beginner should be listening to a favorite band. Be jamming out to your favorite songs, playing along with your favorite drummer. Enjoy...

In case you’re interested, I thought I’d share with you what I’m working on in my playing right now. Btw, let me know if you want to see/hear more on this topic, because I can certainly make a video (or a few videos) for the channel.

As many of you guys know, I lived in an apartment for almost three years. I just moved out when my wife and I bought a house this past April. Prior to the house, practicing was a pretty restricted activity with neighbors below me. I had to really focus my practicing to where I could get a lot done in a very short amount of time. However, I now have a basement space for which I am VERY thankful, where I can make as much noise as I want. This certainly changed my practice strategies, so I started adding some new specific things to my “practice list.”

First, a couple of thoughts to give you some context to my more “specific practicing points:”

1. I do spend a good bit of time practicing the...

We’ve all had those days where we sit down to play, and nothing feels right. The groove we practiced the other day just won’t come together, and the fills we practiced end up sloppy. Nothing FEELS right, and we’re not comfortable playing for some reason. Something’s clearly wrong…but what is it? Let’s dig into this a little more and see if we can find some possible solutions.

• #1: You may have just set up your kit weird. What I mean by this is that maybe your snare is too low, or your hats are too high. Maybe your kick drum is too close…or too far away. Maybe you’re having to lean in too far because the snare and hihat are too far away. Any number of weird little setup issues can cause enough discomfort to give you a bad day at the drums. Take the time to evaluate your setup, and video yourself playing if possible. Play around with adjusting different elements of your kit, because you might suddenly...

One of the funnest things to do as a drummer (regardless of what level you’re at) is to play along to a great record. Putting on your favorite song and jamming out is so cool, and that’s how pretty much every drummer gets started learning the drums. This is also a great way to stay musically motivated and inspired as your grow and develop as a player.

But a lot of times there’s a challenge associated with this task: What do you do when it’s hard to hear exactly what the drummer on the recording is playing? It can quickly become frustrating when you’re trying to play along…but you’re realizing your parts are never lining up with his parts. This is where learning a song can suddenly become exasperating. How do we get around this? Here are my “song-learning” steps that I think will help…

1. Before you ever actually play along with the recording, listen to the song a few times. Familiarize...