The secret is throwing the sticks. That's the way my mentor, Alfredo Golino, put it, and there's no better way to summarize what effortless drumming is about. We don’t force the movements, we don’t hit too hard, we just let the sticks fall, and let gravity pull them down naturally and do the work. The post Mechanics and Moeller – Using Gravity and Rebound to Play Effortlessly appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

Cymbal articulations are the set of nuances related to the way we play the Hi-Hat or Ride cymbals: which notes are accented, how are the accents supposed to be played, how open or close is the Hi-Hat. These elements, which may seem insignificant details, are actually incredibly powerful in personalizing our beats, and knowing how to use them will contribute to take our groove and drum arrangement skills to the next level. The post Hi-Hat Articulations – A Technique to Enhance Groove and Arrangements appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

Learning, improving, and honing our chops is a lifelong process, and definitely a long term goal for any serious drummer. Can we express all we feel and have to say, with what we are able to play? Unless the answer is yes, we need to go practice some more. Here is an action plan. The post How to Improve Your Drum Chops appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

In playing a hybrid Drum Set there are three main challenges: 1) Getting used to the specific response and rebound of electronic pads. 2) Effortlessly moving back and forth between acoustic and electronic drums. 3) Playing rhythms that involve both acoustic and electronic sounds simultaneously. The exercises we are going to work on are devised exactly to address these situations, and help us become comfortable no matter what the setup. The post Hybrid Drumming – Exercises, Beats, Drumless Track appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

Today entry level gear is so affordable that there is no reason why we shouldn’t set up our own personal studio in the space where we practice. Let's discover how to start building it. The post How To Set Up Your Home Studio – Minimal and Effective Guide appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

Some of the biggest challenges we have to overcome in order to play drums with great technique are those related to orchestrating ideas around the Drum Set. This program uses the 9 stroke roll to explore progressive studies which will turn us into agile drummers who aren’t affected by different rebounds and positions. The post How to Practice the 9 Stroke Roll – Part 2 – Orchestrations and Agility appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

The chain of sound influences the quality of the final result according to two principles: 1) It’s the weakest link that most affects the overall quality. 2) The first links have much greater weight. Let's discover how to record beautiful sounding drum tracks using this concept. The post The Chain of Sound – The Key to Recording Beautiful Drum Tracks appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

In this lesson we are going to discover and practice the powerful principles that, while working on a 9 stroke roll, will take our drum technique to a whole new level. The post How to Practice the 9 Stroke Roll – Part 1 – Parameters appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

Knowing many styles and being able to handle a greater range of requests seems to be the main way to access a greater number of job opportunities. While this is true, there are more important reasons for studying many genres and striving for greater versatility. The post Why Versatility is Important appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more

The Setup is an incredibly musical component of interpretation which consists of preparing, in advance and by playing a fill, the musical meaning of the rhythmic figures that are about to be executed. In this lesson we are going to explore a number of examples to internalize the way it works. The post The Setup of Rhythmic Figures – Theory, Interpretation, Examples appeared first on - Confident Drummer ..read more