Gediminas from Lithuania asks about pre-show routines:
1) What are your pre-show routines?
2) How do you warm up your hands, body, and mind before hitting the stage?
3) What helps prepare you for the show when you're backstage?
Thank you so much for sending this question in Gediminas!
1) LISTEN IN iTUNES (RECOMMENDED)
2) LISTEN IN BROWSER
Gediminas from Lithuania asks a fantastic question: When you have limited time during the day, what should you practice? How can you get better even if you don’t have very much time to practice?
In this episode, I’ll show you how time should not correlated with progress. I’ll even prove to you that lack of time can actually become harnessed as a superpower!
I'll also discuss in detail my 5 STEPS for creating an effective practice plan:
STEP ONE: DEFINE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT GOAL RIGHT NOW
STEP TWO: SET A DEADLINE FOR YOUR GOAL
STEP THREE: DEFINE HOW YOU'LL MEASURE SUCCESS
STEP FOUR: CREATE YOUR PRACTICE ROADMAP
STEP FIVE: CREATE YOUR PRACTICE CALENDAR
1) LISTEN IN iTUNES (RECOMMENDED)
2) LISTEN IN BROWSER
Ben from Indiana asks about how to give feedback to other bandmates. In this episode, I'll talk about:
- How to give constructive feedback to other musicians.
- How to frame your suggestion in the right way.
- How to create an environment where regular feedback is appreciated.
- How to know whether or not you should offer advice in the first place.
- How to not offend your bandmates when you offer feedback.
- How to deal with musicians who may be unreceptive to feedback.
Enjoy!
2) LISTEN IN BROWSER
Things you'll learn from this podcast:
- Why are my ear plugs are making the music sound bad?
- What kind of ear plugs are best for drummers?
- What filter is best? (8db, 15db, or 25db?)
- How do I best protect my ears in the practice room?
Westone - Musician's Ear Plugs
ATD Episode 9: What are the pros & cons of wearing in-ear monitors?
ATD Episode 15: What can I do to prevent tinnitus?
Shure SE535-CL Sound Isolating Earphones with Triple High Definition MicroDrivers
2) Listen in browser
- Defining the specific snare drum sound you’re looking for.
- My favorite resource for tuning your drums, especially when you’re having issues.
- How the venue can affect the sound of your drums.
- How stick choice can change the sound of your drums.
2) Listen in browser
It's happened to us all at some point... you're sitting in and a tune is called that you don't know.
How do you "drive the bus" even if you don't know the tune?
In this episode, I'll cover the 3 most important things you need to know when "winging it" on a gig.
Thanks to CJ from New York for sending in this question!
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE NOW:
2) Listen in browser
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Here's what you'll learn in this podcast:
1) The two factors that determine how ears are damaged.
2) How long you can play drums before damaging your ears. (spoiler: it's MUCH shorter than you think)
3) What type of ear plugs all drummers should be wearing.
4) Outside of wearing ear plugs, what else you can do to prevent ear damage.
5) What the "earbud culture" is and how to avoid it.
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
-5 Tips For In-Ear Monitors (Video)
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
2) In Browser
Video version: http://www.rulesfordrummers.com
I asked Peter Erskine, Jeff Hamilton, Zoro, Johnny Rabb, Curt Bisquera, Ari Hoenig, Victor Indrizzo, Jonathan Mover, Walfredo Reyes Jr., Steve Fidyk, Bermuda Schwartz, Dan Needham, Bruce Becker, Bill Bachman, Jeff Queen, Pete Lockett, Andre Boyd, Nick Ruffini, Dave Kropf, Richie Gajate-Garcia, Tim Lefevbre, and many more to give their top piece of advice to drummers.
The catch… THEY COULD ONLY USE THREE WORDS!
I hope this video inspires YOU to think about what it means to be a drummer.
As we get ready for 2017, if you were to truly focus on just ONE of these rules each week, you'd have almost 2 years worth of concepts to help improve your playing!
Thank you to the following drummers/instrumentalists/vocalists/educators:
==
100 Steve Bradley
99 Eugene McGhee
98 Max Marshall
97 Conrad Askland
96 John Marque
95 Reese
94 *** JEFF HAMILTON ***
93 Clint Dodson
92 Paul Westlake
91 Ian Shepherd
90 ***CURT BISQUERA***
89 Francisco Dean
88 Jonathan Savage
87 ***ARI HOENIG***
86 ***ZORO***
85 Nikhi Korrula
84 Jay North
83 Joseph Luna
82 Kyle Acuncius
81 Seth Nordin
80 Eric Siereveld
79 Ariel Levine
78 ***BRUCE BECKER***
77 Corey Christiansen
76 ***DAN NEEDHAM***
75 Joel Brainard
74 Ed Gaus
73 Jacob Miranda
72 ***ANDRE BOYD***
71 Andre “Virus” Karkos, Jemma Armstrong, Nina Schreckengost
70 Jeff McLaughlin
69 Mike Garza
68 Alan Frye
67 Greg Essig
66 Martin Plante
65 ***TIM LEFEVBRE***
64 Kim McKewon
63 Tanya Rimwell
62 Ben Sturley
61 Richard Livoni
60 Paul Wandtke
59 Conrad Roach
58 Diego Rojas
57 ***PETE LOCKETT***
56 Nick Stevens
55 ***PETER ERSKINE***
54 Nick Lang
53 ***DAVE KROPF***
52 Dustin Koester
51 Tom Haberman
50 Ed Kornhauser
49 ***WALFREDO REYES JR.***
48 ***RICHIE GAJATE-GARCIA***
47 Jeff Franca
46 Nick McLaren
45 Tom Berich
44 Jesse Gawlick, Brad Sweet, Chelsea Baker
43 Marc Aliana
42 Chris Singleton
41 Doug Cameron
40 ***VICTOR INDRIZZO***
39 Broc Power
38 Mackenzie Leighton
37 ***JOHNNY RABB***
36 Steve Pruitt
35 ***JEFF QUEEN***
34 Jay Ware
33 Nick Ruffini
32 Justin Ramirez
31 Colin Campbell
30 Lizzie Shipton
29 Ryan Knudsen
28 Andy Bianco
27 Brian Blume
26 ***STEVE FIDYK***
25 ***BERMUDA SCHWARTZ***
24 ***JONATHAN MOVER***
23 Nate Lee
22 Michael Tadeo
21 Colin Leske
20 Peter Schomburg
19 Johnny Mantra
18 ***BILL BACHMAN***
17 Jim Bailey
16 Matt Black
15 Andy Smith
14 Brad Waits
13 Reuben Gingrich
12 CJ Young
11 Andrew Bache
10 Ben Matthews
9 Chad Kethcart
8 Matt Piet
7 Andrew Fowler
6 Shaan France
5 Gino Del Sole
4 Tommy Goddard
3 Aaron Smith
2 Ken Ge
1 Grant Thomas
Download a PDF of all 100 rules here: http://www.rulesfordrummers.com
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
1) Listen in iTUNES (recommended)
2) In Browser
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
This week’s question comes from Richard in Seattle WA who asks about buying his first practice drum kit. How should he spend his money wisely? In this episode, I’ll offer my tips for how to purchase your first drum set, especially if you’re on a budget.
Show notes and links for this episode can be found at http://www.askthedrummer.com
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
Here are some suggestions to get you started. Keep in mind that there are MANY drum companies who offer great products at an affordable price, so do a bit of research and see what deals you can find.
My best money-saving suggestion is to search for PACKS of gear, rather than buying each piece separately as this will save you a lot of money. I’d also suggest searching eBay as you can usually find incredible deals if you’re on a tight budget.
CYMBAL PACKS:
Zildjian Cymbal Pack
Sabian Cymbal Pack
DRUM SET PACKS:
Pearl Export EXX Drum Set
Yamaha Gigmaker Drum Set
Tama Imperial Star Drum Set
HARDWARE PACKS:
Gibraltar Hardware Pack
Yamaha Hardware Pack
Pacific Drums Hardware Pack
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Matt from Austin, TX asks how to discover new drum sounds. What do you do when you start to get bored with your own playing? In this episode, I’ll explain how to use the formula IMAGINATION + RESTRICTION = CREATIVITY to create an infinite number of new sounds on your kit.
Show notes and links for this episode can be found at http://www.askthedrummer.com
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
RULES FOR DRUMMERS - Rule 16: Use Your Imagination!
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
In this episode, I'll show you what Active Listening is by deconstructing the tune "So What" by Miles Davis. Active Listening is a game-changer for how you can listen to music. I'll also be reading listener comments and talk about my upcoming trip to Asia!
Show notes and links for this episode can be found at http://www.askthedrummer.com
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
2) In Browser
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Ben from Florida asks about locking in with other bandmates. What do you do if you can’t seem to lock in the pocket with another musician? In this episode, I offer my thoughts and tips on how to approach these situations when they come up.
Show notes and links for this episode can be found at http://www.askthedrummer.com
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
1) Listen Now In iTUNES (Recommended)
2) In Browser
DRUMMERS... HOW DO YOU LOCK IN WITH OTHER MUSICIANS?
What do YOU do when you have trouble locking in with another musician?
Enter your comments, tips, or suggestions in the comments section below and I may choose to read your comment on a future episode of the ATD podcast!
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Johnny from Indianapolis asks about selecting a drum stick. Do you pick a versatile stick for all genres or do you use different sticks for different gigs? In this episode, I discuss the 6 factors that go into drum stick design, and how you can use this information to find the right stick for the job.
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
After listening to this episode, I’d recommend browsing the website of your favorite stick company to see what options they offer.
Full disclosure: I proudly endorse Promark Drum Sticks and recommend them for both the quality and consistency of the sticks they produce.
To see exactly which sticks I use, click HERE. To check out their full drum stick catalog, visit www.promark.com. Be sure to take special note of the "Select Balance” series, which I highly recommend checking out.
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
1) Listen in iTUNES (recommended)
2) In Browser
Enter your thoughts/tips in the comments section below. I may choose to read your comments on a future episode of the ATD podcast!
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Shaan from Indianapolis asks about in-ear monitors for drummers. Should you get the custom molds? How many drivers should they have? In this episode, I discuss the pros & cons of wearing in-ear monitors and offer tips on what specific models you should look for.
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
Shure SE535-CL Sound Isolating Earphones with Triple High Definition MicroDrivers
What are your own thoughts on in-ear monitors? Do you love them? Hate them?
What brand/model do you use?
Do you have any tips for drummers who wear in-ear monitors?
Enter your comments in the section below. If selected, I may choose to read YOUR comment on a future ATD Update episode!
In this episode, I'll offer my favorite stretches to do right before the gig.
It only takes about 1-2 minutes to complete this entire stretch routine.
The Rules For Drummers Project: www.rulesfordrummers.com
Adam Deitch
Benny Greb
Billy Ward
2) Listen in browser (Be sure to subscribe in iTunes if you want access to future episodes)
Add your pre-show warmup routine by adding it to the comments section at the bottom of this page! Depending on how many comments are submitted, I may choose to read YOUR comment on a future ATD Update episode!
Jay from South Carolina asks about gigs that require you to play in all styles.
-How should you tune your drums in a way that can handle all styles while still sounding authentic?
-If you have a gig like this coming up, what gear should you bring?
In this episode, I’ll show you how to make smart compromises to the sound of your kit.
2) In Browser
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Nick from Wisconsin asks about how to build a personal website:
-What should you include?
-What shouldn’t you include?
-How do you get started?
In this episode, I’ll give you a step-by-step guide (below) to building a personal website from scratch.
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
SQUARESPACE: www.squarespace.com (Promo Code TBA)
GOOGLE DOMAINS: https://domains.google/
RULES FOR DRUMMMERS: www.rulesfordrummers.com
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
2) YouTube
Hey everybody, this is Steve Such and welcome to the Ask The Drummer Podcast. Today we have a question about building a website. So, let’s go ahead and get to the question:
“Hi Steve, this is Nick Lang from Milwaukee, WI and my question involves building a personal website. As a drummer/educator for hire, what information would you say is most essential for my website? Also, what SHOULDN’T I include? And as a person with limited skills, are there any website building services that have helped you? Any information would be super helpful. Thanks."
Thank you so much for the question Nick, this is a question about building a website. And I’ll be honest, when I first started out, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to a website. I kind of had to figure out everything myself. And I sure wish that I had something to refer to when I was building my website! So what I want to do in this episode is give you a step-by-step guide on how to build a website.
Let’s imagine that you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing, you’re starting from complete scratch and you want to know, “What do I need to do to get started with a website?"
I’ve broken it down into 7 steps:
I’m going to go through each of these steps in a little bit more detail and we’ll talk about what exactly you should do.
STEP 1: BUY A DOMAIN NAME
The domain name is the name that people will type in on the search bar in order to find your website. For example, my domain name is www.stevesuchdrums.com. I also have separate domains for other projects like this podcast. So if you go to www.askthedrummer.com or www.askthedrummerpodcast.com, it will automatically reroute to www.stevesuchdrums.com.
Basically, the point here is that you need to have a custom domain. You need to have [yournamedrums].com or [yourname].com. It’s really important because if you have a really long confusing free domain, it’s not as powerful as having your own name listed in the search results.
So when someone actually searches for your name... for example if they type in STEVE SUCH, my website will come up. It’s really important to have a custom domain name, and you should definitely get this as soon as possible if you don’t already have one.
There’s a lot of places where you can get custom domains, the place that I use is Google Domains. So you can literally just go to Google and type in Google Domains and it will bring you to the page and I believe it’s $12/year for your own domain name.
STEP 2: BUY A WEB HOSTING SERVICE
Unless you’re a computer programmer or a web designer, you’re not going to know how to build your page, so to keep it super simple, you should get a web hosting service. The service that I use is called Squarespace (I’m sure if a lot of you listen to podcasts, you’ve heard them talk about Squarespace in their ads). I have been using Squarespace for about 8-9 years now and it’s completely awesome. I’m not going to go into huge detail about it because I’m not trying to be an ad for Squarespace or anything like that, but it’s super easy to use and you literally have to have no web experience. You can just drag and drop stuff, so it’s super easy and I’d highly recommend it.
STEP 3: CREATE A ROADMAP FOR YOUR SITE
What I mean by “roadmap” is sort of like a "table-of-contents". There’s 4 different pages that I think are absolutely crucial to your website:
The first is a HOME PAGE, the second is a BIO PAGE, the third is a VIDEOS PAGE, and the fourth is a CONTACT PAGE.
The HOME PAGE is the first thing that people will see when they get to your website. Maybe it has a specific call-to-action like “check out this new album” or “check out this project that I’m doing” or “check out this news” or whatever it might be. The home page is the first stop for people. It also shows where people can go on the website.
The BIO PAGE is where you include a bio about yourself. Maybe you have a nice picture and include a bio. I wouldn’t recommend making a super long bio because, think about it: If you ever go to someone’s page and you check out their bio, you’re not going to read a 3 page bio… you’re just going to read a little bit or skim through it. So I would recommend keeping your bio short.
The third page you need is a VIDEOS PAGE… This is super important because your website is basically like your business card, and if people don’t have a way of checking out your playing, then the whole thing is kind of pointless. So you need to have a videos page where you may be linked to your YouTube channel. If you don’t have a YouTube channel by now, you should definitely have one because again, it’s a way for people to see your playing, and follow what you’re doing. The cool thing about Squarespace is you can just embed the videos right on the page, it’s super easy.
The last page that I think you really need is some sort of a CONTACT PAGE. So this is maybe where you have a form where people can email you, or you put your phone number or maybe if you’re doing lessons you could say that you’re available for lessons, etc. You just need to have some sort of a page where if people want to reach out to you, they can.
Some optional pages that you might need: Some people like to include a SCHEDULE/TOUR PAGE, (I have this on my website), this is for people that are touring a lot and you want people to know where you’re at.
The second optional page that I would recommend is a NEWS PAGE. If you have big things coming up like an album release or some kind of accomplishment that you’ve done or maybe an article that you’ve written or something like that, you could put it in your NEWS PAGE, and that way people can see what you’re up to there.
Obviously, there’s a ton of other pages, it just depends on what you’re doing. For example, for me I have this podcast, so I have my own podcast page (www.askthedrummer.com), I also have another project called RULES FOR DRUMMERS, (www.rulesfordrummers.com), so on my website I have different pages that are just devoted to those projects. So it really just depends on what the purpose of your website is.
STEP 4: BUILD THE PAGES OF YOUR WEBSITE
Okay. So we’ve bought our domain name, we’ve got a web hosting service, we’ve made the roadmap of our website, now we’re ready to start building the page.
There’s a few tips I have on building your page:
1) Take it one page at a time: I would start with the home page... make it look really nice. Do the best work that you can and then just move on to the next page. Don’t try to bounce back and forth and do everything all at once. It’s a lot better if you just spend some time focusing on each page and then move on.
2) You should keep your website clean and straightforward. Don’t have a ton of text, don’t make weird colors, don’t have weird backgrounds on your pictures. All of that stuff is just going to make it really difficult to read. I wish that I could show you guys some of my first website designs because it looked really awful! I had this distracting picture of me drumming in the background and I had green text and it looked awful! It was giving you a headache when you were reading it, so hopefully it’s a lot better now and I’m still learning as I go. I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to this, but you want to keep it clean and straightforward and basic. Less is more.
3) If you ever include a picture in your website, this is a little quick tip: Make sure that the file name is related to your actual name. So a lot of times when you save a picture and you upload it, it will have random numbers, letters, etc. But if you actually name it [your name], that helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), so for example, if you type in Steve Such and you go to IMAGES, you’ll actually see different pictures from my website. The only reason they show is because I’ve labeled them "Steve Such". So that’s just a little tip if you’re thinking long-term and you want to have a presence on Google.
STEP 5: CHECK FOR ERRORS
Okay, so let’s say you’ve finished building your website and everything is as good as you can get it right now. Don’t get overwhelmed, this is just version 1.0! You’re always going to be tweaking your website; you’re always going to be making improvements.
When I first started, there were tons of different errors on my website. I had spelling errors, broken links, things like that. You want to make sure that you go through and just test EVERYTHING. Test everything that’s clickable, proofread everything just to make sure that there’s no errors.
Think about it: If you came across a website that had errors on it, you immediately wouldn't really trust that source or wouldn't think that they’re serious enough to put in time to proofread their site. Mistakes happen, so it’s just really important to go through and check for errors.
STEP 6: ASK PEOPLE FOR FEEDBACK
Once you have everything published and you have your website up and running, Step 6 is to ask people for feedback. This was a HUGE step for me! I’ve had this website going for a really long time and I never really asked for feedback from people.
For example, for this project that I’ve been doing for while (called RULES FOR DRUMMERS), I finally asked someone for feedback. I said, “Hey, could you just take a look at the website and let me know your impressions?” They didn’t know anything about the project and I wanted to get an outsider’s perspective.
I asked: “What is it like when you first go to the website?”
The first thing they said was “Dude, this is so confusing… there’s all these articles, there’s so much content I have no idea where to go first! I have no idea what to do… it’s like information overload!”
So, if I hadn’t got that feedback, the website would have stayed that way and it would have been really hard for people to navigate. So I made a "welcome section" at the top that explains what the project is, and it also suggests a couple of links to check out first, articles that I think are representative of some of my better work.
I noticed that I started getting a ton more traffic on the website and people stayed on the site for longer and people were clicking through. And that’s all because I got feedback from someone!
Make sure that you get feedback about what people LIKE about your page and what people DON’T like about your page!
STEP 7: SHARE YOUR WEBSITE
Once you have everything up and running and you feel really good about it, there’s a couple of things that you should do:
1) On your email signature, you should include your website at the bottom of your emails. Now, when you send an email to anyone, they will see your website at the bottom of the email. It’s a really great way to get people to visit your website.
2) Share your website on Facebook. If you have a Facebook page, you can link your website on there, and if you don’t have a Facebook Page you can just share it: You can say “Hey everybody, I’ve launched this website, I’d love to hear what you think, etc."
CONCLUSION
Thank you so much for the question, I really appreciate it! I hope you all have a great week. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. This has been really fun for me to get going… this is something that I’ve really wanted to do for a long time so I appreciate you listening; I’d love ANY feedback that you have on the podcast.
Head over to www.askthedrummer.com, you can check out all of the episode show notes, and I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to send me an email or Facebook message. I want to hear from you guys! Let me know what you think of this podcast.
Have a great and I’ll see you next week. Caio for now!
Mark from Colorado asks how he can improve the efficiency/speed of his load-in/loud-out process. In this episode, I’ll offer tips on how to create systems for yourself when it comes to:
1) Loading your drums
2) Unloading your drums
3) Setting your drums up
4) Tearing your drums down.
1) iTunes (Recommended)
2) In Browser
In this episode, I explain a super-quick "drum hack" on how to get more life out of your drum sticks. All you need is a sharpie marker.
Our question this week comes from Gino in Toronto Canada, who asks what you should do when working with a sound engineer who seems to be a bit jaded. Unfortunately, these situations do happen from time to time.
In this episode, I'll offer my specific tips for working with difficult sound engineers.
![[DRUM HACKS] - How Do I Make My Drum Sticks Last Longer? | Ask The Drummer Podcast #004](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54bc39a9e4b06f2c55f5b7bb/1468601483922-FX6X3JK0FV6Y0553EH8Z/AskTheDrummerLogo2.JPG)
