Drum It With Brummet

  Quote of the Day Dave and I enjoy browsing YouTube for concerts, live performances, and other outstanding performances. As such we come across some amazing finds. This world is absolutely brimming with amazing talent.  During one of these evenings we came across one of  Santana's  concerts and during this Carlos broke from the music twice to communicate positive and inspiring messages with the crowd.  I did my best to transcribe one of these min-speeches here below. The impact this had on the live crowd absolutely blue my mind ... I hope you enjoy it too: "We come from only 2 things: Light and Love, Light and love, ...not fear! Light and Love. If you remember one thing tonight let it be this: You are significant! You are meaningful! You matter and you can make a difference in the world! It is not just the Dali Lama or Mother Teressa, no uh-uh This is about you and me: Light and Love. Let us say: 'It is my choice, It is my decision to make every day The best day of my lif

  A strong performance by this cuban percussion extravaganza, starts out with youth doing stomp-like syncopated body-drumming followed by a latin band, with a conga player that is having a great time. This video shares a whole mix of percussion styles from around the world, mostly South American and African.   A closing with 6 drum-set players and then all the performers from the show sharing the stage for a massive drum conclusion makes for an entertaining 1 hour video. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ChUDZxzE_p8 ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

Virgil Donati -  Stockholm 2007  A must see. Virgil is definitely one of the super drummers of our time. The levels that he has taken double bass drumming is absolutely amazing -  check out the double stroke rolls with his feet!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n--nDc_mb1Y ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

Racks and stands and Clamps – oh my! Racks and stands – that vital part of a drum set or percussion rig that keeps it all together and in the right place but often gets neglected when it comes to maintaining and repairing. Threads will get stripped or tight when full of dusty road grime and it is easy to extend their life with simple, regular maintenance. Avoid over tightening of any wingnut or clamp and consider memory locks for the hardware taking considerable stress due to weight or heavy hitting. An future article will discuss memory locks in more detail.  My personal routine includes cleaning and oiling ANY threads with out fail when its time for a cleaning. The regularity will depend on how dirty your instrument gets. Also the roll/split pins that attach cymbal boom arms together will loosen over time and cause a wobble to the arm. Tap them out with a small punch and replace with sufficiently tight roll pins. When it comes to my rack I check and replace any damaged rubber gaskets

Tuba Skinny   This Dixi-land New Orleans blues vibe band is so fascinating to watch.  Check out the sousaphone or marching tuba player, who kept the flow even though he was obviously blinded by the stage lights.  The amazing, and entertaining, washboard player with a twist -   a fry pan, coffee can and an old cymbal.  The trumpet player is absolutely fantastic, as is that clarinet player - what a character !  Each playing a talented array of sounds in a a syncopated fashion, yet coming together in this amazing end product.  https://youtu.be/861jOEqVr4Q ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

  Bass Drum Levelling Proper levelling of your drum kit’s bass drum can save your expensive investment from certain damage. When I first starting playing drums I had no idea there was a certain way to set up your bass drum to “level” it properly. I just clamped the kick pedal on and played away not knowing that I was potentially stressing the edge of the hoop and the drum itself by not having properly levelled the bass drum to the floor. When the pedal is clamped onto the back (batter) side of your bass drum it lifts the drum off the floor by around an inch or so. If the same isn’t done to the front of the bass drum it will not be level to the floor and in turn will cause the pedal itself to rise up at the heel end. It will not sit flat until you put weight on it and start playing (careful!) and this is when the dangerous torqueing of the drum and hoop takes place. Something to most definitely avoid. To properly level the bass drum my method is as follows: Once the drum is in place and

Today we will be sharing a great resource for learning to play better drum solos produced by Keith Carlock. This is Dave's favourite video when he is trying to create a solo. Note at 8.33 minutes his ideas of switching from 6/8 to 12/8 to 3/4. Very special indeed.  https://youtu.be/FtWgZaZ8ElA ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

  With the home studio being the most likely place where you are going to be recording your own projects and demos, here are some things I have learned to keep in mind when recording percussion. I developed a vital technique from studio work regarding recording shaker and tambourine tracks. Our first instinct is to stand in front of a microphone facing it (like a vocalist) and playing away as normal. Not such a good idea with what I call the swinging instruments like shakers and tambourines. When you face the mic head-on, any back swing of a shaker carries it further away from the microphone making it notably quieter then the forward swings, resulting in an un-natural feel.  Now if you take a step to the side of the mic swinging the instrument “across”  the path of the microphone you get a much more balanced, musical sound. Additionally,  you can visually determine if you are 4 or 12 inches away from the mic and consistently retain that distance. In the case of a tambourine you need to

 Never Give Up On Your Dreams * Lillian met Rosalind Winton online & invited her to drop in to share some of her experiences in producing her album, Another Direction . She invites you to visit her on Facebook as well ( facebook.com/rosalind.winton ). :) My name is Rosalind Winton and I’m a poet and song lyricist. I’ve been writing all my life.  In November 2023, my dream of writing lyrics for an album came true. It’s called ANOTHER DIRECTION. It took three years to complete and was a colossal task, but finally releasing it was an amazing feeling. I get asked a lot. “ What comes first, the lyric, or the music ?” My very short answer is “ both ”.  For the album, five of the twelve songs were ideas and melodies that my collaborator, A.J. Clarke gave me. I then wrote lyrics appropriate to the titles he gave me and fit them in to his melodies. Another six were lyrics I already had that A.J. put music to. One of them we wrote together at the same time. Some of the music and all the voc

 Featuring the Anouar Brahem Quartet today; note the drummer's technique in how he delicately gets the sounds with just his fingertips. A great example of the dynamics that low level acoustic volumes can allow.  This video showcases the very talented: Anouar Brahem - oud Klaus Gesing - bass clarinet Bjorn Meyer - electric bass Khaled Yassine - darbouka & bendir   https://youtu.be/IYYEQL72wtg ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

I both play and teach drum set and auxiliary percussion - congas, bongos, timbales, cowbells, blocks, shakers, etc. When I am playing live in the percussionist mode I am usually limited to how many channels on the sound board I can have for my microphones. Typically I’ll get one each for my congas and bongos and a third for over my rack, which has my timbales, cowbells and blocks. From experience in both live and studio work I have learned that there is a certain way to set up my rack so that sounds of different “sonic intensities” – or volumes are balanced for the one and only microphone that lurks above the rack.  Obviously my bar chimes that are tinkly and delicate are no match for full blown rim shots on the timbales – so yes, they would be un-matched in intensity. But what about the cowbells, woodblocks, and weird sound effects in between all that? Sometimes we have to gauge what is more intense by simply using our own ears as a guide. For example: you wouldn’t play a cowbell next

Sunday In The Park connects talented performers with stage opportunities during the warm months.   http://www.sundayinthepark.ca ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

Marco Minnemann - Drum For Your Life, Drumeo Video :  Check out this fascinating video where Marco displays some very interesting time changes. This is not your typical wackity-wack drummer.  See how he melodically plays, seamless, flawless, and with class. https://youtu.be/Z89riOo-8pM ~~   Find us online via :  https://taplink.cc/brummet  ~~

Inner Dynamic Control One of the common questions my drum set students asks of me is: “ What can I do to be a better drummer ?” This is a big question to answer for sure because there are so many facets of being a “better” drummer.  The most important tool for becoming a better drummer is to hone your dynamics. Of course we all need to be able to play quiet or loud depending on what the song - or part of the song is requiring. As drummers we need to be aware of the different dynamics of each venue we play at (whether the room is loud and boomy, or tight and hushed). Drummers need to be aware of what I call “inner dynamics” that will be required for each of these different rooms.  For instance one of the venues my band Tantrum plays at regularly has a large, long, high ceiling with a good sized dance floor. There is a wonderful, natural resonance to the room and I can play pretty much unrestricted. I don’t mean loud and crazy, I just mean I don’t need to adjust, within my kit, which par