Learn Drums For Free – Page 7 – A blog to help with learning and teaching Drums. Written by Theo Lawrence / TL Music Books.

Drumming for Mental Health: How Playing Drums Can Help Relieve Stress and Anxiety

A note from learndrumsforfree.com – Many thanks to Patrick for writing this article. I can certainly say that playing drums helped me get through my teenage years. I also think as an adult, stresses can get intense in many different ways and that drumming is an excellent and fun way of releasing stress. Before you read the article, I would like to draw attention to the word ‘Relieve’ in the title, because it’s important to note that this isn’t going to be a total fix, but it could be one of the things that helps. One point that I would like to add is that if you already can play the drums and haven’t been playing them much for a while, and you have stress and anxiety in your life, then I can’t think of a better reason to get into a regular practice routine. See if it helps.

There’s meditation, exercise, and holistic diets to help people with mental health issues–but one overlooked hobby to help reduce stress is playing a musical instrument, particularly drums. What are some of the mental health benefits of playing drums? Read to find out more.

When people think of musical instruments, they immediately associate it with talents or passion. A person usually plays drums because it’s their life calling–though it can be an exaggeration at times, this is true for the most part.

However, playing drums can also serve not just as a hobby or passion, but rather as a catalyst for change in terms of mental health. With mental health problems on the rise such as anxiety and depression, people are trying to find healthy, non-medicated ways to deal with their condition.

The current state of mental health problems

Anxiety disorders are considered one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. Almost 20% of the country’s population have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders, and the numbers continue to rise. This also excludes people who show anxiety or depressive disorders without going through a proper medical diagnosis.

Mental health problems can be quite a challenge to detect and manage because unlike physical diseases, their symptoms can be subtle or deliberately hidden from others. Some people who go through mental health issues can often be scared to come out due to the negative stigma associated with conditions such as anxiety or depression.

Some of the common signs of anxiety and depression include:

Constant rumination of worries that snowball and get bigger and bigger
Breathing problems
Panic attacks
Feelings of paranoia
Lack of interest in daily activities
Overeating or loss of appetite
Feeling hopeless, down, or distressed for prolonged periods of time
Thoughts of self-harm
Irritability towards others
Easily agitated
Difficulty coping with responsibilities

Remember that the symptoms of anxiety and depression can overlap. Since anxious people are often depressed, they also tend to seek unhealthy coping methods such as addictions or self-harm. If you think that you or a loved one’s life may be at risk, don’t hesitate to seek help right away.

The best way to deal with mental health problems is to seek medical attention as soon as possible. A psychiatrist will be able to recommend specific strategies, both through medical interventions and therapeutic strategies to help address the condition. Some of the most common strategies to help people with anxiety is through pursuit of hobbies and interests. Anxiety disorders can be relieved through art, music, or movement.

How does playing drums help relieve stress and anxiety?

Vibrations and beats can help reduce stress levels in the body.

Although drums are not considered part of the melody and you can’t really think of notes and tunes, it is true that vibrations and beats can still help reduce stress levels in the body. This is because the rhythm being introduced auditorily helps release the antibodies called immunoglobin A. Immunoglobin A is a substance that helps reduce cortisol levels. Cortisol is a responsible trigger for stress and anxiety.

When cortisol levels are continuously high, the body responds through various physical and mental symptoms. You may be prone to more infections, be at risk for cardiovascular diseases, and also develop anxiety disorders. Playing drums and learning to follow through rhythms can help boost antibodies for your overall wellness.

Drumming is a physical activity.

It’s no longer a mystery with how physical activity can help relieve mental health problems. This is because when we exercise, our bodies release neurochemicals such as dopamine and serotonin which are considered “feel-good” substances. These chemicals are naturally released in the body which provides us with vitality and elevated moods.

Thus, drumming can also be an option for people who want to hit three birds in one stone–those who want to relieve mental tension, learn a new skill, and burn calories all at the same time! One hour of drumming can help burn about 250 calories for an 180 lb individual. Some common cardio exercises like indoor cycling, running, or dancing can produce identical results. If you’re musically inclined but want to be physically active, then drumming might just be the perfect hobby for you.

Playing drums is also a mindfulness exercise.

One of the roadblocks to curing anxiety and depression is constant rumination of past experiences or worries that are in the far future or non-existent. Mindfulness is the principle that helps people think of the present moment to release their thoughts and feelings from forming irrational responses.

Playing the drums means learning how to tap or respond to the rhythm being played, or being able to set a consistent pace. This requires the brain to think of the present with complete focus in order to avoid losing the beat. In a way, playing the drums can be a great way to include as a part of one’s mindfulness routines for treating anxiety and depression.

Playing through rhythmic music can make you smarter.

It may be puzzling to see a connection here, but it is good to know that researchers saw a correlation with increased intelligence scores and playing to rhythmic music such as tapping the drums. It is apparent that keeping a steady beat helps develop the brain’s problem solving skills.

Often, people with anxiety or depressive mood disorders can have a lack of self-worth. They would often feel unaccomplished or unable to ‘match up’ to other people in terms of their skills and accomplishments in life. Playing the drums can serve as a way to boost one’s confidence and motivation to continuously pursue a potential musical passion.

Playing the drums can be a social activity.

Music is a universal language–it transcends language barriers and helps people connect despite their diversities. Listening to music, playing music, and enjoying music together is one of the best social activities one can engage in.

When people play drums, it can be an open door to form friendships, share life experiences, and simply enjoy the presence of others through music. Thus, it can be a helpful social activity that can reduce anxiety and depression.

Drum your stresses away

Sometimes, passions are discovered in the moment. If you are on the fence about the exploring the wonderful world of drumming, perhaps you can give the hobby a try as a stress reliever. Who knows? It can help give a sense of fulfillment that you may not have experienced if it weren’t for picking up that drumstick or trying out that first tap.

Other instruments can help too. Read here about the surprising benefits of playing guitar.

The Role Of A Drum Throne For Correct Drumming Posture

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Guest Blog Post by Drum Helper

Lots of drummers are all too happy to play without much consideration for proper drumming posture. After all, it’s not as much fun to take a sensible and well thought out approach before wailing away at the drums!

However, it is very important. This is because injury prevention is the single best way to ensure you remain healthy, fit and active. Improper posture can cause back injuries, hypertension and poor mobility.

Not only is it important for promoting positive physical health, but also for improving performance. Playing the drums with correct form and posture will allow a drummer to play with greater fluidity and exercise better control behind the drum set.

Being able to play the drums comfortably will translate to how you perform for each rehearsal and performance.

The foundation of correct drumming posture lies with the drum throne and the height it is set at.

Drum Throne Height

This is the most overlooked aspect of maintaining a good drumming posture, and I see far too many drummers sitting at an incorrect height (in correlation to their own frame) whilst playing the drums.

The drum throne is required to be positioned according to a drummer’s own height. This means if you are 6 foot you will position yourself much higher than someone who is only 5 foot 5. Drum thrones have a large range of height adjustment so don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works best for you.

Frequently I see tall drummers sitting far too low down and because their legs are far more extended out and then find themselves having to reach further to play the toms and cymbals within the drum set.

As a general rule, you will want to have your knees sloping downwards at a slight angle. You will want your spine and lower back sitting above your knees. So this means avoiding having a 90-degree angle for your legs.

Being sat at the correct height means you can also comfortably reach all the drum set components whilst conserving energy.

Once the drum throne is a correct height, the pedals will be required to be positioned to exactly where the feet fall naturally. And the batter head of the snare drum should sitting around 1 or 2 inches above the knees.

Invest in a Supportive Drum Throne

Good quality drum thrones offer superior comfort and support to cheaper alternatives. Quality thrones feature high-density foam cushions that support weight evenly and retain its original mass and shape for years without warping, breaking, or become uneven over time.

The base of a good quality drum throne is far more stable compared to cheaper drum thrones and this is vital for good posture. Cheap stools wobble and make a drummer unbalanced and unstable around the pelvis area and this can pose a huge risk to injury.

There are high quality drum thrones available to suit all different levels of budgets. Even if you have a small budget, there are supportive and comfortable options to choose from.

Drum Throne Height Adjustment

Drum thrones across the board will all feature different height adjustment mechanisms to raise and lower the height of the stool accordingly. Here are the various types of height adjustment mechanisms found in drum thrones:

Nut & Bolt-Lock (Avoid)

This is a mechanism exclusively found in insufficient, low quality thrones that are to be avoided at all cost. Every single cheap stool will use this type of height adjustment and you can guarantee it will wobble and break. They provide terrible posture and have very limited height options.

Sliding Tube & Memory Lock:

This type of mechanical height adjustment is fairly straightforward. It’s the same as found in cymbal stands. You are easily able to loosen a clutch that rests underneath the seat and you are able to slide up or down the metal tube to your desired height.

Spindle Adjustment:

The threaded spindle adjustment is a popular mechanism for drum thrones. It is very simple to use, you are able to adjust the height with a single hand by spinning the seat top either clockwise or anticlockwise depending on if you would like to raise or lower the height. This is the easiest and most popular mechanism offering unlimited height adjustment.

Final Thoughts

A drum throne and its settings are sadly a very overlooked aspect of drumming that is, in my opinion, essential to allow a drummer to play at his best. And perhaps more importantly minimizing the risk of injury caused by poor posture.

Good drum thrones offer a wide range of adjustment, so I would encourage you to experiment with heights and seeing what works best. I find that more often than not the problems are with drummers sitting too low down as opposed to being higher up.

When raising the height of a drum throne you will also be required to raise the height of the drum set components including snare drum, hi hats and cymbals so you aren’t stooping lower to have to reach them.

I have personally found that sitting higher has improved my playing, allowed me to be more relaxed and has put less stress on my legs and shoulders.

And of course, develop good habits by remembering to sit up straight with your shoulders held back and relax your arms whilst you play.

Blurb

Gideon Waxman is a London based drummer with over 13 years experience, and is the drummer of metal outfit Familiar Spirit. You can find more of his tips at Drum Helper – a free online resource dedicated to helping drummers achieve more from their playing.

Choosing Your First Drum Kit Made Easy

Image credit: Alexander Lesnitsky from Pixabay.

In cooperation with consordini.com.

When picking out or setting up a drum set, a lot of people run into challenges during the process. Unfortunately, this is because they do not know what to look for.

People struggle with how much money to spend, what they should be concerned with, and what will make their experience the best one possible.

With many newbies never playing drums in their life before, they do not even know what sound they are going for with their drum set. This can be a very, overwhelming experience.

So, instead of being frustrating with your drum kit experience, enjoy the time you spend on picking the best drum set for you and your lifestyle.

Drumhead Decisions

Drumheads are one of the most overlooked parts of the drum set. In reality, the thicker the drum head, the darker the sound becomes. In turn, there is a low amount of resonance, but a higher pitch overall. Currently, some of the head options you could look into include Evans and Remo.

On the other hand, if you are someone who likes the sounds of a thinner head, then you probably like a bright sound. With extra resonation, these drum heads do not need much to make an incredible sound. Drummers, who use these types of heads, usually are playing in a quieter atmosphere, where the drums do not need to be played loud.

One of the last drumhead decisions you should consider is whether or not you want a coating on your drumheads. Having a coating is great for adding a darker sound, so pairing with a thick drumhead can create amazing controlled action. Without a coated head, you can expect a great attack and bright sound. Usually, coated drumheads are seen on the snare drum.

The Right Size

Some people may see a drum set and just expect it to be good, but there are actually a few decisions that will make your drum playing experience a great one. If you are into jazz music, a four-piece trap will do the trick nicely. The bass drum needs to be either 18” or 20”, the toms can be 10” or 14”, and a 14” snare is best.

Other kits, like the 5-piece variety, usually have a bass drum at 22”, toms at 12” and bigger, and a 14” snare, similar to the jazz trap set-up. With a bigger sized drum kit, drummers will not be limited to one style, but a multitude of styles.

Not everyone is up for a 6-piece set, but you might be interested. If you are looking for great flexibly, you can add a 16” tom for the floor to play any style of music on the planet.

Marvelous Materials

With anything, some people are not really concerned with what things are made of, but rather if the product works and if it is efficient for what it is used for. However, you should be aware of what shell material your drums are made out of.

Let’s start with maple. This material is perfect for jazz and acoustic sets. If you are looking for a material that brings the punch, birch is the material for you. Additionally, there are hardwoods, like mahogany, that provide a great tone, too.

In terms of price, birch and maple material will be the most expensive, so some first-time drum buyers might steer clear because of the cost. Before purchasing, consider demoing the material and then make your crucial decision. This can be a fun, yet informative experience that will only take an hour or so.

Extra Hardware

Drum heads and drum material barely scratches the surface with any drum set. You will still need to purchase things like the throne, stands, and pedals. With the throne, this is an item that gets a lot of use. Make sure that you pick a throne that is comfortable to sit on. Your backside will appreciate it. Look into thrones like Tama, Roc N Soc, and Pork Pie.

A high-end bass pedal should also be on your radar. This type of pedal can adapt to any type of style, and it can last a lifetime. Look into brands like Tama, Mapex, and Pearl to help you on your way.

The last hardware of importance should be the stands that hold your drums and cymbals. Sure, many of the sets that are purchased today come with stands, but usually they are low-end.

Upgrading this part of your set can go a long, long way. Some people look for durability in their stands. This is when double-braced legs are your best friend. If you move your trap around a lot, use legs that are single-braced.

Sensational Cymbals

The last piece of the puzzle involves cymbals. Picking the right cymbals really personalizes your set. There are two different cymbal materials to choose from: bronze that is casted and sheet bronze. Casted bronze has a wide-ranging tone, while sheet bronze is more inexpensive with less tones to account for.

When it comes to casted bronze, check out brands like Sabian and Zildjian. On the other hand, for sheet bronze, identify brands like Paiste, Zildjian, and Sabian. By investigating these brands, you will have a group of cymbals that mess well with one another, depending on your decision.

The Big Finish

With all the information above, you will definitely not be frustrated with your first-time drum buying experience. Ultimately, remember that your best option is to check out sound demos, go to a local shop, or try a friend’s trap out for good measure.

Do not just go through the process in a hurry. The more time you take, the better you will feel about your purchase. Then, you can just enjoy your drums and get to work honing your drum skills.

Find more articles like this at consordini.com

Hybrid Drums – The Fusion Between Acoustic and Electronic Drums

Photo Credit: Mark Latham

Guest Blog Post by: Electronic Drum Advisor

Acoustic drum sets are very difficult to replicate electronically in both presence and sound. However, they do not always contain enough variety to meet the sonic expectations of modern audiences.

This poses a problem for modern bands. Full electronic drum sets are often ruled out as an option for many valid reasons, but what about getting the best of both worlds? This is where Hybrid drums come in.

Hybrid drums are the fusion between acoustic and electronic drums. Drummers simply augment their current drum kit with electronic elements such as triggers, pads, and drum modules.

These setups can get very interesting, particularly when you interface the electronic drumming elements with other music gear and DAW software on your computer using MIDI.

This article also explains the benefits of hybrid drumming for live sound, particularly when it comes to the punch of your bass drum for smaller live performances.

Using electronic elements in your drum set

Hybrid drum kits do not often come as one big package. The items are generally purchased and organized separately. This is all about creativity and personalization.

Electronic drum pads are a great and simple option to start implementing electronic sounds. You can place pads such as the Roland SPD-SX or Yamaha Multipad right next to your drum set and hook it up to the PA system.

These types of pads can produce a very wide variety of sounds, such as claps, percussion, bass notes, synth loops and much more. You can also import your own custom sounds or hook the pads up to other gear or production software using MIDI.

Another fantastic option is through the use of drum triggering technology. These simple items attach to drum heads and can trigger external sounds on other music gear. You can usually even connect them to your sample pads.

One of my best tips is to mount a dual-trigger to your snare drum. This makes the snare rim a separate triggering surface that you can use to produce a clap or other effect sound.

Trigger bars and pads are useful for electronic elements that you can place in convenient locations around your drum set. These can be great for discrete electronic additions to your kit.

Triggers and pads require a sound source. This can be done using an electronic drum module, a drum trigger module, a sample pad, or other music gear.

If you already own an electronic drum set, you could use the ‘drum brain’ from this as your sound source.

Combining elements in the live mix

Acoustic and electronic elements can be combined nicely in your live mix using hybrid drum setups. For example, you can set up microphones on your acoustic drums while also amplifying sounds from your pads and triggers.

If you are mixing two sounds together, it is useful to blend the electronic sound in. For example, a good quality drum trigger modules allow you to alter the pitch of the electronic sample to match the sound of the drum head.

The most practical use for this is the kick drum in live performances. Drummers that need a serious punch sound out of their kick drum are often disappointed by small venue sound systems. Blending a triggered, club-style electronic kick sound can often achieve very impressive results.

Many metal drummers have been using triggers on their drum heads for years. However, this has caused some controversy because drummers have been using them to compensate for lack of power when executing fast double-kick strokes.

The best music genres for hybrid drumming

Genres that contain strong electronic elements such as pop and dance are perfect candidates for hybrid drum sets. Drummers can trigger samples and effects that are relevant to the style.

Hybrid elements are especially interesting for experimental acts and live electronic music producers. The modular nature of these items often fit very nicely with these setup types.

However, more subtle uses of hybrid elements can be used across a wide variety of music styles. For example, drummers for wedding and cover bands could opt to trigger their drums instead of using microphones. This could improve their live sound, as well as making sound check and pack down a whole lot easier.

Using a full electronic drum set

The majority of drummers do not consider electronic drum sets as an option for playing drums live. However, top-end sets can actually simulate standard drum sets extremely well. They also work great in spaces where an acoustic set is simply not an option.

If you are in doubt, try out the current top-end electronic drum sets such as the Roland TD-50 or the Yamaha DTX900 in a local music store. These resemble nothing like the kid’s toy image you might conjure up when thinking of an electronic drum set.

These might set you back a lot of money, but they are the closest we currently have to electronically simulating a full drum kit. Check out this guide on Electronic Drum Advisor to explore these options.

Conclusion

There are some disadvantages of electronic drums over regular kits. The cymbal pads can sound a little fake and the kick pad can lack the presence of a 22-inch bass drum.

However, combining what’s great about electronic drum sounds with your acoustic drum kit is the best of both worlds.

Using electronic elements can improve the range and quality of sounds for your live performances. You can start with a few small items and then expand the sound of your kit from there.

This guest blog post was written by Electronic Drum Advisor.

Grade 1 Rock Beats – Free PDF ebook

Get Free PDF Download →

This short ebook gives you 1 page of the break down of how a basic drum beat is contructed and then 3 pages with 10 rock drum beats on each page.

The first of the 3 core pages of beats is with 8th note closed hi hats. The second page is the same beats again but with open hi hats (the note heads with cirles around them). The 3rd page has different beats with quarter note hi hats (really has that rock sound), which can also be played as half open hi hats or closed hi hats.

I hope this free ebook is helpful for students and teachers looking for a few quick sheets to get them started with. I also hope that you will enjoy the quality of the free ebook enough to try some of the premium drum ebooks.

3 Simple Drum and Bass Steps – How to Play, With Notation and Variations

This is a guest blog post from Ryan Alexander Bloom.

An interesting style of drumming that has become popular recently is live breakbeats or human drum ‘n’ bass music. Bands like Nerve and Shobaleader One have been on the cusp of the movement and players like Johnny Rabb and Jojo Mayer have been using their considerable chops and applying them to electronic sounding, yet still very acoustic, beats for decades. Playing in this style can be a lot of fun because it is improvisational like jazz, technical and chops heavy like metal or prog, and very flashy with a prominent and featured drum part.

To get into this style you can start in a couple of places. Drum and Bass beats are traditionally either created by sampling existing music off of a turntable, or by programming rhythms into a drum machine. In this selection of exercises we will focus on recreating the drum machine sound, rather than the sampled sound. Programmed beats are sometimes called steps because of the 16 steps (16th notes on which you can apply sounds) of an old loop sequencer drum machine. These exercises all feature essentially the same 3 core steps. These are classic rhythms that permeate much of electronic music and can be embellished in many ways to come up with more interesting grooves. These first 3 patterns are demonstrated here:

https://youtu.be/ob1O6vqSTmY

Variations

The hi-hat or ride cymbal can be used with any of these steps. We can also change the value of the cymbal pattern from 8ths to quarters to change the feel. Try to work these basic beats up to at least 160bpm if not higher for an authentic sound.

For slower tempos, more cymbals keep up the energy level. 16ths would be the next logical step.

For a layered texture, add in hi hat with your foot. Drum machines can play lots of notes simultaneously, so layering in another cymbal pattern helps keep up the illusion of a programmed beat.

Keep in mind that drum machines have no soul. Counterintuitively, the less human feeling or groove you can impart to these patterns the better they will sound in a drum and bass context. Try to play all the cymbal notes at the same dynamic level and keep everything steadily right down the center of the beat. Once you master these patterns, you can begin to add ghost notes, hi hat openings, fills, and other elements to make things more interesting. More advanced step patterns, classic breaks, break manipulation strategies, and extended techniques, can be found in Live Drum & Bass – Breakbeats and Electronic Music for Real Drummers available from Hudson Music and Amazon.com

Buy from Hudson Music – https://hudsonmusic.com/product/live-drum-bass/

Buy from Amazon.com – https://www.amazon.com/Live-Drum-Bass-Breakbeats-Electronic/dp/154285864X

Reading and Playing Buzz Rolls and Double Strokes

Some snare drum sheet music writes out buzz rolls with a Z through the stem. I don’t write it like that because my software doesn’t have that feature, but many others write it my way too anyway so I’ve got used to writing using 3 slashes instead (3 slashes like this /// through a stem line like this |).

Tremolo in Other Instruments

So, the slashes through the notes are also used in other pitched instruments as a tremolo marking. Violins have plenty of tremolo, which is achieved by moving the bow back and forth quickly. You’ll hear the sound in movies where the violins sound intense and brooding by playing 1 note for ages repeatedly. See the video below for an example of this. You’ll hear this more in old programs and films such as in the original Thunderbirds series’.

Tremolo Markings in Drums (The ‘/‘ slashes through the stems)

These tremolo markings in drums can be played with precise double strokes, or with a multiple bounch technique, which sometimes yeilds more than a double with each hand, but thats ok. This article talks further about the ambiguity of multiple bouncing vs precise doubles when reading.

About the Music Sheet (featured image)

On each line that the 1st bar has what you see in sheet music and the 2nd bar of each line shows you the method of playing it. I have chosen to write slashed 16th notes rather than write 32nd notes in the second bars because that’s how I teach drummers to count their buzz rolls, by playing 16th notes and buzzing each hand. So, for a 1 beat buzz roll, you would play “R L R L” 16th notes, and each hand will be buzzed, so it will actually be something like this: RR LL RR LL, or RRR LLL RRR LLL if you play several notes with each hand. For snare drum sheet music with multiple bouncing, I encourage more bounces so it has more of a drum roll feel to it.

Here’s how to play the multiple bounce roll:

When you see 16th notes with slashes in, during regular drum sheet music especially, I would say this always should be assumed as ‘use precice doubles’ if you can manage it with the double stroke technique. For example, the hi hats may have 16th notes but some of the hits are doubled, and these would be played with a strong double stroke technique. In this Samba Funk Grooves sheet you can see that the hi hats have been written as 32nd notes, but they could also have been notated with slashed 16th notes. You can see double strokes played on the hi hat in a groove in this video:

When you see slashed 16ths on the snare drum, this means to play them as 32nd notes, with double strokes (RRLLRRLL for 4 slashed 16th notes).

This video by Ryan Alexander Bloom shows how I play all of my precise doubles. I didn’t realise it was called the ‘Push Pull’ method until I looked up videos on it! At drum college they were just taught as the ‘double stroke technique’. Please make sure to watch the full video if you want to learn double strokes properly, it’s only a couple of mins…

After letting Ryan know that his video was featured here, we arranged for him to write a guest blog post for this website, which you can read here: 3 Simple Drum and Bass Steps – How to Play, With Notation and Variations

How Personal Trainer Sessions and Gym Workouts helped me to be a better drummer after ACL Knee Surgery

Photo Credit: Louish Pixel

I’ll start by saying I am very glad that I chose to have the ACL reconstruction operation after injuring my leg playing football and for anyone considering not having it done after injury I will say that it’s very much worth doing. There are risks as with any operation but they are fairly minimal and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to go the rest of my life with an unstable knee. Whilst I’m not glad I injured it in the first place, I do see it as a blessing in disguise with how my life has changed following the operation.

When I injured myself playing football, the leg gave way when I pivoted to pass the ball with a lot of sideways momentum. I had ironically been pushing myself hard that week to get fitter so maybe some of my supporting muscles were a bit fatigued, which made it vulnerable.

After about 9 months of being misdiagnosed by physiotherapists and doctors, I contacted the doctor’s again and was referred to a senior physio who then referred me to get an MRI scan as a precaution but still thought it would be fine. At a similar time someone that had my injury before said exactly what it was following my description to them. After I later found out that this was correct it did surprise me that 3 physiotherapists and 2 had failed to pick up on even the possibility of it being the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). One said it could have been a dislocated knee cap or that I just jarred the muscles. I did tell them my leg went out to the side and back in again and then huge swelling and pain but unfortunately, no dice.

Up to the point of the MRI scan my knee had given way a few times under general moving about too quickly or attempting to jog. I kept on with the drums though because drumming with the legs is all straight line movements to the kick pedals, so it giving way was not really an issue.

The MRI scan was great. As a musician I wished I had declined the headphones used to distract me from the sounds because I wasn’t able to move at all to take them off during. The sounds were loud so I still heard them though. The sounds were a bombastic mix of what sounded like sine, square and saw waves from a primitive synth bellowing out at me.

When I met with the surgeon to discuss the results, I wasn’t prepared at all to hear that I needed a hamstring graft to reconstruct my ACL ligament through my knee, which would include harvesting my hamstring, braiding it together and drilling it into a bone in my lower leg with a dissolvable screw and then afterwards the rehab would be 6 months where I would also have to be careful not to damage the work done before it starts to morph into my body with blood flow etc and be strong enough to act like a normal ACL. There would also be risks during the op like blood clots and would be scars (they are barely visible now). Oh and repair my medial meniscus cartilage at the same time but that it may not be repairable and if so need some chopping out. I must have asked for about 3 glasses of water and also for the window to be opened because I felt nauseous.

I decided there and then to go for it after a short time of thinking about bailing and not doing it. At this point I was told to be very careful not to make it worse or the cartilage damage may worsen, so I decided to tell my band I can’t play for a while. I debated keeping going but I was so worried at this point of injuring it beyond repair. We had just released an album and preparing tour dates so it was pretty devastating for all, because it was a couple of months ‘til the operation and then at least several additional months before I would return. I did agree to go ahead with our video shoot though so that we had something else to promote at least online for a while.

The operation process was easy and I was in good hands with the excellent (albeit stretched) NHS and my surgeon was highly regarded from what people were saying.

I was in a lot of pain afterwards and I couldn’t really do much for myself for the first 2 weeks. It was so hard washing and moving around and I was heavily dosed up on painkillers. After week 3 I returned to teaching on crutches and I was kindly driven around by Mum, who took some time out to be there for me. After about 4 weeks I could drive (you have to be able to emergency stop) but walking was still hard and painful.

My physiotherapist assigned to me for the rehab is amazing and she really guided me through the recovery. I have to drive 30 mins each way to go weekly rather than the ones in my hometown but it has been worth it.

I was also offered to be part of a research study, which tests the benefits of building up the good leg along with the injured leg, which I signed up for. I’m not sure if I still would have gotten all the physio sessions if I didn’t, but I’m not sure on that.

The weekly physio sessions started me off into a regular routine of going once a week and then going to the gym for 2 or 3 more sessions in between. It sort of forced me into a healthy routine that I now stick to over 6 months after starting.

Before the operation I had got talking to someone at a wedding that I knew was a personal trainer so asked him what he thought about it all. He said I’d really done a number on it! More importantly he opened me up to thinking about the recovery. He said that the rehab after the operation was so important to get right because if you don’t put in the hard work it won’t recover and might not be as good in the long run.

Following that chat, I was inspired enough to go ahead with booking some PT sessions provisionally for when my leg was able to start taking on extra exercises to the physio’s homework I would get.

After the first 3 months of the 6 month rehab period it gets easier. The first 3 are hard graft and progress is notable but slow. The second 3 months you can really open up and start to do more but still have to be careful of twisting to aggressively and things like that.

Now for me it’s been 6 months and 3 weeks since the operation. I played my first return drumming gig 3 months ago and I’ve been having Personal Trainer sessions for 4 months. I play in a metal band so I use the double kick using both legs but my bad leg is not my lead leg – it’s the hi hat leg. So introduced my bad leg slowly to full double pedal stuff and it was not until 4 months after the operation I felt ready to give it the full beans.

During the time of being cautious with my bad leg I was having the PT sessions and physio too and all the while it was improving, and so was my ‘good leg’.

When I was a teenager I used to have issues with knee pain playing football and it’s only since this rehab process that I have realised that I needed to build up my upper leg muscles to protect my knee. The VMO muscles are key to this from what I have found out.

My PT sessions have really worked on my legs and core muscles and my physio was also focused on general strength including upper body and progressed onto agility work and running / cardio.

I feel that without this injury I never would have got into all this training. Now I can feel my body changing, getting stronger, and I have much more general endurance. Especially for metal drumming. It’s not so much the power but the endurance that is needed to maintain the speed playing, along with good technique.

My quads and calf muscles have been built up quite a bit and now when I drum at gigs I feel I can really rely on my muscle power and endurance to play the parts without fatiguing and feeling pain right at the top of the leg near the groin like I did before all of this.

This has given me confidence to push myself when writing new beats for songs. Before I had been tempted not to push myself too much as it would be hard to play in a long set but now I can really lean on my new found confidence and push the envelope like I did 15 years ago when I was a teenager, with all the energy in the world.

I feel like I’m getting my old abilities back but now I am so much tighter with my experience of recording and gigging, so right now I’m enjoying being better than I ever have been on the drums and feel confident to push it further.

Last week I played a gig and came off stage dripping with sweat and I knew I had never played so hard, with so much energy. I remember hard bits being quite easy and also really unleashing on some sections, throwing out energy to the audience and the band. I think that was my best ever performance, 22 years on from first starting to play the drums.

I will definitely keep up my gym work, and with the guidance of a personal trainer it helps with my motivation to keep it going and to keep everything fresh too. I’ve started to have joint PT sessions with a friend to make it more affordable and sustainable too.

There is so much you can do for free if money is tight, so I really recommend getting stuck into a range of workouts like cardio, weights, agility work using online resources. Don’t just do one – it’s important for men and women to do a mixture of cardio and strength work.

I hope to have inspired you in some way. Don’t wait to get an injury to find the motivation to work on your fitness like I did! Seeing the change in me and how far I’ve progressed from hobbling in severe pain to running in slaloms and doing things like barbell back loaded squats, box jumps and calf raises in months has inspired my partner and friends to get into a regular workout routine too.

I’ve still got some work to do on my knee, hamstring and calf muscles and I’ve only been doing the gym work for a relatively short time so I look forward to seeing what I can do over the next year and onwards.

So now it’s over to you. Unlock more creativity as a drummer by building up your strength and endurance to improve the confidence you have in your own abilities and potential.

Self Recording Drums – The Basics

Photo Credit: Marc Wathieu

Guest blog post by Subreel. Please check out their website for more audio equipment reviews, how-to guides and loads of other musical information.

Being a drummer can make your life awkward, especially compared to other instruments. Your instrument is the hardest to transport, requires a lot of maintenance and expense, and as you may expect, drums are the hardest of the mainstream instruments to record. That said, it has become more simple in recent years and many drummers are taking the opportunity to lay down demos, create backing tracks and self-record for a variety of reasons. We’re covering the basics of doing so, and how you can get started in this article.

The main difficulty when it comes to recording drums is the fact that you need multiple microphones. The various different drums and cymbals, and the huge variety of sounds they create mean that recording them with one mic isn’t going to do it justice, and certainly won’t be usable for professional records. Many musicians have turned to USB microphones in recent years, but that is possibly the more difficult option for drums.

Microphones

You will need a minimum of three microphones.
• At least one overhead mic, and often two. A matched pair of Condenser microphones are standard, this can be as luxurious as AKG C414s, or their cheaper alternative the C214. Alternatively, a budget model such as the MXL990 can do a good job.
• One snare mic. This can be as simple as a Shure SM57 or a similar dynamic microphone. SM57s pick up the frequencies required very well and they’re very durable, so they’re not likely to break if they take an accidental hit or two.
• One kick drum mic, this is normally an AKG D112 due to its immense ability to pick up bass frequencies.

You will probably then want to add more microphones to get more detail in your recording, and more importantly to gain more control. If you record with one microphone you can’t adjust the volume of individual parts of the kit, so your kick drum might disappear, for instance. For this, you are going to need either a small mixing desk (4-8 inputs as a minimum) which you can run your microphones into. Alternatively, drum brands such as Sabian have started providing audio interfaces for your drums, the Sabian Sound Kit. These are a brilliant way to get four of five different mic inputs going straight into your laptop or computer for editing.

Acoustics

When it comes to home recordings, this is the most overlooked aspect. Unless you are lucky enough to live in Abbey Road, you’re going to need to treat the room you are recording in. Acoustics can be incredibly complicated, but just some simple basics can make a huge amount of difference. The room you are recording in should have a lot of absorption. Acoustic treatments are ideal, but if you can’t afford these then simply hanging up some blankets or duvets and filling the room with furniture will do a lot to deflect and diffuse the reverberations of the sound. Even if you think the room sounds ‘nice’, you want the recording to be as flat and dead as possible, reverb, EQ and other effects can be added later but if you get an unwanted reverb you won’t be able to get rid of it.

Mixing and Compression

Without control of the volumes, things can get chaotic pretty quickly. The mixer will serve to allow you to alter the volumes to your liking, and avoid the problem of suddenly having a very loud floor tom, but a disappearing snare. The main thing to worry about during recording is that you get a good, strong signal from every microphone. The levels can be tweaked in software afterwards.

Another essential aspect of a drum recording is compression. Simply put, compression brings the level of the sound to a more ‘even keel’. The louder aspects of the sound will be leveled out and the quieter aspects slightly boosted. In drums, this means that a lot more of the ‘body’ of the sound is brought out and the transients (the sound of the sticks hitting the drums) will be more subtle. Compressors have different presets and controls to allow you to tweak things. You can choose to compress individual tracks or even the whole kit, but our ears are used to hearing compressed drums, and this simple step can greatly enhance your overall sound.

Recording Alone?

Even in professional studios and full-band recording sessions, overdubs and editing are commonplace. There are a few things to consider when recording alone. You don’t have to get it exactly perfect for the whole duration of the song, and replacing missed hits and bum notes is not uncommon, nor is it selling your soul! To make life easier when it comes to layering, recording to a click track (metronome) will help you to stay perfectly in time. This is helpful not only for editing (some will even loop sections of good drumming) but it is helpful for those of us who are liable to speed up or slow down throughout a song.

Practice

Recording is as much of an art as your drumming. You don’t have to become a pro audio engineer to get good recordings, but practicing and experimenting is the best way to get to grips with things and create a sound you are happy with. Different mic positions will work better, different combinations of microphones and experimental room mics can all make a difference to your sound, and the best way to get the best sound is to invest the time into getting it right.

Guest blog post by Subreel. Please check out their website for more audio equipment reviews, how-to guides and loads of other musical information.

Snare Drum Piece – Jan 2018

Here is some drum sheet music of a snare drum piece, which can be played by a solo snare or a snare line group.

The snare piece starts off in 3/4 timing and then moves into 4/4. There are various dynamic changes. There are also plenty of techniques involved. In bar 2 there is a flam. Bar 3 sees the first buzz roll. Bar 4 has a rim hit on the last note. Bar 8 has a drag at the end. Bar 9 and 10 are repeated 4 times and feature accents. Bar 11 starts the quietest section in pp, which means very quiet (pianissimo). Bar 12 sees the first rest, and the final techniques are found in the final bar, which are ghost notes.