Viewing: 45 years drumming - View all posts

Verbalise…say it out loud.

 Turn your random skippy brain into a linear time keeper!

Key Take Aways

Hebbian Axiom “neurons that fire together, wire together”

Somatic Integration: Hebb  with Gust

Myelination: protective lipid sheaths, boosting signal transmission speeds up to…

8Long-Term Drummers and Percussionists have ‘suped- up’ brains!

The Body in Question

Why Modern Bodhrán Students Are Choosing Mark Campbell

Starting a new musical instrument can feel daunting, especially when navigating traditional rhythm techniques or trying to find a teacher who offers a safe, professional, and encouraging environment. For aspiring bodhrán players—particularly…

Drum Pedals are 100 years behind the times when it comes to driveshafts!

Modern pedals rely on joints which originated from gimbles for ancient oil lamps and ship compasses from the 16th century!

The scarcity of constant velocity (CV) joints…

Unless you are already holding multiple All-Ireland titles, setting your sights on the world’s elite bodhrán masters will guarantee you find someone to push your limits.

 Depending on whether you want to refine left-hand pitch bending, complex odd meters, or…

WTF is Lesson 25?

Its about those esoteric things called rudiments!

RUDIMENTS….The alphabet/ phrasebook of snare drumming

William F. Ludwig, Of the Ludwig drum company, (think Ringo Starr's DrumKit) called the drum rudiment Lesson 25 the "Ratatap" in…

When I started drumming there were 26 drumming rudiments

The 26 standard American drum rudiments officially became 40 in 1984. 

The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) compiled and adopted the 14 additional rudiments—which included hybrid, Swiss, and older traditional patterns—to create…

Collective Effervescence!

Flow State

Musician flow state, or being "in the zone," is a scientifically validated, intense, and pleasurable state of total immersion during performance, characterized by effortless attention and high skill-challenge balance.

 Studies reveal this state correlates with neural…

What's that Lenticular Spaceship Drum that You Are Playing?

Shaped like a lentil with lilting melodies and infectious grooves…The Handpan is the worlds newest musical Instrument!

The handpan, originally called the Hang, was invented in 2000 in Switzerland by Felix…

How old is the Cajon?  Where does it come from? And...how is it Pronounced?

How old is the cajon drum?

The cajon drum is approximately 200 to 450 years old, depending on whether you define its "age" by its earliest…

What do the worlds Wealthiest drummers share with Mozart, Beethoven, and DaVinci?

Left-Handedness!

Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland, and Anika Nilles (to name just a few) share left handedness (and footedness) with DaVinci etal.

By extension, being left handed…

Are my ears just biological microphones?

Musicians brains are highly trained in playing their instruments, however, listening and hearing objectively while playing those instruments also has to be practised!

One element that makes objective listening very difficult is Auditory Masking.…

Who is Mark Campbell of Symmetrical Drumming Australia

Mark Campbell is an experienced drummer and percussionist from Bathurst NSW, now based in Canberra, Australia, and is the founder of Symmetrical Drumming Australia. 

https://symmetricalDrummingAustralia.Org

With over 45 years of experience, he…

Myelination

Myelination is the process by which the brain forms a fatty insulation, called myelin, around nerve pathways, which speeds up electrical signal transmission. 

Musicians, through years of practice, increase myelination in the specific neural pathways used for playing their…

5000 Years

The Frame Drum

Frame drums, found globally, have diverse names and variations. 

Some examples include:

• Colgrass Drum (Roto Tom) USA
• Bodhrán (Ireland), 
• Tamborim (Brazil)
• Tambourine (Egypt Mesopotamia)
• Bendir (North Africa), 
• Daf/Daff/Def (Orient), 
• Tamburello (Italy), 
• Pandeiro (Brazil, Spain, Portugal…

Im working on a video about Shakers and how I use them.  As I was setting and practicing I had a thought…

Is a Shaker a Maraca or is a Maraca a Shaker?

Shakers and maracas are classified as idiophones…

Improvising, Ad-libing, and Soloing without a 'Chops' mentality.

Ive been working on a video demonstating the utility of a simple rhythmic figure being used as a basis for a groove, a solo, and improv.  

Ive taken a simple 2 bar…

Didgeridoo

Ive been playing didge since the late 1980s…Today Im working on a video for my didgeridoo playing, music, lessons.   

My theme was " The Didge is a drum that I play with my mouth"....as the hook to get people…

Learning Styles...VARK is a ruse!

Type ‘learning style’ into a search engine and a million pages roll in about how unique you are and you require a segmented approach when learning…focused on your ‘type’ …

Visual, Auditory, Reading, Kineasthetic -

Drummers and Percussionists are Athletes

Studies have shown that Drummers and Pecussionists can reach heart rates and calorie burn comparable to those of elite athletes during performances. 
•    Physical Demands:
Playing the drums, particularly at higher tempos and with complex…

DrumKit is a ‘New Thing’ 

The modern drum kit, as we know it, is indeed only about 100 years old. 

While drums have existed for millennia, the concept of a single musician playing a set of interconnected drums is a…

The Bodhran

The bodhrán (pronounced Bow-Rawn) is a frame drum…used in Irish music ranging from 25 to 65 cm (10–26 in) in diameter, with most drums measuring 35–45 cm (14–18 in).

Bodhran Shell

The shell of the drum is 9–20…

Myelination

Myelination is the process where myelin, a fatty substance, forms a protective coating around the axons of neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems. This insulation significantly increases the speed and efficiency of nerve impulse transmission, crucial for…

Seeing and Hearing the Pulse

I've been using clicks (audio only) in my headphones for recording for the last 40 years.

It works but its isolating and its very difficult to ‘groove’ with the other tracks….this is because the visual…

Recording yourself is the only objective way of being able to reflect on your own playing, as well as prepare yourself properly for any upcoming studio sessions. It also lets you properly hear important aspects of your…