Another pretty significant thing in my life as far as music is concerned is that I am in my school district’s All-Star Jazz Band. We have already one rehearsal where we got used to the songs we have (I have 2 out of the 4 songs we play because there are two drummers). The other drummer was pretty awesome, and he’s a year younger than me, so I really need to step up my game. Although, I don’t want to blow all my energy because the All Star band is playing at a festival that my school’s big band and combo are going to. Hence, I’ll have to be able to play well in front of the judges twice more. But I think I’ll be fine as long as I don’t flub up like I did at the Fullerton Jazz Festival.

So as far as the website is concerned, I might start making some drumming videos on a regular basis. I don’t have microphones for my set yet, but hopefully I will in the future. The videos will be structured as instructional vlogs where you can learn new stuff as I learn new stuff. I don’t think that I will be able to sheet music for a lot of it because most of the stuff I do is from copyrighted instructional books. BUT I will provide links to the books I use, most of which are relatively inexpensive. In addition, I will probably do like a music review show which won’t be a lot of mainstream music, and it probably won’t be a lot of pop/rock/metal, because I want to expose people to other forms of music that they might not already listen to.

So stay tuned to this blog for more updates.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZvwcunvNCI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxJmlkjXZSU

These are just really cool lessons. I haven’t added them to the video section yet because I have to make a new page for miscellaneous videos. But check out his drumming faces! BEAST!

“The MDG Monitor shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the 2015 target date fast approaching, it is more important than ever to understand where the goals are on track, and where additional efforts and support are needed, both globally and at the country level.” – The MDG Website

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggwQHrcEbjs

One of the easiest ways you can solve this problem is by practicing with a metronome and a set of headphones. Practicing with a metronome is one of the things that every single musician should be doing. When people say that professional musicians don’t need metronomes they are lying. Yes, most professional musicians are very good when it comes to time, but that’s because they use a metronome when they practice. So for any drummer that wants to, or already does, play in a band/group/ensemble, make sure you have a metronome. If you aren’t practicing with a metronome you are practicing incorrectly. If you are practicing incorrectly you can’t get better. SO USE A METRONOME!

If you don’t have headphones then you should at least use the blinking light that most metronomes have to your advantage. If you don’t have a metronome, use the metronome at http://metronomeonline.com. I personally have used this tool when I feel like just sitting down with a practice pad.

Metronomes vary in prices from extremely inexpensive to extremely expensive. I personally use a Roland RMP-5 Rhythm Coach, which is pretty expensive at about $250 USD. I like it because it is also a practice pad, it has a human voice count, and it has many settings and patterns that are useful. Another nice feature is that it goes up to 300bpm which is helpful when I am practicing fast jazz. However, most people don’t need this, and even those who practice fast jazz can just play to 150 bpm using halfnotes as opposed to quarter notes.

Another set of tools that drummers can use are songs that have a drum loop in them. Rap, RnB, and Trip-hop have drum loops in them which can make practicing the basics more entertaining.  Some artists that I use for this purpose include Mocean Worker and Thievery Corporation.