“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

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.

I really want to get that video page up because i think that there are a lot valuable resources out there that aren’t always easy to find. And what’s more, most of them are free, especially on YouTube. However, when I go to look things up I almost always get the same few channels like Freedrumlessons.com, or Mike Johnston’s videos. And don’t get me wrong, these are great videos especially Mike’s because they really make you work hard. But I know there are other people out there that post great videos, and I want to make a place where people can access them a lot faster. I especially want to make it easier to find stuff based upon skill level and genre. So today I want to see if I can get at least a few videos up. In the meantime, I’m going to talk a little about being relaxed.

So I am the main drummer for my high school jazz band, but I wasn’t always. For two years I was the second drummer because another guy that was a year older than me was in the ensemble also. Throughout the first year I’d say that my biggest problem was my nerves. Yes, I had other problems in the beginning like reading music and not getting lost, but nerves were still my biggest issue. Every day in class I dreaded having to play in front of other people because I was afraid that I would mess up. I knew that I could play all the parts I had decently, but having to play with so many new people was really intimidating. And so when it came time for the band to rehearse one of the songs I played, I would get very jittery and, more often than not, make mistakes. However, as I entered jazz band during my sophomore year, I felt a whole lot more comfortable. I was finally getting to know how jazz worked and I wasn’t nearly as nervous.

However, I was still pretty nervous. I was still the second drummer in the band though and I felt like I had to prove that I deserved to be there. This time around I was much more relaxed, and I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I had been. Suddenly things started to click, an around the second semester I was playing a lot better than I ever had before. I had felt a switch happen, and it was as if it was easy to play. Now looking back I’ve realized that it’s because I’m relaxed. My playing is a lot more fluid and I can feel the music so much better than I could before.

So basically what I’ve been trying to say is that yes playing with a new group, or in front of other people can be nerve-racking and the only way to overcome this is to become comfortable with the type of music you’re are playing and become friends with the people in your band. After a while you will learn that the other members in the band are a lot less judgmental than you thought they were. THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO SLACK OFF THOUGH, YOU MUST PRACTICE YOUR BUTT OFF!!!! If you don’t practice and practice and practice and most importantly…wait for it… listen to the type of music you’re playing (I bet you thought I was going to say practice), then you won’t be able to stay in that band, ensemble, group, or whatever you want to call it.

So now that I’ve told all you to go practice and listen to music I think I’m going to do that right now, but before I leave you I’m going to give you a few artists that I’ve been listening to lately.

I made a great Pandora playlist out of Dave Brubeck’s “Forty Days” ->> Link to Myspace Search for Forty Days

Another artist I’ve been into lately is Outasight – He released two of his albums out for free and I don’t know if you can still get them but definitely check him out at http://www.myspace.com/iamoutasight. My favorite track is “Good Evening”