Drummer

Putting together a full samba band is no mean feat. The percussion involved covers an array of different drums and other instruments, from bigger bass-drum-style instruments to smaller percussive sound-effects – samba music is characterised by a rich percussive tapestry of counter-rhythms. In this blog, we attempt to summarise some of the essential samba beat-makers.

Trash metal, metalcore, djent, death metal, doom metal, grindcore, nu-metal, speed metal… Metal has at least 666 subgenres to it, and every last one of them has its own distinct characteristics. But when you want to be a metal drummer, there are some solid basics you can learn to help you cover all of them. In this blog, you’ll find out what you need to know and what kind of exercises you need to be drilling so that, after all your hard work, you can truly call yourself a metal drummer and join the immortal ranks of the anti-gods.

Just started learning the guitar, bass, drums or any other musical instrument? Then you’ve made a wise decision! Making music is a ton of fun, and it only gets better when you play in a band. If you can’t find a band that plays your style, then you can always start your own using the tips we’re about to share.

Acoustic drum kits definitely have plenty of charm on their own, but the same applies to electronic kits. The basic idea of a hybrid drum kit is to combine all the best bits of an acoustic drum kit with the best bits of an electronic drum kit or percussion pads, giving you the very best of both worlds. There are a few ways to build a hybrid kit, whether it’s using triggers, adding a set of sample or percussion pads, or by adding a drum module. In this blog, we’ll take a look at what’s possible and what you can get when building your own hybrid kit.

Ever played a gig where the band that performed before you overextended their set, leaving you just a few minutes to set up your drum kit? It’s a nightmare for most drummers, if not an impossible challenge. Thankfully, there are various ways to optimise your kit and prepare it for a speedy set-up when you’re in a hurry.

Whether you’ve just started playing or you’ve been at it for years, every musician faces the same challenge at some point: you want to learn the rhythm or the groove of a track but it’s not working out. Maybe you’re confronted by a new technique that you’ve never tried out before and it seems impossible to learn. Are there any tricks that drummers can have up their sleeves to avoid the frustration? To be fair, there’s only one trick: broaden your horizons by taking on every genre going, and never fear any strange and new playing techniques.

In this article, guest-blogger Wietse Hendriks shows you how to write and compose your own drum parts. Covering topics like where to find inspiration and how to deal with band leaders, conductors and composers, Wietse taps into his twelve-and-a-half years of experience as a drummer.

The cajon is an incredibly popular percussion instrument, but this seemingly straightforward bit of kit is easily underestimated in terms of what it can add to music, and is a ton of fun to play. Time for a closer look into its origin story.

The whole spectrum of Latin genres and beats, including salsa, merengue and calypso would be nothing without the percussion that drives the groove. Latin percussion isn’t just limited to Latin American music but has reached out into pretty much every other genre going. In this blog, we take a look at the percussive instruments that make Latin percussion what it is.

The combo can be undeniably awesome: drums and percussion joining forces in one band. In principle any and every style and genre will benefit from even a little bit of percussion, but to achieve it, drummers and percussionists need to work like a well-oiled machine. All going well, you get something deeper and more interesting, whether you’re a jazz band, an indie band, or a party band.

While you’re busy mastering any musical instrument, inevitably, a relationship is also busy developing between your instrument and your body. For any musician, the art lies in moving the body as efficiently as possible to guard off any possible aches, pains and even injuries. The Alexander Technique (AT for short) has already helped countless musicians, and here, we lay out the basics so you can start playing better and playing healthy.

Latin music encompasses a large number of styles from Central and South America, including salsa, merengue, samba, bossa nova, and many more. Today, we’re looking at what defines Latin music. Join us on a rhythmic journey that starts in Mexico and ends in Argentina!