the Instant Rockstar

Show Me Your Rockstar Face pt 2

This drummer shows us his Rockstar Face, and steals the show. Over the top? Oh yeah. Crazy ROCK-N-ROLL style? All the way. This dude is the Pirates-of-the-Caribbean Johnny Depp of drums.
Rock on, Steve Moore.

Want to show me your rockstar face? Head over to our Facebook site and upload (and tag) either a picture or video of you with your best Rockstar Face, in your best Rockstar Style. If selected for the next installment of Show Me Your Rockstar Face, I’ll send you a sweet pair of the Instant Rockstar drumsticks.

The Quick and Dirty Guide: Learn to play the drums RIGHT AWAY

You want to be a drummer? Don’t wait to start, do it now! It’s easier to start than you think. In this guide I will tell you how to start down the path to ROCK GOD/GODDESS using items you mostly already own, and just a few minute of your time each day.

No drums? NO PROBLEM!

Things you will need to get started:

1 Pair of drumsticks

1 mp3 player (or old school 80’s boombox… whichever)

1 soft, bouncy surface (a pillow, couch cushion or math textbook will work perfectly)

The drumsticks you can find either at your local Best Buy or your local music store—if they sell percussion equipment. It doesn’t matter which kind of drumsticks you get. If you have options, get a pair that feel nice and comfortable in your hand. If you press me for a recommendation, I’d say get a pair of Vic Firth 5A drumsticks.

Go through the following quick exercises to hone your drumming abilities

Exercise 1

Turn on your favorite song and start drumming. THAT was easy!

Seriously though, just drum along on your SOFT, BOUNCY surface in time with the music.

A few things to focus on:

1.) Try to stay on beat with the music. If you listen to a song, you should hear a distinct and even pulsing. If you imagine yourself at a concert clapping along to the song, the BEAT is what you are clapping to.

It’s not as easy as you might think, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t get it right away.

2.) Listen to what the drums in the song are doing and try to mimic that. Did the drummer play a big drum fill? You do one too! Did the drummer stop drumming at a certain part of the song? You stop playing as well!

3.) You may not be able to totally play all the way through a song at first. Drumming uses a lot of muscles and takes a lot of stamina. Think of it like jogging around the park. Maybe you don’t make it all the way around at first, but that’s okay! Every rockstar starts small and works up.

Exercise 2

Check out my visual guide to holding a drumstick. Holding a drumstick the wrong way is like driving a car with your elbows: it’s dangerous, and it’s not the most effective way to do it. The visual guide will help you. Once you have the drumstick grip down, move on to exercise 3.

The Visual Guide to Holding a Drumstick

Exercise 3

This exercise gets you used to the kind of movement your hands will be doing when you’re playing a beat.

1.) Count to four out loud and repeat.

Ex. “1… 2… 3… 4… 1… 2… 3… 4… 1… etc…”

2. Keep counting and grab your drumsticks! Every time you say a number, hit your BOUNCY SURFACE with your RIGHT DRUMSTICK.

Once you’ve got the hang of that,

3. Every time you get to the number “3,” hit your left hand. Since you are already hitting with your right drumstick on 3, you will hit both drumsticks at the same time.

Exercise 4

Now we’re going to combine everything.

The pattern you were just playing could be written out like this, where R = right hand and L = left hand.

1 2 3 4

R R R R

.……….L

This pattern is one of the most basic drumbeats there is, and is a very strong foundation where you can add a lot of variations to it to create many different beats.

For this last exercise, put your favorite song on, and start playing the beat from exercise 3. Try to hit your BOUNCY SURFACE on the beat, so it sounds like you’re playing the same thing as the drummer in the song.

A quick note: not all songs are based on counting to four and repeating. Some are based on counting to 3 and repeating. If you find that what you are playing sounds kind of… off, try switching to 3, and hitting number 1 with your left drumstick every other time. Like this…

1 2 3 1 2 3

R R R R R R

……………L

Thanks for taking the time to read the Quick guide to playing the drums (without actually having drums). Keep practicing these exercises and you’ll be more than ready to ROCK OUT when you get behind a real drum set.

If you enjoyed this guide, consider signing up for BACKSTAGE PASS, which is The Instant Rockstar mailing list. If you’re on this list, you get to be the first to know when my beginner’s guide to playing the drums is available, as well as special pricing that won’t be available to anyone else.

How to Hold a Drumstick: A Visual Guide

If you’re a beginner looking to start playing drums, how to properly hold a drumstick is the very first place you should start.

If you’ve been teaching yourself how to play drums, and have found that your chops just aren’t up to ROCKSTAR level, perfecting your grip can help you play faster, louder, and more confidently.

Either way, proper technique in holding a drumstick can not only make you a better drummer, but it can make you a safer one as well. Holding a drumstick wrong can place unusual stress on your joints, and can potentially cause repetitive stress injuries (think carpal tunnel syndrome).

I made this visual guide to easily help you get control of your stick grip, help you become a better drummer, and help you become a SAFER drummer.

With your thumb and forefinger, grab the drumstick about 1/3 of the way from the bottom.

Now just wrap the rest of your fingers around the drumstick.

*Notice the lack of gaps between my fingers and the stick. It’s almost like making a fist and slipping a drumstick in. Remember: Fingers touch the stick at all times!

Here are some pictures of some common ways that beginning drummers hold their drumsticks the wrong way:

Here, the pinky is sticking out.

Here, the first finger is loosely wrapped around the stick, and it creates a big gap between the first finger and the thumb. You want that gap to be closed, like this:

Now look: No gap!

Last one: notice how the index finger is extended along the stick. Remember, the hand should resemble a fist.

When you go to play, you want to hold the drumsticks in front of you with your PALM FACING UP. A lot of beginning drummers play with their thumbs facing up. That’s the wrong way to play, and it can be dangerous and cause a repetitive stress injury.

Arrange the sticks at a 90 degree angle.

That’s it!

Please leave a comment if you have a question about something in this guide, and I’ll happily answer them.

Show Me Your Rockstar Face pt 1

This guy has one. Do you?

Being a Rockstar isn’t JUST about ability. It’s about attitude, style, entertainment factor. These things are easier to have when you are somewhat proficient at your instrument, but you shouldn’t wait until then to start thinking about it.

May this video provide you some inspiration!

Welcome

Lights: dimmed. Fog machine: on

I’m four years old with a pair of beat up drumsticks my dad got from somewhere, and I’m banging on the couch, the glass coffee table, the floor, the walls, and everything in between. It’s not enough, though, and Mom and Dad are getting pretty annoyed with the tiny little dents I’m leaving all over the house. So they get me a drum set. That’s how I became a drummer

Fast forward 24 years, and here I am with a B.A. In education and almost a decade as a music instructor—still playing the drums, of course. I’ve made every mistake a drummer can make (lesson 1: don’t accidentally miss the drum and hit yourself in the leg [or any where else], it hurts worse than you think). I’ve seen students go from awkward 4-limbed beings flailing behind the drums to capable drummers who understand rhythm and restraint. It’s an amazing thing.

I started this blog because I want to help others learn to play music. Being a musician has been incredibly rewarding, and has opened up many doors, from school opportunities to meeting awesome, like-minded people.

Over the years, I’ve learned the most important elements to convey to fledging musicians; I know the shortcuts that can be safely taken, I know the foundation one needs—without the FLUFF—to pick up an instrument and totally rock out. When I start teaching a new student, the first thing I do is get them playing. Before we cover the proper way to hold a drumstick, what a quarter note is, or any other technical (but important!) information, I get them playing a beat. I give them success right away, and we build from there. That’s what I’d love to do through this blog. I want everyone to pick up an instrument and start playing it RIGHT NOW.

I want to give the world more musicians.

I will post new content about once a week, and will be offering an ebook very soon, in addition to a free e-course (to be announced in the next few days!). If you don’t want to miss a thing, I’d like to invite you to sign up for my RSS feed (located on the top right of my site). If you’d like to have access to special content, early-bird pricing, and other fantastic gifts, then you might consider clicking on the backstage pass and joining the mailing list.
Otherwise welcome, and thanks for reading!