I played a recent outdoor gig where the sound engineer placed the drum riser behind a pop-up shade tent and positioned all the amps and monitors out in front of my kit. I also had the distinct honor of playing without any floor or in-ear monitors.

What resulted from this poor stage sound arrangement was audio quality I can only describe as mush, and an inability for me to relate musically to any other musician.

I usually set-up before any other band mate and leave plenty of room on stage for other amplifiers. Unfortunately, a muffled stage sound is more the norm for me than the exception. Let us assume for a moment that you are like most drummers reading this blog: you are the weekend warrior-type musician playing live gigs at smaller indoor and outdoor venues with low pay and free beer (maybe). These types of gigs are not always conducive to running direct feed or line-in with all instruments going through a PA system. You often neither have the time, money, personnel, nor equipment for that integrated of a stage sound investment.

If I am lucky, the sound engineer will mic my kick drum and perhaps the snare at gigs. Because most venues I play at are space limited, guitar and keyboard amps are rarely sent direct through the portable sound system, and thus do not create a nice balanced on-stage sound by using EQ’d monitors in the overall mix. More often than not, I do not even have a monitor of my own. And even if I did, the most I can hear through it is vocals as I don’t need my own drums in the monitor. I need bass and guitar, which is only possible to achieve with a direct line-in amplifier send through the PA system.

So I have decided to take stage sound control into my own hands and ears. There are some simple strategies you can advocate for as a drummer to ensure you enjoy listening to the music you help produce as much as the fellow musicians in front of you.

What I advise is for drummers to encourage your bandmates to not stack their amps directly in front of your kick drum, snare, or floor toms. Be courteous to them as well. Arrive early and do not arrange your drum set in a way where there is no room beside your kit for amps and guitar stands to be comfortably placed. Talk to the sound person before he or she sets-up.

Moreover, try to have the “gig set-up” discussion at your next rehearsal. Express your inner feelings. In fact, use your next practice session as a true dress rehearsal. Set up exactly how you would live with an audience out front. Know how large your upcoming gig’s stage playing area will be. Garages work fine for this test, minus your car and lawnmower, of course – and a very forgiving spouse or roommate.
Another “back wall” stage set-up involves bassists and guitarists tilting their amps up towards the sky or roof and pivoting amps at a 45-degree angle toward center stage and you. That way, you catch some of their playing volume, but not all of it.

Running all instruments through the PA system and mixed into monitors is obviously the best option. With the overall stage volume down, the sound engineer can give you what you want to hear without killing the audience’s ears.

My own experimental solution at the next “monitor-less” gig will involve separately sending all amps and vocals through my laptop’s 8-channel audio interface device and wearing ear buds. That way, I can record the music and hear everyone at the same time.
The key is to take the necessary time before a gig to strategize stage set-up, run a few tunes as sound check, and be willing to readjust the position of certain speakers.

- Tim Kane, a professional writer, editor and drummer for more than 20 years, writes weekly blogs for Dixon Drums.

Photo by Niels Heidenreich

By simplifying what I own for models, however, I am slowly rediscovering the best types of drum sticks in terms of weight, length, finish, taper, durability, color, and tip in order to match my particular needs.

Like highhats, drum sticks are one of the most important elements of your drum set. Take the time to experiment with various types, though one challenge you’ll encounter is a growing number of local music stores don’t carry a great diversity of brands these days.

What should you look for? In my opinion, the top five drum stick manufacturers in the world include Vic Firth, Zildjian, Pro-Mark, Vater and Regal Tip. If you get the chance to test drive some pairs, roll the sticks on a flat surface before using or purchasing them. Like 2X4s at the lumber store, drum sticks are not all cut perfectly straight. The more warped they are, the less efficient they perform around your drum set.

There are specific wood types and outer coatings to consider as well. The most common drums sticks are made from Maple, Hickory, and Oak – Maple being the most apt to break and Hickory drum sticks being the most popular. I have never liked synthetic sticks such as aluminum. Drums are meant to be played with real wood.
Varnished or lacquered sticks are important considerations as well. If you sweat a lot, you will want to avoid slippery coatings, or sand them down after purchase. There are a growing number of sticks with tacky surfaces embedded over the butt ends now. You can even buy sure grip wraps for them. I stay away from painted sticks, as they tend to taint my heads with that particular color.

As for drum stick tips, I still prefer wood, though nylon is the standard today. The problem I have with nylon is they tend to sound too pinging and brilliant on certain cymbals where wood produces much warmer tones. There are actually four types of tip designs and tonal qualities to consider, including: rounded (focused for cymbals), pointed (triangular shaped for medium tones), teardrop shaped (diverse sounds), and barrel (larger area for bashing). I have found the most success in playing distinct patterns with teardrops.

Size and taper wise, traditionalists will tell you that 5Bs and 2Bs are intended for hard rock drummers while 5As and 7As are best suited for jazz and funk. Though originally designed for such uses, I use 5Bs during practice to build my endurance for live gigs employing 5As. I have even used a 5B in my left hand for more punch on the snare while playing a lighter 5A on the ride and vice versa.

Choose the drum stick best fit for your hands and drum set positions, not just the musical style you are playing. Stick selection is an often-overlooked process to being the complete drummer, and is actually a critical ingredient.

Written by Tim Kane
Tim Kane is a professional writer, editor and drummer of 30-plus years residing in Massachusetts. Read and comment on his blog at www.dixondrums.net.

First, I am not ambidextrous and do not play open stick position all the time versus crossed. If right-hand dominant drummers have ever tried to set up their drums in a left-handed drumming position (right to left like Phil Collins), then they understand how the brain finally works – it’s great practice, but also very humbling.

Tour drummers such as Carter Beauford and Billy Cobham come to mind as musicians who are darn close to the freedom and agility of using both hands without a weaker side. That’s pretty impressive stuff to watch. But their expertise does not mean non-ambidextrous drummers can’t experiment with the new found freedoms open playing position provides.

Check out the audio tab attached here open playing position example to this blog of a spur-of-moment raw drum pattern I recently played to warm-up before a band rehearsal. The majority of my snare strikes were with the right hand while I carried most high-hat, crash and higher tom accents pretty much with the weaker left hand.

What I have found is that by playing open position at times during a song or solo, it provides me with a whole new world of off-beat accents and patterns to explore – some actually in reverse of how one would normally play that phrasing in a traditional crossed stick position. Open playing also gives me more “mobile” right-hand expressions on the right side of the drum kit – usually reserved for floor toms and rides.

Instead of playing snare on the normal 2 and 4 beats, open playing stresses the 1 and 3 a lot more in one measure, simply because your right hand is more attuned to accenting 1 and 3 heavy while playing crossed stick position in a standard 4/4 time signature.

By mixing and reserving stick and hand dominance more during songs, new styles and sequences suddenly begin to appear. If you set up a ride or crash ride on your left side, open playing also works great in situations where you desire a steady ride or bell pattern, but want more control and strength in accenting on the toms.

I also have set-up a tom-tom to the left of my snare and high-hat for years and found it has helped my left-side weakness improve.

Please take a listen to the attached track and share your own open playing experiences.

Tim Kane is a professionally-trained drummer with about 30 years performance experience.

Written by Tim Kane

Today, he feels lucky to have a diverse range of experiences to draw from as a working professional drummer.

Read Tim’s full bio

Drummers from Gene Krupa to Neil Peart have not only used drum rudiments for warm ups and to keep up their chops, but integrate them into their playing, as well.

Drum rudiments, which are basic drum patterns, are the best ways to practice stick control and wrist movement. Invented over 500 years ago by the Swiss for their fife and drum corps, rudiments first came to America with English regiments back in the 16th century. The first fife and drum book in America to list 26 drum rudiments was written in 1812.

Though many drum books and websites still list 26 basic rudiments, there are actually 40, counting all the variations, which are categorized into five rudimental “families,” including single-stroke roll rudiments, double-stroke roll rudiments, diddle rudiments, flam rudiments, and drag rudiments.

The single-stroke rudiments include the single-stroke four and single-stroke seven rolls; the double-stroke rudiments include the five, six, seven, nine, 13, 15 and 17-stroke rolls. Diddle rudiments are also known as paradiddles and include four different variations while the flam rudiments have 11 and the drag rudiments have 10.

Great use of the paradiddle by drummer Tim Pederson of Musician’s Institute.

The rudiments can be played with pretty much any of the three basic drumstick gripping techniques (matched grip, traditional grip or French grip), and are usually practiced mainly on the snare drum or on a practice pad. Some drum websites also suggest practicing rudiments with brushes as well as drumsticks.

Drum instructors also suggest that rudiments be practiced more so than drum sets for the simple fact that it forces you to keep your chops up by playing the basics. That isn’t to say the drum set isn’t important, however. There should be a balance there—going back to the basics and working on your speed and versatility will also help keep you up to par on the drum kit.
Listen to your favorite band, tune your ear to the drummer and you are likely to hear at least a couple of flams, lots of single and double-stroke rolls and maybe even a paradiddle or two. Just as the English language is based on the alphabet, the language of drumming is based on rudiments and you will only be helping yourself by working them into your routine.

Written by Toby Tate

Toby Tate is a performing musician, songwriter and studio engineer from northeastern North Carolina. Currently a freelance writer, Toby was a reporter and graphic designer for The Daily Advance newspaper for five years and has had stories and articles published in regional and national magazines and on the Internet. His first novel, DIABLERO, a supernatural thriller, will be released worldwide in October by Nightbird Publishing.

Besides the incredible speed and technique, notice anything different? Derek swaps his second and third tom, so that from left to right, the rack toms are: Highest, Lowest, Middle.
Whether you’re a beginning or an experienced drummer, there’s little doubt that one of your favorite things to do is hang out with other drummers and talk about drums. Listening famous drummers, playing your favorite fills for each other, talking about the latest gear… sound familiar?
It’s common, too, for drummers to talk about their setups. When other drummers play your kit, they may comment that your cymbals are too far away, or your toms aren’t in the right place, etc. You’ll be tempted, especially if they’re more experienced than you, to change your setup and angles based on their recommendations.
The trouble is, when it comes to setups and angles, everyone’s different. By all means, try out what’s recommended to you, but keep in mind that what works for someone 5’3” won’t work for someone who’s 6’3”, and vice versa. Similarly, there’s a lot of value in having a unique setup, especially if it works for you. Your more experienced colleague may not have the need for an extra hi-hat, or for the floor tom to be angled towards the snare.

Any teacher worth his or her salt will help you find a setup that works well for you and your body type. If you’re playing a 5-piece, the ‘typical’ setup is a good starting point, but when it comes to angles, and specific placement of the drums, the goal is to feel comfortable behind your kit, be able to move around freely, and to play with good technique.
Once you have a good feel for your kit and your setup, start experimenting. Change the order of your toms, add extra drums and cymbals, put your snare drum to your right…get creative! Over time, you’ll naturally come to a setup that allows you to best express yourself musically.

The point is: do what works for you. It’s not important that your setup look like the next guys’. In fact, it probably shouldn’t. After all: you’re you.

Footnote – This setup might be going too far:

How do you set up your kit? Are typical 5-piece setups the most common because they’re the BEST way? Any tips on coming up with the perfect setup for you?

Written by: Scott Honsberger

Scott is a drumming and music junkie, originally from Toronto and now living in Halifax, NS, Canada. He loves funk, jazz, jam bands, drum corps, rock climbing, and his iPhone.

Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick likes to use a pair of gigantic drumsticks, among other things, when playing live.

Professional drummer Lou Mars, who has been compared to The Who’s Keith Moon, says “I’m a show drummer, but more specifically I think my style is like a controlled crash.” Mars, the grand prize winner of the Dixon Drums’ “Drum your way to Hollywood” Contest, also set the second longest Marathon Drumming World Record at 108.5 hours in January 2010. But showmanship doesn’t have to be all about tricks with flaming beaters or huge drumsticks.

A friend of mine, a drummer by the name of Martin Parker, has played with artists like Ricky Scaggs, Vince Gill, Earl Scruggs, Patti Loveless and Allison Krause and never so much as twirls a drumstick. Yet, he continues to get calls to go on tour because he does one thing very, very well—he drums.
As an entertainer, it’s up to you to make sure the audience gets what it came to see—a show. But performing is also a balancing act that requires you to maintain artistic integrity and play to the best of your ability.

Written by Toby Tate

Toby Tate is a performing musician, songwriter and studio engineer from northeastern North Carolina. Currently a freelance writer, Toby was a reporter and graphic designer for The Daily Advance newspaper for five years and has had stories and articles published in regional and national magazines and on the Internet. His first novel, DIABLERO, a supernatural thriller, will be released worldwide in October by Nightbird Publishing.

Without a doubt active listening should always be a part of your drumming regimen. Developing your ear for music is a vital skill all musicians, especially drummers, need to have in their training arsenal.

Though it’s important, actively listening to your favorite drummers isn’t the only skill you should rely on to improve your craft. Using your eyes to drum is one way to start performing like a pro.

What Is Drumming With Your Eyes?

Most drummers would agree that it would be impossible to drum without your hands. But if you think about it, it would be equally impossible to drum without your eyes.

Put simply, drumming with your eyes means going to a live show with the specific purpose to watch the drummer and truly studying how he works from start to finish.

Like active listening with your ears, drumming with your eyes involves paying close attention to how another drummer sets up his kit, how he plays, how he interacts with his band mates before during and after a set.

In their own way, the best drummers use their eyes to study everything around them, especially the habits and behaviors of other drummers. And by doing so, they pick up little things and work those insights into their own style to hone their craft.

So whether you’re at a show watching as a fan in the audience or checking out a video at home, whenever you don’t have your drum sticks in your hands you should always be using your eyes to study, soak up and evaluate the habits and nuances other drummers.

One of the benefits of drumming with your eyes is that you don’t always have to watch the best drummers in the world to learn something or pick up an inside tip.

And once you get used to actively watching drummers of all skill levels, you’ll naturally become more aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. And when your drumming skills plateau, drumming with your eyes can also help to get you out of a creative rut.

And when you have that complete awareness as a drummer you’ll be able to improve your playing, make adjustments and perfect your own style. Like practicing your rudiments, taking time to drum with your eyes is one way you can elevate your playing.  It’s a visual drumming tool that, when combined with active listening, can send you on your way to laying down beats, rhythms and grooves just like the pros do.

How have you been drumming with your eyes?

What nuances have you notice by watching other drummers?

By Chris Catania
Based in Chicago, Chris Catania is the author of Live Fix, a blog that celebrates, explores and examines the live music experience. Chris also interviews artists and fans, reviews concerts, festivals, events and albums for Blogcritics, PopMatters, Ink19 and other online and print publications.

Any easy way is to hear a snare sound you like either on a recording, or at a live show, and find out what make, model, head type is being used, and if there were any other modifications like aftermarket snare wire, non-standard tuning styles, dampeners or tone rings used. Another way is to start out by getting a couple of snare drums to experiment with as you learn how to modify their sound.

Another way to to test snare drums is at a drum shop. Ask the salesperson to allow you to test the snare drum in different areas of the store, such as an open area away from the other drums and cymbals, since the snare hits will resonate these other instruments. If the store has an empty practice room, you can try it there as well. Just try not to scare the students by practicing too much.

One thing you cannot change after you buy a snare is the shell material and size, since this is the essence of the snare drum. We won’t attempt to explain all of the nuances of snare sound in this blog post. The best thing to do is to learn for yourself how the various materials sound by experimenting in a shop or playing on a friend or bandmates setup who hopefully will have multiple snare drums. However, here are a couple of terms people use. Tones can be described as warm or dark, decays can be described as long or short, and can be adjusted by tuning the heads. I like to refer to the Drum Tuning Bible to show people how tuning can affect the sound character. The attack can be hard or soft, and can be adjusted by tuning the heads or loosening or tightening the snare wire, or using snare wire of various designs, and widths. You can also “throw off” the snare. Most good snares have a lever called a throw-off that will remove the snare wire from the base of the snare for a more tom or timbale-like sound. Some throw-offs let you adjust the snare wire tension on the fly.

There are a variety of woods with multiple plies and ply thickness, two or more types of wood in a single shell, as well as metals and synthetics like acrylic and carbon fiber. The angle that the shell’s bearing edges are cut, and the shell’s height and diameter also matter. The depth and width that the snare bed’s are cut play a large roll in the sensitivity of the snare drum you choose. With wood snares there are also a number of processes used to bend the shell into a cylinder shape. To sum it up thickness, plies, material, height and diameter all add to the snare’s character.

Sticks also matter. You can play with traditional sticks, brushes, shakers, or mallets to suit the feel of the song, even using more than one set of stick types to shape the dynamics of the song. I often see drummers start out a song using mallets or brushes for a mellow intro, and then switch to sticks for a more aggressive sound.

So get out there; learn and experiment to become a master of snare drum tone!

Lean more about our snare drums.