7 Things Every Drummer Should Own

We’re gearing up for Christmas here at the Clark household, and we're super excited for our 5-month-old daughter's first Christmas! :)

If you’re blessed this Christmas with cash gifts you’d like to use on quality gear investments, I’ll give you some good ideas today.

Whether you’re new to the drums or a few decades into the instrument, make sure you own these 7 important tools for success. Of course, this is isn’t an exhaustive list because I could just as easily send you another email next week with 7 more things. But these are the most essential, most important physical items that will contribute most directly to your personal growth on the drums. Here we go!

[1] Metronome

Seems pretty obvious. However, plenty of players fail to regularly practice with a metronome either because they’re lazy (I’ve been guilty too!) - or they feel it might damage their “natural, organic feel” on the drums. The latter is false, by the way, but that’s a topic for another email or video. Practice to a metronome no matter what you’re practicing, especially when playing through exercises, grooves, fills, songs…really everything. 

So have a metronome or metronome app that is your go-to. There are several great free ones on the App Store, and I’ve used one by Sound Brenner. If you’re fine with spending a couple bucks, Tempo and Tempo Advance by Frozen Ape are fantastic. I’ve been using “Tempo Advance” for over 10 years now. I’ve never had any gripes with this app, and it’s been super reliable over the years. This a totally honest, unofficial endorsement, btw. I’m just sharing with you what’s helped me over the years. They now have a "lite" version on the app store which you can grab for free.

[2] Copy of Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone 

This is one of those method books every drummer should own, whether they’re a concert percussionist, drum core nerd, or drumset player. We all need fluid, quick hands that play exactly what they’re supposed to play. This classic, legendary method works your hand technique and hand-to-hand coordination via tons of different hand patterns. It’s also a highly versatile method that can be applied to other limb combinations around the kit, and the exercises will grow alongside you as you increase your skills. I’ve been practicing out of this book for years, and I still pull it out just about every time I sit down to practice.

[3] Method for Recording Yourself

This is pretty self explanatory, and these days all you need is a smartphone. The newer iPhones especially do a fantastic job of recording clean audio, and loud drums actually sound kind of cool when they get distorted by the iPhone’s mic. You don’t need perfection here - just a reliable, easy way to record yourself quickly on the fly. If you’re able to spend a little money on a few mics and an interface, awesome. You can run signal through your computer into GarageBand, Cubase, Logic, ProTools…your DAW of choice. The first time I built my recording rig I was able to learn a lot about my playing by zooming in on the waveforms in Logic and seeing how precise (or not so precise) my playing was to the grid. This is a great way to learn, and even if you send iPhone audio into an audio editor you can still critique yourself this way. 

The important thing is, listen back to yourself regularly so that you can gather unbiased, totally honest input on your playing. The microphone doesn’t lie, and by doing this you’ll know exactly what you need to work on. This is how you “be your own teacher” so that you can grow faster without professional advice if that’s the situation you’re in.

[4] Good Practice Pad

Find a high quality practice pad you thoroughly enjoy playing on. Now there are drummers and teachers out there who will tell you to not practice on your pad if you can avoid it - and to practice strictly on your actual snare drum if at all possible. I do agree with this somewhat… but I believe the real purpose of having a pad lying around is to decrease the number of excuses for not practicing.

When you have a pad and sticks set up ready to be played on, you’re way more likely to sit down for 10 minutes and work on your singles. If you’re in the work-from-home situation a lot of folks are in now, you may even have the luxury of taking quick breaks from work throughout the day just to play on your pad. Have it set up at your desk for simple convenience! The point is, a practice pad is quiet. When you sit down to play on your pad you’re not having to set aside a large block of time for “noise-making,” and it’s easier to play a little then step away. This kind of practice is still very effective, so having a good pad around will help you grow in the long run.

For some info on the practice pads I own, check out this past video on the channel where I do a practice pad shootout. I’ve tried a lot of pads, and they all have pros and cons. Enjoy!

[5] Comfortable Drum Throne

Man, did I overlook this one when I first started playing. I used an old, beat up piano bench with very little padding as my first “drum stool.” Even as a high schooler I started having some back pain after practicing for a while. Shockingly, the back pain went away when I bought a real drum throne with lots of cush. ;) 

I don’t have any specific recommendations for you, because different drummers have different preferences for types of thrones. Some like the kind with a backrest - others don’t. I personally prefer the simple, round kind with no backrest. Check out this recent video for more detail on drum thrones and proper throne height at your kit. 

[6] Ear Protection

Talk about an underrated piece of gear every drummer (whether beginner or seasoned pro) should own! Do yourself a favor and get some good earplugs to use whenever you’re playing. However, not forgetting our point earlier about practicing to a metronome… You can also just get some decent earbuds with foam or rubber tips that seal well. Use those when you practice so that you’re hearing the metronome and blocking most of the harmful frequencies of your kit. If you do choose to go the route of blasting a metronome through a loud speaker and practicing “acoustically” like that, try some “musician earplugs” like Earasers. I’ve used these for the last 5 years, and they’ve been great. I’ve mostly used them on small-venue gigs where I’m not using in-ear-monitors, so I need to lower volumes and protect my hearing. These are cool because they decrease the volume of your surroundings without entirely muffling everything. You can still hear the vocalist and the crisp highs of your cymbals, but your ears aren’t ringing by the end of the gig. This is just another honest, unofficial endorsement of a product I’ve really liked.

[7] Roll of Gaff Tape

“Huh?…” you might be asking if you haven’t used this before! If you’ve spent significant time recording and gigging and constantly working to perfect the tuning of your drums, you may have discovered the usefulness of a roll of gaff tape. A lot of drummers (myself included) prefer to stick tape onto drums for subtle muffling rather than using MoonGel. Gaff tape is also a versatile tool to have around if you ever need to fix anything, label anything, tape up a blistered finger, mark something on the carpet, bundle a pair of hotrods more tightly together…you name it! And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on a gig and another musician has needed to borrow some of my gaff tape. It’s useful for ANYTHING!

Why gaff tape over duct tape? Gaff tape is higher quality, extremely tough, doesn’t leave residue, and can be used over and over depending on the surface. Don’t stick duct tape on your drums, because you’ll have a sticky mess to deal with later. However, you can remove then re-stick a piece of gaff tape onto a drum head over and over. Here’s a link to my favorite brand. This stuff is hard to find in stores, but you can easily order it online.

I hope all the links to additional resources help you out further, but I know there might be questions since we skimmed through a bunch of stuff today. If you do have questions or would like me to elaborate on anything in depth in another email or a video, please let me know!

In the meantime, Merry Christmas! Have a great week.

God Bless,

Stephen