We’ve all dealt with nervousness and anxiety at some point in our lives. Thinking back to my childhood, I know I can name a whole bunch of piano recitals, plays, public speaking scenarios, and more when I remember that paralyzing fear. I know you can relate, so I won’t waste time listing off more examples. Whether your most anxious moments in life were music related, school related, or work related, you know what I’m talking about.

Today, however, I’d like to address the fear and anxiety often associated with performing on an instrument. You’re getting ready for the performance, and you know you’ve prepared well. But you can’t get rid of that nervous feeling deep down inside where a little bit of fear dwells. This is the “what if I mess up and can’t recover?” kind of fear. This is the “what if I don’t sound good and nobody likes my playing?” kind of fear. “What if I play the...

I received a video topic request from someone recently, asking “what should a beginner practice…vs an advanced player?” We all know what the grip basics are, what the rudiment basics are, and we know the basic beats beginners can work on. But what exactly should a more advanced player focus his or her attention on in order to grow rapidly? Is there any crossover? What should EVERYONE practice? That’s what we’re breaking down today.

What Should a Beginner Drummer Practice?

A beginner should focus heavily on grip. After all, how you hold your sticks determines nearly everything about your playing. A small mistake here can wreak havoc on more complex skills you begin to work on later. Build a strong foundation by mastering good grip. Check out this video that breaks down exactly how to do this.

A beginner should be listening to a favorite band. Be jamming out to your favorite songs, playing along with your favorite drummer. Enjoy...

On a gig a couple of months ago, I made one of those “drummer mistakes” where the drummer goes one direction in the song and the lead singer goes another. Looking back, it’s pretty hilarious. There are really only two ways you can handle this type of situation, so I’ll share with you my example…

I was playing with three other guys I’ve played with pretty regularly over the last 7 years. We’ve played all sorts of cover gigs together since college, and we’ve learned to play very well together. Most of the time we’re good about catching each other’s signals and knowing where the other is going musically…But I happened to miss one of these signals on this particular night.

We were playing something sort of funky, and we were jamming on it while the electric guitar player soloed. I remembered a few times in the past that we had launched into a double time feel on a jam section like this, so I prepared mentally for our...

Learning the marimba in college actually made me a better drummer in two different ways, and I think these are relevant lessons to share with you guys even if you’ve never been into classical percussion.

I imagine some of you guys saw that title, though, and were like - “what in the world is a marimba??” In case you’ve never been involved in the percussion world of timpani, xylophone, chimes, marimba, and all the crazy stuff that makes up the percussion section in an orchestra… Here’s what a marimba is (the marimba is on the right, and a xylophone is on the left):

This was the "backstage" additional practice space in our music building. I spent a lot of time back there!

Most folks recognize a xylophone when they see one. Think of the marimba as a “bass xylophone” - basically a xylophone that goes much lower and therefore has much larger wooden bars. These bars are usually made of rosewood, and they’re not cheap....

Some musicians take the “vow of poverty” when they finish high school, and they decide to live in a van and travel with a band. They pride themselves in just scraping by, bouncing from couch to couch and living on the road. It’s all worth it if you’re doing what you love, right? Maybe that’s so, and maybe that life is right for a select group of single 19 year olds out there. But just because you want to be a full time musician doesn’t mean you have to take the vow of poverty and be broke.

All I want to do today is give you some tips for handling money as a full-time musician. This is for any of you young guys who are in high school or college, and this is especially for any of you doing the full-time music thing. It’s so important that we manage our money wisely, otherwise we really could become broke and end up on the street.

I’m your average musician. I play a bunch of gigs, some paying more or less than others, and I...

I was on a gig recently where I played something completely wrong. This was no small mistake. This was one of those scenarios where the drummer just launches into something else and the band’s left staring and wondering. BUT…there was still a silver lining, which is why this story is worth telling. ;)

This was the second show I’d played with this particular band, and we were covering numerous pop songs and even a hiphop tune or two. One such hiphop track was “Poison.” If you were ever into old-school 90s hiphop you probably remember this one. It’s one of those drum-machine-style tracks where the intro or the turn is a drum loop. Songs like this likely inspired Bruno Mars’ “Finesse,” where the song kicks off with a solo drum beat.

Rarely on gigs like this are there opportunities for drum solos. It really just depends on the band and whether they like to put their drummer on the spot and hope he can throw...

Somebody recently emailed me with the question, How do you develop your style on the drums? This is an excellent question, and replying to his message made me think a lot about this topic.

Many of us have had questions like:

• How can I find my personal style or voice on the drums?
• Should I intentionally try to create a style?
• How do I become truly creative enough to really have a style?
• Does your technical ability influence your style?
• Is this even important to begin with?

I hope to answer some of these questions today, because I believe every great musician has some sort of style. Maybe it’s a certain feel they have where you always know it’s them when they’re playing. Maybe a drummer has certain licks he likes to play. Maybe he has a sort of “signature” groove you always hear from him. I think we can all agree that the best players out there have unique styles. You hear Bonham, you know it’s Bonham. You hear Ringo, you know it’s...

What is your default? What’s the one thing you rely on that you can gravitate toward and lean on in a tough musical situation? In other words - What are you so comfortable doing that you can excel at it while chaos ensues around you? A recent gig made me think about this…

A drummer friend in town asked me to sub for him on a cover gig. I eagerly accepted, mainly because I like the challenge of learning new songs in a less familiar genre. Sometimes I get so into the groove (no pun intended?) on my regular gigs that it’s easy to stop growing as a musician. When the opportunity came to play with people I’d never met at a venue I’d never played at…playing a lot of unfamiliar songs…I jumped at the chance.

My friend sent me a setlist of the tunes they most commonly played at this particular club, so I got to work charting about 30 songs. I enjoy gig prep, and I love being forced to listen to stuff I don’t hear everyday in order...

What if all you had to practice on was a practice pad? Imagine you have no drumset and no music to listen to, and all you have in your possession is a pair of sticks and a pad.

This may actually be your reality, and you’re shouting at the screen, “Stephen, this isn’t funny! I’ve been practicing on a pad for years now and I still haven’t been able to get a real kit.” If that’s you, this email is aimed to help direct your pad practice so that you’ll grow in your skills without a kit in your possession. And if you do have a kit, you’re probably limited as to which hours you can play and make noise anyway. Pad practice should be an important element of your regular practice as well. Today we’re finding the most effective thing to practice on a pad that has the most impact on your drumset playing.

A few years ago I was in the limited-practice-because-I-lived-in-an-apartment situation,...

Song learning usually consists of 3 simple steps for me. If there’s a recording or demo of the song, I’ll listen to it and write a chart. From there I’ll jump over to the kit and play through it, and I’ll be good to go. This sounds pretty simple and straightforward (and it really is!), but there are a few key things you want to look out for and make sure you do. The question of “what’s the best way to learn songs” is one I get frequently, so I hope this lesson-style email helps you out!

Step 1: Listen to the Recording

Really listen to the recording. Whether it’s the original record that you’re covering, a vocals-and-guitar demo your bandleader sent you, or a fully put together demo of a new arrangement, listen to the recording thoroughly. In other words, a quick listen in the car doesn’t count. Listening via your phone speaker doesn’t count. Listening to it with any distractions going on around you...