Sometimes the most practical, helpful thing you can do to be a better drummer is relax. Literally.

Relaxation is something we’ve learned to appreciate here at the Clark Household since having our baby 2 months ago! Any chance we can get pays off.

But it’s easy for me to say “relax!” while playing the drums, and it’s another to actually do it. Ultimately it comes down to a couple of things…

• Build up your playing from a technical standpoint so that you’re not constantly bumping a ceiling. Here’s a recent video that will help you with that.​
• Physically relax while you play. Listening helps a bunch, and here’s a link to today’s video that will help you with exactly that (+ a bunch of additional tips for getting better sounds out of your drums!)

Beyond these two core tips, logging real-world playing experience with actual musicians is the best way to rapidly grow in these skills. But I also heard something interesting from the drummer, Shawn Pelton. In a podca...