We all have our favorite earbuds, speakers, or headphones that we enjoy using to listen to our favorite music. But many of us face the challenge of struggling to hear what the drums are actually doing on recordings.

Sometimes it’s tough to discern the kick pattern, and sometimes it’s really hard to tell if you’re hearing snare ghosting or additional hihat notes. And oftentimes there are so many layered parts on a recording that it’s tough to pick out what you should actually play on the drums.

This is the struggle for a lot of drummers, and I want to help you solve this in two ways:

#1) Explore how a higher quality pair of in-ears or headphones can make detailed listening easier

#2) Teach you strategies for listening more deeply and picking out parts - with whatever headphones you may have

Here’s an important listening / “mixing” truth you need to understand:

Turning up the bass on a recording doesn’t always make it easier to hear...