At some stage during your drumming career and indeed your practice time we have all come across the problem of volume. It's simply not possible to practice drums In a regular room accosticly at full volume at any and all hours of the day and whilst the not inconsiderable advancement in drum electronics over the past 10 to 15 years has made  a volume conscious practice option available to almost every drummer on any budget they do always offer a tangible difference in feel and playability to that of your acoustic kit and nowhere is this felt more markedly than in the cymbals, rubber pads no matter how technologically advanced will always struggle to match the feel of a ride cymbal that has been on your kit for years, and that is where CYMBOMUTES come in.
The brain child of Manchester based professional drummer Hugh Lawrence CYMBOMUTES are designed to address that exact problem,So let's take a look.........
Cymbomutes are large elastic sleeves that fit around the circumference of the cymbal greatly reducing the volume whilst maintaining the cymbals fundamental pitch, stick response and rebound.For review I received 8" 16" 14" and 20" models ( its worth mentioning that you only need to mute the top hihat cymbal for cymbomutes to be effective) The mutes are available in black,and a snazzy new goldish colour that closely resembles that of a cymbal . And come in any size you could possibly desire so you can mute both your 8" splashes and your 22" swish cymbal.
There's certainly a knack to putting on cymbomutes and your first few attempts may well result in mutes flying across your practice space but it very soon becomes easy to do
Once on the drop in volume is quite substantial leaving only the fundamental pitch and the driest 'tah'Sound make no mistake it's not silent but then neither is a rubber pad.Cymbomutes allow the cymbal to move and flex on the stand as they would without them giving the truly real feeling in playing on a ride cymbal as well as full flexibility of bell, bow and edge sounds crashes are a little more subdued but then the aim here is quiet!
For me where cymbomutes really shine is on hi hats, the flexibility here is simply marvellous as with the ride you have bell,bow and edge but also chick and splash sounds with the foot making it truly fun and expressive to play. To be honest this kind of hihat feel can only be found on the most eye wateringly expensive E-hats and even then is probably still not 'quite' as realistic as what's on offer here.
I can also foresee cymbomutes being quite popular in schools and colleges a lot of the schools I visit during the week in my capacity as a teacher keep there kits muted in some way except when I visit.cymbomutes could really work here as ethier a tool for the school or the visiting teacher as a full set can easily fit into your regular stick bag.
During the review I also experimented with recording a muted cymbal (sabian AA studio crash and a 16" Terry bozzio radia model ) with interesting results, whilst not being a very conventional sound it did have a certain 'found sound' quality that I found appealing, it also made the cymbal very easy to apply liberal effects to during a mix owing to it extremely rapid decay, you can also get some interesting sounds by stacking a muted cymbal on top of an unmuted one and whist this is not the primary intended use for cymbomutes nor indeed everyones sonic cup of tea it's certainly an option. Cymbomutes retail for £33 for a four mute set which is enough for a basic cymbal set up to mind that price is worth the flexibility in the hihat mute alone. If you have trouble with cymbal volume then this really could be the answer your looking for.Check out Www.cymbomute.com
Happy drumming.

On the last recording project I did (snake eyes-leatherat ) I took no fewer the 8...... Count em 8! Snare drums into the studio with me .....  That's a lot of car space, space in the studio and time consuming  tuning etc. I remember thinking it was kind of silly but never the less felt better being prepared.
Thanks to this new product I think that may well now be a thing of the past.Ladies and gentlemen a present to you The wonderfully named Big fat snare drum head.
The BFSD head claims to lower the overall pitch of your snare drum for recording and performance without the need to retune or tape,moongel or otherwise change your usual snare batter head set up.This really got my attention!
The BFSD head is basically a thin disc of a patent pending blend of plastic and rubber I would say only marginally thinker than your averaged 2ply drumhead with and black rubber ring towards the outside of the head and a neat little semi circular hole at the edge for quick easy movement on and off your snare drum.
Using the BFSD head is easy just place it on your snare drum..... And when you no longer want that sound simply take it off your snare drum......That's it!
to be honest I really wasn't prepared for the drastic change in sound the BFSDOffers I tune my snare drum very high and so didn't expect to get a SUPER FATsound .... But man oh man is that what I got.full,rich fatback 1970's snare tone like you wouldn't believe and all from a snare tuned way more like Stewart copland's,  it really is like having two snare drums in one. I works wonderfully well under microphone scrutiny as well really focusing the sound to the mic 
There is a very  slight change in feel and  response  as you might expect when putting something on your snare head but it really is very small  and didnt effect the rebound to much, I had no trouble playing as I usually do.If however you still really like to keep the feel of your original head BFSD has you covered in the form of 'steves doughnut' (man do these guys know how to name things!)Designed one suspects with one of BFSDs Endorsers Steves doughnut is a regular BFSD head with a substantial hole in the centre to allow for the feel of your drums head to come through.
I have to say I prefer the steves doughnut model as the overall effect is not quite as full on as with the original model, but as with everything I suspect its a case of 'horses for courses'.
All in all this a stunning simple but very effective addition to any drummers gear  arsenal, I'm sure they will prove very popular with drummers and producers alike.
Of course the only problem is you won't get to show of that snare drum collection as often anymore.
Happy drumming 

So we have all been there,
It's a Saturday night gig for some inexplicable reason your drums decided to sound terrible tonight despite your best and consistent efforts with a drum key. Your forgot your favourite ride cymbal, your hihat stand broke in the second song, the singer decided you desperately needed to play that super under rehearsed song, your solo was beyond awful and to top it all off you left your spare shirt at home and face the rest of the night sitting in your own sweat.   
Suffice to say its not difficult on nights like those to be a little 'down' on your playing ( and probably your organisational skills!) but it is usually those nights when someone will walk up to you and give you a compliment like

"That was awesome mate... Awesome!"
Or 
"I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your solo, amazing!"

Which is ofcourse lovely but.........
Most musicians I know are highly self critical, I know I am. In past times  I've found myself thinking in my head 
"are you mad!?"
"are we talking about the same event!?"
To my detriment I don't mind admitting that once or twice I may even have said it out loud. 

After some consideration of these situations I decided that this really isn't fair to yourself or more importantly the kindly person who is trying to express there appreciation of your performance.
The person speaking to you may well be a music fan who has no idea of the dark inner workings of drum tecnique and just enjoyed the music for what it hopefully was.... Good music 

In the past I have given unsuspecting listeners chapter and verse on why or how I haven't played my best this evening which when I think about it really wasn't needed.
What your actually telling that poor person is 
"what do you know? That was awful...
You clearly don't know what your talking about!" 
How would that make you feel?
It's actually quite mean isn't it.
Let's look at what's happening here:
You the player have a certain level of performance that you strive to reach every time you play and anything under that is disappointing.
They the listener have a certain expectation of live music and anything that exceeds that expectation is a wonderful surprise. 
It seems very possible that you could fall short of your own expectations whist exceeding that of your audience 
Depending on how hard you are on yourself.
I have a new policy that no matter how bad I think my gig was if someone says they enjoyed it or offers a compliment I simply say 
"thankyou very much I really appreciate it" and then shake there hand 
Simple ..... 
You can see the difference on people's faces and to be honest you do actually feel a little better about that awful gig.

And anyway you can always have a good moan with the guitar player on the way home ......

Happy drumming 

When you rWhen you really think about it playing the drums or any instrument for that matter is a huge undertaking. 
There are so many styles, so much vocabulary and so much technical development to be undergone that it can be easy to get a little overwhelmed at times. 
Just when you think you have that tricky over the bar line rudimental based fill together comes the horrible realisation that you haven't spent enough time working on your Latin feels lately.
Especially when all you really wanted to do was play the music that you love!
I think this is one of the major causes of young intermediate students becoming disengaged with drum lessons at one point or another.
SO what do you want to do?
Why do you want to do it?
What tools do you need to get there?

You have to get organised!!!
Organise your practice sessions into short achievable goals. A collection of 'little victories' that will lead you to your goals and help keep your spirits up along the way.
It's also very important I feel to decide what is relevant and needed for your playing TODAY.
Is that cascara pattern going to help your gig in the orchestra on thursday?   
Or would your time be better spent working on your buzz rolls and dynamics?
If your playing some metal on Saturday hadn't you better dust off the double pedal and put away that funk book?
Again by doing that I'm sure the end result ie the gig will be better so you'll feel a sense of improvement quicker in your playing and therefor feel the desire to practice more!!  

I encourage my students to keep a practice log of some kind so they can organise there practice in this way.
On the days when you feel you need a drumming 'pick me up' it can be revitalising to turn back to the first few pages of your practice log and realise something you were once really struggling with is now a fully usable part of your playing vocabulary.

Give it a go.
Happy drumming 

I love practice pads I really do,
So I was quite excited to to be in recipt of the new BS mini pad for review.

Bill Sanders pads should need no introduction. Bill has been at the forefront of producing some of the best silent practice kits and stand alone practice pads on the market since 1972.

The new model is a 7" mini pad and is constructed in exactly the same way as the other pads and kits in the BS range.
Black rubber atop a wood base with a raised metal rim attached by three small screws, and a non slip surface on the bottom, I tried pretty hard to get the pad moving around on the table and belive me once you put it down it's going nowhere!

For those of you dubious about smaller sized pads I can assure you that this model has exactly the same 'famous' feel as all other BS pads and Is simply a delight to play with just the the right amount of rebound as to accurately recreate the feel of a drumhead without allowing you to 'cheat' as some of the markets mesh based pads do.

The real advantage of the mini Though is its portability at 7" it should easily fit in your stick bag or music case making it ideal for both students and gigging professionals warming up backstage.

With a RRP of £23.00 the BS mini pad represents good value for money in my opinion,and should be a hit with parents of budding drummers and percussionists.

Having the legendary BS feel in such a portable format is a delight!
Mine my very well never leave my side again!

For more information on BS products
Check out
Www.practicedrumkits.com

When warming up I'll admit to really enjoying singles, doubles and paradiddles.
It's simple and predictable but never the less effective.
The only problem with an exercise as familiar to most drummers as two bars of singles two of doubles and two of paradiddles is that after a while one can almost suspend your brain and do it on autopilot. I've found that this can have a negative effect on the playing I do after warming up as haven't fully engaged the part of my brain that I want to use to create hip fills,grooves or phrases even though my hands are 'warm' enough to play them.

To add a little counting to this standard exercise try playing one bar of each rudiment as 16th notes in
4/4
3/4
5/4
7/4
Repeating each bar twice.This will cause you to have to count the exercise and have the added bonus of starting with the weaker hand every other time.

Give it a go I have to say I found it rather fun, and felt considerably more 'awake' when it was time to go to the job

You can find the sheet music on the
Articles page

Good luck

When I was 9 or 10 years old I was studying drums with my first drum teacher Ian Self. He was a wonderfull teacher and from what I am told always
started his students playing a swing pulse before a straight 8th feel. Standard fair once you'd gotten to a certain level were charts like 'little brown jug' and 'American patrol' by Glen miller.
I had also taken on the idea of the drums as a supportive instrument aside
from the ocassional four bar break and of course the short breaks in the charts
mentioned above I had never heard a drum solo and was more than happy to
be just an accompanist.

Then one sunny saturday afternoon.......... Somthing happened!!!

whilst at a car boot sale I picked up and purchased a record ( for 40 pence) called 'Glens greatest' it included a few of the tunes i was studying so I thought great! now i'll have somthing to play along to, And rushed of home to listen.
The last track on side one of that album was 'Bugal call rag' featuring a stunning solo by Murice 'mo' Purtill (pictured)
Wow!! what was this?? how do you do that!? I want to do that! I MUST DO THAT!
I wore the grooves out on that record and bounced off to my drum lesson to learn the dark secrets ...or so I thought.

Ian's response to my asking to learn that track was a flat NO, very possibly because at the time I had nothing like the level of technique to even get close to what Mo had played! However I was bitterly dissapointed and set about trying to work it out myself.
In any case the die was cast and I was now totally hooked on drum solos (still am!!)
so with the help of the staff at the now long defunct DRUMPAD in northampton I set about finding out about truly great soloists
like Buddy,Morello,Bonham,Bozzio and many more. Solos became part of my deal if I was in your band when I was younger
I played a solo! gradually though memories of that first miller solo drifted away.

Litterally years and years later whilst sitting with a guitarist friend of mine  we were sifting through records and I stumbled upon 'Glens greatest' and put it on.
About half way though the solo my friend commented
"jesus mate no wonder you liked this..... it's your solo!!!!"
there was then much laughter and leg pulling but he had a definate point, there coming through the speakers was pretty much every lick I was currently using despite not having actually heard the record in years and never having gotten close to being able to really play it when I was younger.

This really got me thinking and brought me to the conclusion that listening is the single most important thing any young musician can do.The most important piece of gear you own is your ears.
Listen, Listen and then listen again let yourself soak up the music and the drummers your listening to so that you can identify them without even thinking about it. I really can't stress how important it is.
Over the years i've taken some great instruction from from some truly great people exceptionly talented drummers and teachers all of them.
But when it comes to soloing nowadays ilike to think i got one amazing lesson from Mr Maurice 'mo' Purtill
and all for 40 pence!!!
 I don't know about you but to me that sounds like a BARGAIN!!

Take it away Mo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scared of sight reading? feel the creeping fear of doom whenever you're called upon to do it
despite the fact that your a solid reader?
your not alone! it is said the frank zappa composed the black page because he'd heard of session musicians fear that one day they may be confronted with the unplayably difficult
'black page'

So what do you do about it? Well ive found that simply reading a lot during my practice sessions
and applying that reading in different ways didn't help me get rid of 'the fear' for two reasons first
of all i would usually read from one of my favorite books which a also use to teach,This meant that there was an unconcious level of familarity that has as much to do with the page layout as the content of the music. If you constanly read from computer
printed notation then suddenly reading somthing hand written or simply written in a different musical font can be enough to bring on an attack of the fear.
Secondly when im practising in the warm solitary inviroment of the studio i feel absolutly no pressure, no one is counting on me to cue them and i dont have anyone to impress if get it wrong there are no conseqences beyond my own frustration and dissapointment.

So went about simulating the sight reading experience in my practice in two steps.

1, i started to buy and store one or two books usually a snare drum book and a drumset chart book as well as a few random and usually very old individual charts from shows or bigbands away from the rest of my drum material and NEVER look at it without it being part of my practice shedule, once id used a page i wouldnt use it again for months.

2, I began always using a click or drum machine while sight reading at least set to a medium tempo and stopped allowing myself to correct my reading mistakes to simulate the feeling of pressure and to improve my ability to get back on top of chart if i made a mistake. this made every sight reading session in essence a performance for one (me) which gradually raised my confidence as i made fewer and fewer mistakes and at the very least covered them better.

Give it a go.... im sure it will work (it did for me) also try to remember that when you are asked to sight read generally no one is
out to get you, their not trying to trip you up, they just want good well played music as much as you do. so there's really no need for a attack of......... THE FEAR