Bag of Tricks: The Wallflowers - "One Headlight"

This is the opening lick to one of my all-time favorite pop tunes, "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers.

And I know this is a drumming blog, but I've got to mention at least one of the many genius lyrics - this is in the third verse:

This place is old, it feels just like a beat-up truck
I turn the engine, but the engine doesn't turn


Love it. Enjoy!

Beyond the Kit: Shooting Free Throws

My apologies to my private students, because you're getting another basketball metaphor.

Here's the question: what makes us confident? Not only in music, but in life? While there are doubtless many things at play, I'd like to suggest one that works fantastically in drumming: The Free Throw Principle.


Imagine that you're a basketball player, and you're lousy at free throws. Problem is, you never make them in games, and you never practice them. As a result, every time you get fouled in a game, you instantly get nervous. You'd almost rather just hand the ball over to the other team because you know you ain't makin' no free throw. Your confidence in your free throws at this point is zero.

So let's say you finally decide to tackle the beast one day before a game. You decide you're going to shoot ten free throws. You miss the first nine, but - miraculously - the tenth one is perfect and swishes right through. Suddenly, you're a great free throw shooter, right? Uh......no*. At best, you're ten percent.

That night at the game, how's your confidence? Probably a little better, but not great yet. So you keep shooting. Let's say the next day you work on your form, and you hit five out of ten, and by the next week, you're hitting nine out of ten. The first day you hit nine of ten, you're pretty happy, but soon you want to hit that many every day, and you start thinking about ten of ten.

Take this to its logical conclusion, and let's say you're hitting somewhere between eight and ten of ten every day. Now you get fouled at the game, what's your confidence like? If you know you can hit 80% or better, you'll start to look forward to going to the free throw line. And if you miss one, you know that your chances of hitting the next one just went through the roof.

How can we apply this to music? Simple, whatever you want to do at the game, er, gig, you need to have done in the practice studio. And you probably need to have done it many, many times at different tempi (tempos?).

The point is, when you get to the gig, you shouldn't be trying to pull off crazy fills or take huge risks that you haven't practiced up to a respectable level at home. Back to the basketball analogy - even when you see somebody like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James take what looks like a circus shot in a game, remember that those boys have spent just as much time in a gym practicing every imaginable shot from every imaginable spot as you have practiced any lick, fill or groove on the ol' skins.

So, again. Do it right, do it a lot. As a band teacher friend of mine has on his wall, "The amateur practices until he can get it right. The professional practices until he cannot get it wrong."

Happy shooting, er, drumming!

*Although we do this all the time, as musicians. We work on something until we get it right once, then, "Yay! Let's move on!" What are we thinking?!

Bag of Tricks: Anna Nalick - "Satellite"

At the 2:58 mark, this fill caught my attention.

Bag of Tricks: Keith Sorensen

I know it seems pretty pretentious to give you Carter Beauford one week and me the next, but this is a lick I just keep using, and I need to pass it along for my own mental health.

It works great in the 100-120 BPM range. Let me know what you think.

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: (Another) Carter Beauford of DMB

Carter, to me, is infinitely creative. His style is very distinctive, and is a critical component of the Dave Matthews Band sound.

This lick, from the Busted Stuff version of "Grey Street," is not too hard, and very fun to play. It brings instant intensity to your playing.

It happens right at the beginning of the track.

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know"

A very cool, simple fill. At the 2:24 mark in the video, you can watch it played it so there's no question about how it's done. The drummer is Richard Hughes, who also sings.

I've loved this album since I first heard it in 2003, especially this tune. It's the kind of music you can listen to loud on a long drive by yourself. Or with a close friend that doesn't require a lot of conversation, just the occasional glance and nod that says, "Yep. Good tune, man. Love this tune."

Truth be told, though, I was introduced to Keane by a friend who shares my love of the pseudo-simplicity of pop music. It's easy to "get it," which is what makes it so popular. So I've spent more time analyzing and appreciating than just listening. But still, good tune, man. Love this tune.

Happy drumming.....man.

Bag of Tricks: Ben Wysocki (The Fray) Song Ending

It's always a challenge to figure out how to end a recording (or live performance, for that matter) in a classy, interesting and clean way.

Because it fits all of the above descriptors, I have always loved this simple, clever lick from Ben Wysocki on the title track of The Fray's album, "How To Save A Life." Along with many other very cool, very musical ideas, Wysocki drops this one without hesitation.

This measure starts at about the 4:19 mark, and is the final measure of the piece.

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: Jay Lawrence Funk Lick

Here is another lick I, uh, borrowed from the great Jay Lawrence.

As always, start slow, count well, and remember that accents are even more effective if the notes around them are played down a bit. Play the kick drum solidly, and let the tom accents shape the melody (if you will) of the phrase. I also like to imply a crescendo on each group of snare drum notes, starting very softly.

One possible variation on this lick lets you crash with the right hand. Super fun.

Remember that you can click on each example to view them actual size.

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: Carter Beauford Lick

What red-blooded drummer doesn't respect Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band? Okay, I know that there are some of you out there, but you're crazy! Even if you don't like his style or DMB, you've got to respect the trails he's blazed in pop drumming.

Anyway, here's a very simple lick that I steal all the time. It's from the tune, "What Would You Say," on the album, "Under the Table and Dreaming."

This lick occurs at about the 3:07 mark.

Okay, after you listen to it, here is one major thing to notice: the bass drum note just before count 4 should be played as a part of the snare drum pattern. If you connect the three notes on the snare (starting on 3), the kick note, then the snare/splash on 4, it's a five note pattern and should be played as such. 

Practice getting it smooth and easy. This fill leaves a nice bit of space between count 4 and the next count 1, a tactic that Carter occasionally uses to signify the beginning of a new phrase. 

And as I always say, space is just as important as sound if you want to be a good communicator.

Happy drumming!