We do not have roll over minutes in our house. It is good to skip days sometime to let you family know that you are thinking about them. As any drummer knows, it is easy to get lost in time when practicing, especially when playing to music. So when your wife comes in and points to her watch, you smile and say, “Yes Dear.”

And most of the really successful speed drummers obviously did not want to give away ALL their secrets (understandably). So, I did what I could. And after spending 3 weeks (1-2 hours per session, 4-6 days per week), I managed to improve my speed by about 60-70 beats per minute. I really didn’t expect to win though; since several of Mike Mangini’s Berklee students were to be part of the regional competition.

A typical drumstick has a tip, shoulder, shaft and butt. The tip, also referred to as bead, is the top-most part that strikes the drum. Traditionally, the tip is made of the same hard wood as the rest of the stick.

The sound that you like and your drum’s best sound may not be the same. Let the drum have it’s way. Here are a couple of tips to deal with drum noise while practicing.

Depending on the type of music, begin your solo to match the flow of the music. You might not want to perform a hard and fast solo to slow, smooth, easy listening jazz nor drum softly to hard, power-driven metal. Make your solo tasteful. Let it make a statement and signature of what you are creating. Utilize all the instruments of your drum set such as your snare drum, bass drum, toms, cymbals and other instruments that accompany the drum set. The final step in developing a solo.

Learn the 7 essential rudiments (at least) accurately and up to speed. (Especially the single and double stroke rolls). Know and recognize all the styles and be able to play variations of each. Have a thorough understanding of rhythmic note values and sight-reading.

Well, I asked around a bit and was surprised to learn that the history of second line is a bit cloudy. Nobody can seem to agree on how it evolved, I heard stories about there being a line of musicians and staff that marched behind the mourners (second line) at a funeral parade in New Orleans. Apparently the musicians would play funeral marches on the way to the funeral and more livelier pieces on the return home.

Communicate to you family the importance of regular practice. If you skip too may days in a row you can tell and it takes a couple of days or more to regain what you lost. I quit playing for many years and when I started back, it took a year to feel completely at home on the throne. I still had the moves in my head but getting the sticks on the skins was a completely different endeavor.