performance

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The Importance of Repetition With Purpose

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The Importance of Repetition With Purpose

When you are pursuing any amount of technical ability on a musical instrument, there is no substitute for hard work. Hard work, though isn’t enough. Once you identify the skills you want to work on, you have to develop those skills through repetition.

After all, drumming has a huge physical component to it: the mechanics of the player’s hands, arms and fingers, posture, relaxation, grip…the list goes on and on. Those aspects of a student’s playing are refined through repetition, which is a decidedly unglamorous thing to talk about, but it is indeed the key to greatness.

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To Master Control, Be Consistent

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Anyone can play a ton of notes. The difference between being an apprentice and a master is CONTROL. Control is developed through consistent (i.e. every day) practice. There is no substitute. Playing with control is what separates the elite players from everyone else.

For more info on studying percussion with me, click here.

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Drumming is a lot like life...

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Drumming is a lot like life. You can't bash your way through it all the time. Sometimes (rarely) you have to, but mostly, I find subtlety to be FAR more effective. With drumming, and music also, when you are playing full out all the time, the listener will grow bored very quickly. Music is like conversation, sometimes you yell, sometimes you whisper. The peaks and valleys are what make the trip interesting.

So one of the areas of focus for my more advanced students is dynamic control. Playing a tough passage at forte (loudly) is great….but can you play the same passage with the same intensity and performance level at mezzo piano? That’s one of the overarching goals here: total command of your dynamic abilities, and the pursuit of playing with total control. Control is what separates the elite players from everyone else.

Studying at grooveKSQ is about much more than drumming. There are a few lesson slots open now available. Email me at bryan@grooveksq.com for details.

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The Healing Effect of Group Drumming

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As someone who has performed in many percussion ensemble situations over the years, I can only begin to describe the feelings of peace and empowerment that group drumming sessions can create. It really is something you have to experience for yourself to fully understand.

For those who want to read all about the scientific bases describing the healing power of group drumming, take a deep dive into this recent study sponsored by the Royal College of Music in London and published by Public Library of Science.

Here are a key excerpt to consider:

This study demonstrates that group drumming leads to enhanced psychological states, specifically less depression and greater social resilience, across six weeks compared with a control group, extending the findings of our preliminary study.