Top 10 Drumming Techniques to Level Up Your Sound
Drums are one of the oldest instruments. Pull an animal hyde tight over a hollowed log, and voila, DRUM! There are, as you can imagine, a wide array of approaches, techniques and opinions as to how to go about improving as a drummer.
As a drummer of 30 years, having recorded on hundreds of records, toured North and South America, Europe, Russia, Asia and Australia, I’ve filtered much of this information for myself, and I’m pleased to share that with you here.
I’ve authored 2 instructional books for Mel Bay Publications, taught at major institutions all over the world, and had the honor of performing with some of the world’s best musicians across many genres. Here's my top 10 tips to improve your drumming!
1. Practice self mixing
“Self mixing” is the art of controlling the dynamics within your playing. ‘Interdynamics’ if you will. Take a beat you’ve mastered. Now, play it with all of the limbs significantly quieter than the bass drum. Now with the bass drum significantly quieter than the other limbs. Mix and match different combinations of dynamics within the beat, throughout the instrument.
You’ll quickly learn that some combinations are quite easy: perhaps when you lay into the snare drum on 2 & 4, it makes the groove feel even better. Great! Remember that. File away the emotional sensation that really digging into the backbeat gives you.
Then, without changing any other dynamics on the instrument, play 2 & 4 as quietly as possible. Harder? My guess is yes, most likely. Practice this combination until it feels as natural as playing 2 & 4 loud. Now, what kind of emotional sensation does this yield? File that away too.
2. Metronome practice is different than playing to a click
*Almost* everything I practice is to a metronome. I’m vigilant about recording what tempos I’ve practiced something at, so that when I revisit it, I can try again at a faster or slower tempo, depending on what’s more challenging (hint, sometimes slower tempos are harder!). However, when you are performing to a ‘click’ (if a show you are playing has tracks synced to a metronome), or you’re recording in the studio (most studio recording is done to a metronome, or ‘click’), this is a different beast.
Focus on ‘burying the click’ in both of these scenarios. Burying the click isn’t as morbid as it sounds. It means you are playing so perfectly in sync with it, that it becomes inaudible. Download a metronome app. It is probably auto set to 120 bpm (beats per minute). Turn it on and clap along. Are you claps ‘flamming’ with the metronome beeps? This wouldn’t fly on a studio date, or on a tour with tracks.
Now, slow the metronome to 100 bpms. Is it easier or harder to bury this tempo? What about at 60 bpms. Remember my hint earlier? This gets particularly challenging the slower you go. The coolest part? You can practice this anywhere!
3. Don’t believe the hype
Who’s your favorite band or artist? Quick, answer without thinking about it. Who was your favorite band 10 years ago? Are they the same? Probably not. Your taste likely evolved. Do you hate the band from 10 years ago, or are they just further down the list for you? I personally don’t believe in liking or disliking based on anything but the vibe I get when listening to something.
The whole world loves, let’s say Coldplay. Does the fact that the whole world loves them affect your feeling about Coldplay? Does it make you like them less? More? Maybe the real question you need to ask yourself is ‘have I heard enough Coldplay songs to really have a well developed opinion?’
Who cares how many streams a song has, how many followers an artist has on TikTok, how many subs on YouTube a band boasts, etc… Does it get you excited? Does it completely turn you off? These are important windows into your taste. You should be peering through these windows as often as possible.
Don’t forget: these are your windows. No Google SEO, YouTube algorithm or Spotify playlists here. Just you, and your personal reactions to what you’re listening to.
4. Beware of hero worship
This is an extension of #3. Love who you love. All day. Forever. As long as it’s genuine. You can have drummers you love, but you don’t have to emulate them. Play how you play because that’s what makes sense to you.
I took lessons with Joe Morello when I was in high school. He played drums on the iconic song Take 5 (among many others). Everything he said to me was gospel. I went off to college and went to war on a weekly basis defending his teachings.
Don’t get me wrong; what I learned from Joe was invaluable, and is a massive part of the drummer I am today. Do I use it 100% how he showed it to me? No. Have I altered it to fit my musical needs, and allow them to shift day to day, year to year? Absolutely. Don’t get stuck reiterating what your idols preach. Learn it well. Then learn to forget it.
5. Give everything you play dynamic intention
What on earth does that mean?! Well, do you intentionally play the hi-hat in one section of a song, then make an intentional decision to switch to the ride for another? Do you intentionally choose your bass drum pattern for each section of each song that you play?
Everywhere you turn, you are faced with decisions that require intention. You can, and should, add intention to your dynamics into those decisions. When you switch from the hi-hat to the ride, what’s the dynamic intention? Soft to loud? Then make it undeniably so. Play it so that if a fan in the front row of a concert shared an Uber home with another fan from the back row, while recapping the show, they’d both agree, when you got real loud on the ride during the chorus of that last song, it was awesome!
You can also exaggerate dynamics in almost every situation. Loud section? Make it real loud. Soft section? Make it devastatingly quiet. Dynamics are relative. They exist only in relation to each other, and you, the drummer, dictates that relationship. Establish what is ‘soft’ and what is ‘loud,’ and intentionally drive them home.
6. Find something you love and dig in!
Do you adore a particular recording? An artist? Is there a drummer that, day in and day out, you just can’t get enough of? Dig in! Transcribe. Try to recreate that sound on your own drum set. Get inside of it, and get lost for a while. Don’t get distracted by other options. Learning
music shouldn’t be like Tinder. Practicing should be like a series of serious, long term relationships. You don’t need to marry every style you try to learn, but you should really gain a true, authentic understanding of it before moving on to the next one.
7. Don’t waste time with material you hate
Yes, learning more stuff will make you more hireable. If that is your ultimate goal, then go forth and sponge as much information as possible, despite your feelings.
But if you really can’t stand Ska, don’t force-feed yourself Skatalites repertoire. If you get a call asking “Hey! How well do you play Ska? Are you free on X date?” Respond with “Ya know, honestly, it isn’t really my thing. I’d love to play something else with you another time, should the opportunity arise. But for this gig, you should call so-and-so.” People will respect you for knowing yourself, and being a pro about it.
8. Be a ‘Heads Up’ drummer and drive that bus
On more than one occasion I’ve been complimented on my awareness of what was going on on the stage or in the studio. When a vocalist looked up for clarification on where we were in a song, I caught their eye and signaled what they needed.
When a sub bass player was struggling with the groove on a song, I emphasized it with the bass drum (by using intentional dynamics and self mixing) to help them find the part. The drummer is the quarterback, the pitcher.
Everyone is equally important, but we are leading the charge. Instigating transitions, setting up entrances and exits, creating (musical) drama with dynamics, colors and frequencies. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down (pun intended) often. You don’t need to be pushy or a jerk.
In fact, what I’m talking about should feel subtle to everyone else. They should, honestly, really notice it when they play with a drummer who isn’t leading. Sit down at the wheel, and drive the bus. Your bandmates will appreciate it.
9. Learn the damn songs
Not much to say here. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you not only how many, but at what level gigs I’ve shown up prepared for, only to have the rest of the band…surprised! “You learned the songs!” Were they kidding? That’s all I had to do to impress them? Learn the songs?! (facepalm) Do you know what that means? That means most everyone else is too unprofessional (read; stupid, lazy) to learn the songs for their gig. So, if you’re smart enough to do the literal minimum, you’re already ahead of the game. So do it.
10. Don’t be a meshugganah
Don’t be a jerk. Don’t be obnoxious. Don’t be difficult. You don’t need to be everyone’s best friend. You don’t need to be 2 hours early. Just be genuine, and be on time. Music can be hard enough. I mean that in terms of playing, but also the business.
If an artist has hired you to play drums, that probably means they hired a bassist, guitarist, and a keyboard player. Maybe they rented a rehearsal studio to rehearse in. Maybe they’re buying everyone dinner after soundcheck. Maybe you aren’t getting rich off this gig, but maybe they’re going to be broke for a while. Whatever the circumstances, try to empathize with them.
They might be insecure about their songs. You can help with that. Maybe they’re not sure what tempos to count things off at. You can help with that. Maybe they don’t know how to run a sound check. You can help with that. Politely offer that help whenever possible. Show me a drummer that has an artist’s back, and I’ll show you a drummer that has a gig.
