I recently purchased a Meinl Pedal Mount to attach a Jam Block to start playing the Clave pattern with my left foot on Salsa music. Generally, I was never really sure what to do with my left foot on the hi-hat for Afro Cuban style music. I had seen other drummers play the Clave part with their left foot using a pedal mount and decided to incorporate it into my drum set playing.
If you want to get paid and treated like a professional musician then you need to act like a professional musician. Here are a few things I have learned from professional working drummers and musicians over the years to keep me working and getting paid.
I am now using a Yamaha DTX-MULTI 12 Electronic Percussion Pad. I have no intention of replacing my acoustic drum set with an electronic drum set. And electronic percussion sounds are NOT as good as the “real” thing. But the DTXM12 allows me to cover percussion parts that previously went unplayed.
If you play drum set long enough, at some point you are going to hear: “You’re too loud – play softer”. Since you can’t just turn the amp volume down, you will need to be prepared for this inevitable situation. The ability to play soft and dynamically balance the ensemble is a must for a working drummer.
There are occasions when the drum set player is called upon to play the castanets. Especially in musicals and pit work. The obvious substitutions would be to play the part on a closed hi-hat or a drum rim. But when those substitutions are unacceptable, you need to mount real castanets.
Drum set players need to understand and listen to the music form to determine when to vary time keeping patterns and play fills. Each music section serves a purpose and provides contrast and formal structure to the music. Musical drum set players highlight the different music sections. They vary their texture, rhythmic patterns and add fills between sections.
Mambo is the third in the series: Essential Latin Beats for Drum Set. Over the years I have collected a bunch of books that talk about playing various Latin styles and patterns on drum set. I kept going from one book to another searching for answers and ideas. Here are simple, stylistically accurate and essential Latin rhythms and patterns to play Mambo on drum set.
Salsa Cascara is the fourth in the series: Essential Latin Beats for Drum Set. Over the years I have collected a bunch of books that talk about playing various Latin styles and patterns on drum set. I kept going from one book to another searching for answers and ideas. Here are simple, stylistically accurate and essential Latin rhythms and patterns to play Salsa Cascara on drum set.
Salsa Campana is the fifth in the series: Essential Latin Beats for Drum Set. Over the years I have collected a bunch of books that talk about playing various Latin styles and patterns on drum set. I kept going from one book to another searching for answers and ideas. Here are simple, stylistically accurate and essential Latin rhythms and patterns to play Salsa Campana on drum set.
Samba is the sixth in the series: Essential Latin Beats for Drum Set. Over the years I have collected a bunch of books that talk about playing various Latin styles and patterns on drum set. I kept going from one book to another searching for answers and ideas. Here are simple, stylistically accurate and essential Latin rhythms and patterns to play Samba on drum set.