Percussion Deconstruction™

Where do you start?  Where do you draw inspiration from?  Where does the rhythm come from? Stop, Look, Listen Most of us tend to draw from outside ourselves, finding inspiration in other musicians, in other music. We often copy what we've heard before, changing it to suit our needs, but still looking outside ourselves for inspiration. If you've played your instrument for a number of years and reached a certain level of proficiency, then you have everything you need inside yourself. The next time you go to play/practice, stop and sit for a moment, meditating & listening to what you hear inside. Listen for what you really feel. Then when you play, let that be your guide and play yourself .  Follow the inner muse… ~ MB

After teaching for so many years, I've found that it's often the little things that make a difference. If you are having trouble with your playing, or not making progress as quickly as you had hoped, check out the little things: Check your GRIP: are you tensing up/squeezing your hand in some way? This will restrict the stick and also can cause cramps/stiffness in your muscles. Loosen up and let things move naturally. SEAT HEIGHT: are you uncomfortable sitting, or do you feel off balance? Check your seat height. You should be balanced, stable, and not leaning in any direction. Move your seat up/down 1" at a time, leaving it for a few hours/days, before you change it again. You want to try it for an extended period of time to see what difference it makes. Then change it another inch and see what that is like. When you hit the sweet spot , you will usually know after playing for a while. You might want to move another inch to see how that is, then move back if that's ...