Omar Hakim is one of the more successful session and live drummers in the music industry for the last twenty years or so. He’s played with several top name acts including Dire Straights, Sting, and Weather Report among many others. And when it comes to playing the drums, he has mentioned in interviews that he […]…
If you’re into the world of jazz drumming, you’ve probably come across the name Joe Morello. I’ve featured him on the Play Drums By Ear blog for his brush work before, but haven’t talked much about his time with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Joe is still considered to have been one of the best jazz […]…
There have only been a few times when I think to myself that you must have grown up in a certain culture to truly play the music the belongs to that culture. More than anything I believe that with hard work and dedication you can really play any style on the drums. Horacio “El Negro” […]…
Steve Gadd has got to be one of the best examples of a professional drummer still around today. He plays the part humbly with solid timing and groove, and knows that when it’s his time to shine on the band stand he can then let loose. At Play Drums By Ear, I try to encourage […]…
Carter Beauford is one of the original and founding members of the Dave Matthews Band and has gained an awesome reputation for his skills on the drums. One of the things that I think makes his drumming style unique is the idea of the broken drum patterns. My whole experience is about laying down a […]…
Duffy Jackson has had an impressive music career as a drummer for many of the best names in jazz music including Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald among many others. And one of the great things about this drummer is that he is the son of famous jazz bassist Chubby Jackson. Due to his father’s […]…
As drummers, we have the hardest time dealing with volume. When we sit down behind a drum kit, the first instinct is to play a heavy back beat with some volume behind it, but what if there are neighbors close by? People love to tell us to play softer, and let me tell you, it’s […]…
If you’re at all interested in becoming a professional drummer, there’s a good chance you aren’t really sure how to break into it. Granted there are many ways to break into the music industry and there isn’t one magic pill you can take to become a pro drummer, but it always helps to hear stories […]…
Gregg Bissonette has become a well known name in the drum community for his great session work and talent. Gregg has performed with names like Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, David Lee Roth, Steve Lukather, and a long list of other names as well. Plus he’s appeared in film and television shows as a drummer, so […]…
There’s been quite a bit of speculation regarding the technique that Buddy Rich used for his left hand. Buddy had some of the fastest hands in the drumming world then, and most still consider him to be one of the fastest in music history. MetroDrum lessons produced a great video lesson featuring an example of […]…