Articles

The 10 Greatest Drum Songs You’ve Never Played
Hi there fellow drummers, Kevin and I were recently going over the orders CRDC has been receiving, and our curiosity brought us to examine the charts that you all have requested from our library the most. And that led me to thinking... We tend to gravitate to what is...

Tips On Reading Drum Music
Adapted excerpt from the book Easy Rock Drum Charts by James Morton I started writing these charts decades ago as an exercise to myself, and also as a teaching aid to my students for reading drum music. But don't be surprised if you enjoy yourself in the process of...

Using Drum Charts To Get Over The Hump To Success: A True Success Story
Michael was a solid drummer and a veteran of the Top-40 band circuit. When he came to me for lessons, I was a bit surprised, because he was such a strong musician in an established band. His story is as follows. He had done the clubs for several years and was looking...

Teaching Drums: How Drum Charts Can Be An Incredible Tool For Drum Teachers
If you are an active drum teacher, I would like to personally welcome you to this site. I hope that it becomes a valuable resource for you and your students. I began teaching drums when I was 21, and at that time it was a great learning experience. I literally had to...

The Night My Career Changed – Mental Attitude & Playing Focused
As I write this, I am about to start the second in a series of five gigs this weekend. I've got about ten minutes to start time, and I thought I'd write a little bit about a particular night many years ago that brought me to the point to where I am today. In fact, if...

Self-Analysis at Lorenzo’s: Honest Self-Analysis is the Key to Good Drumming
Another great day in San Diego, and this Sunday afternoon I'm doing a fun gig at a park by the bay. One drummer (me), two percussionists, a steel drum player, and a saxophonist/flutist. Island music for a big picnic. After the first set, Ron, the steel pan...

Solving Musical Problems During Practice: How To Capitalize on Mistakes
I think one of the things that keeps me going after many years of teaching drums is that I really enjoy mistakes. There are two things I often tell my students: (1) "If you were perfect, you could just mail me the money," and (2) "If you're going to make a mistake,...

Hone Your Skills: Minimizing Weaknesses and Maximizing Strengths
Each drummer is unique, and it goes without saying that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. But if you're at all serious about drumming, your goal should quite obviously be to minimize your weaknesses and have as many strengths as possible. If your goal...

The Best Drummer Jokes To Give You A Big Laugh
There are jokes for every musician, but no others quite compare to the harshness and hilarity of drummer jokes. Musicians of other instruments can get ragged on (i.e. Q. How many girl singers does it take to change a light bulb? A. One. She holds it while the world...

Dave Uosikkinen’s DaveUDrums.com Makes World-Class Session Drumming Accessible To The Up-And-Coming Recording Artist
My family has known Dave Uosikkinen for the majority of my life. Growing up, his son Sam Uosikkinen and I became really great friends, a friendship that continues to this day as Sam pursues his own music career while rockin' at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood....

Drumming Is Dancing: Inspiration from a Martiniquen Shirt
A while back I was going through a box of rags to do some chores when I came across an old tee shirt I had bought on my honeymoon. My wife and I were on the island of Martinique (where the merengue dance originated) more than 25 years ago, when we came upon this...

The Properties Of Sound: As A Drummer, Your Ears Are As Important As Your Hands
As a drummer, how you interact musically with other musicians is often a separator between being mediocre and being good. The best drummers have an understanding of music that goes beyond their own instrument, and they use that knowledge to heighten the feel of their...

The Importance Of Vocalizing
In 1979, the great violinist Isaac Stern visited China, to perform and give master classes. A young violinist in one of those classes was struggling through a musical passage. She was hitting all the notes in the right places, but something was missing. Stern asked...

Printable Drum Sheet Music
At Classic Rock Drum Charts we provide a collection of printable drum sheet music for hundreds of songs from the 50s onwards. You can see our full library of individual charts here, or get the entire discounted collection here. The Internet sure has changed things....