If you're a hand drummer who plays tunable bongos and congas, keep the lugs lubricated. If you've ever had a lug strip out on you while tuning the skins for a gig--or had to replace one afterward--you know it can be an expensive hassle! Some manufacturers provide a small bottle of "lug lube" with your hand drums; keep it, or a small bottle of multi-purpose oil, in your gig bag.

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keepin' the beat goin' and passing it on!

Make sure your drum throne is not set too high. You should not be stretching to use the pedals of your high hat or bass pedal.

When purchasing a drum throne, look for a model that can be easily adjusted to provide that exact fit Ironfist recommended! The cheapest thrones usually have a limited number of positions that can be adjusted by only a bolt and thumbscrew; better thrones have a locking post that enables you to spin the seat into the perfect position for you.

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keepin' the beat goin' and passing it on!

Jazz drummers - Invest in a pair of fiber brushes, they dont bend like wire ones and more importantly they are a lot kinder to your cymbals especially if you've upgraded.

Drummers... play for the song. Don't try to put all your best drum licks and fills in every tune just because you can. Listen to the music and ascertain what it needs from you first. It may need to just sit there and groove real hard. If it calls for a drum fill, then you can play a creative fill. Otherwise, be a responsible and mature musician and play for the music, not yourself.

If you play drums for a living or as part of a church group, you're going to be sitting behind the kit or your hand drums for quite a while in each gig. Look for a drum throne with a motorcycle-style seat (think of the seat of a Harley-Davidson ElectraGlide), rather than a simple round seat. A biker-style seat not only gives you a more comfortable place for your buns, but it also supports nearby body parts and lessens discomfort.

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keepin' the beat goin' and passing it on!

If the lugs on your bongos and congas can handle a ratchet-type socket wrench, lucky you! You'll be able to tighten and loosen rhe drumheads faster and easier than with the standard wrench your drum maker provided. (You may need a deep socket on some drums, but give it a try--and remember the lug lube!)

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keepin' the beat goin' and passing it on!

A famous jazz drummer once said that instead of trying to beat the sound into the drums, he tried to pull the sound out of the drums - an interesting mindset that could perhaps help you achieve another level on the drums.

This is the best thought process any drummer can have, play the basic beat, if your not feeling the fills don't do them. Never overplay, in time you will figure them out. I am in a 80s cover band and no I don't play each song and/or try to copy the drummer exactly. Why? Because I'm not that drummer. I hear the songs my own way. To me this makes sense.

Volume is important. Not loudness, not softness; volume. There is a time to be loud, a time to be soft, a time to be very loud, and everything in between. Some drummers consistently play too loudly - that's the stereotype of drummers in general. Some, though, play too softly. Open up your ears and listen to the others playing around you. Listen to the balance between the drums and the rest of the band on recordings. Then, record your band when you play - judge how you are balancing.

The bass player may be the harmonic foundation of the music, and while she plays an important role in the tempo, you as the drummer are the anchor, the rock. It is your responsibility to control the tempo at all times. If guitarists start speeding up, rein them in! Never let things slow down when they aren't supposed to. Slowing down is an epidemic problem among amateur drummers.

Try adding some basic auxiliary percussion to your set. No need to add the huge plethora of crazy items that Cab Calloway's or Duke Ellington's early drummers had (they didn't play them anyway). Don't let it be a distraction, but use it for some nice color here and there to spice things up on the drums.

Even if you don't care for jazz, you may find it interesting to listen to some jazz drummers such as Max Roach, Tony Williams, and Art Blakey for the variety of sounds they can coax from their set.

Playing snare in a marching band? Be wary of those super tight heads. Many of them are made of Kevlar, the material used in bullet proof vests. Stay flexible as you play, as there have been reports of young drummers getting Carpal Tunnel syndrome from the style of playing many use on these drums.

Keep your practice sessions fun otherwise when you get bored you will just stop practicing.

Beginner drummers should take drum lessons from a qualified drum teacher or instructor for awhile. Younger drummers are at risk of developing bad habits and a drum teacher can help them avoid common mistakes in form and drumming technique. You can usually get drum lessons from your local music store. Make sure they screen their teachers so that they're qualified to teach. This often requires a degree in music education and/or a lot of playing experience.

Pro Drum Lessons - Books and DVDs

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If you're like most hand drummers, there are times you want to use your bongos and congas for tasty background effects rather than beatin' the daylights out of your skins (much less your hands).

A hand-drumming brother gave me a suggestion that is as easy as taking candy from a baby. Actually, even easier. If you watch a toddler waving "bye-bye," you'll notice they don't wave like most of us do, but rather wave his or her fingers by pulling them into the palm of his or her hand.

When playing hand drums, try doing the same thing, but let the fingers gently strike the drum head and snap them back into the palm of your hand. This produces a rimshot "pop" that is noticed but is not overpowering. Feel free to wiggle your fingers as appropriate to create different sounds.

With a little work you'll get some cool effects that you can combine with your traditional playing style!

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keepin' the beat goin' and passing it on!