~ Drums ~

~ the heartbeat of where it all started ~

~ breathe ~

~ find a mentor ~

~ posture and hand positions ~

~ beats 1 & 3 / 2 & 4 ~

~ ride cymbal / four quarter notes ~

~ ostinato patterns / variations keep it fresh ~

~ stick control and the rudiments ~

~ single stroke / double stroke ~

~ flam / single roll / double roll ~

~ 5, 6, 7 ... note rolls ~

~ applying rudiments and rolls to a drum set ~

~ accents ~

~ dynamics / forte (loud) and piano (soft) ~

~ a four bar phrase ~

~ economy of motion ~

~ focus on breathing ~

~ find a mentor ~

~ review and more to explore ~

About being in a band; “it's like a job, any kind of job, it's an opportunity to develop.”
wiki ~ Buddy Rich

In a nutshell and a place to start. The ideas above are things drummers think about, with some of the terminology at formal music school. Their listing is from notes I took at a recent seminar at the University Concert Hall, here in Anchorage, Alaska.

Presented by John Damberg, founder and executive director of the Alaska Jazz Workshop, featured Boston artist master drummer, educator and clinician Mark Walker, took a dozen of us attendees through a '101 Berkeley' drum lesson.

Walker's lecture moved through each of the topics, mostly in the order presented above, weaving their rudiment and academic necessities into the requirement of professional performance settings.
wiki ~ Mark Walker

wiki ~ Berkeley School Of Music

Review. Keep playing, find a teacher and keep exploring !

"A problem is a chance for you to do your best."
wiki ~ Duke Ellington

References. References for this page's information comes from school, books and the bandstand and made way easier by the folks along the way.

Find a mentor / academia Alaska. Always good to have a mentor when learning about things new to us. And with music and its magics, nice to have a friend or two ask questions and collaborate with. Seek and ye shall find. Local high schools, librarys, friends and family, musicians in your home town ... just ask around, someone will know someone who knows about music and can help you with your studies in the musical arts.

administrators

"These books, and your capacity to understand them, are just the same in all places. Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing."
wiki ~ Abraham Lincoln

Alaska University. And when you need university level answers to your questions and musings, and especially if you are considering a career in music and looking to continue your formal studies, begin to e-reach out to the Alaska University Music Campus communities and begin a dialogue with some of Alaska's own and finest resident maestros !