The Practical Pro Musician

The recent excitement and controversy over the Gamestop stock reminded me of an old adage that applies to both the stock market and the music business: a product (like your drumming) is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.So if that's the case- how can YOU as a drummer take back that control, and charge whatever you like as a drummer? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

No one told me when I became a full-time drummer that my job would be anything more than just playing awesome music all the time. But the reality is: the second you become a pro drummer- or even the minute you decide to pursue it- your job stops being just playing the drums. Your job actually becomes: finding and keeping gigs. Drumming is a part of that, but you can't drum for a living if you aren't successful at finding and keeping gigs. Let's talk about it today... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So many drummers complain about a lack of opportunity- and yet they aren't prepared for a potential gig. If you aren't ready for an opportunity right now, then you don't deserve the opportunity yet! But that can change! Start today by preparing for the gig you WANT as if the gig is already yours! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Since we're starting a new season of this show, I think it's a good time to make sure you're in the right place... And the honest truth is that this is NOT the right place for everyone. If you've listened to the show for a while, you probably already know that this is the right place for you. So I made sure to include some brand new advice for you too! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're going to talk about something today that many of us are reluctant to address: our health as drummers. Particularly our hearing health and protecting our hands, feet, and joints. The only thing less exciting than warming up/stretching before playing, is the thought of being injured and unable to drum at all! So while this may not seem like a super-exciting topic, let's spend 10 minutes today on something that can save you years of heartache down the road. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I went on a YouTube bender recently, and rediscovered one of my biggest pet peeves about amateur drummers. So today I thought I'd offer some advice on how to fix this issue, if you suffer from it too- AND how to figure out if you have it! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So let's say you get that first paying drumming gig. What can you do during, before and after that gig to turn that one opportunity into more opportunities? In today's show I'm going to share several things I either do myself on every gig, or things I've directly seen other pro musicians do on gigs- that help turn one gig into many more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I take this approach in nearly every recording session I play on- so I thought today we could put it in to practice, and you can follow along in realtime. So let's do an experiment today!We're going to play an over-simplified drum part, with the VISION that we can make it feel/groove harder by complementing the drum tracks with additional loops after the fact.Want to get drastically better at drumming with a click track in just 14 days and 20 minutes per day? Check out http://BoomClick.net to find out how. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I was thrown into a musical situation where I really couldn't use notes or charts- and I had basically one day to prepare and memorize 4 songs that I had never heard. Thankfully, this isn't too uncommon in the music world, so I've done this before. Today I'm going to share with you my preparation routine that ensures I show up to every gig 100% ready... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I got a call last week for a gig, based 100% on an Instagram video I posted that same day. The style of the video and the style of the gig couldn't be more opposite- it didn't matter to the artist and it won't matter to most artists that are thinking about hiring you. Today, we'll talk about why. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many drummers think that becoming well-rounded stylistically is the path to scoring gigs. This is actually wrong- and today I'll talk about why... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

APOLOGIES FOR THE RANDOM AUDIO ISSUES ON THIS EPISODE. This episode is a bit of a follow-up to my last episode. I always teach that if you want to be a professional musician- you have to do what professional musicians are doing. But that's not entirely true. Let me explain... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's often said in the business world that if you only have one customer that pays your bills, you don't own a business- you have a boss... AKA just another kind of job. The same is true of us drummers... If you plan to someday get hired by famous artist and then ride their coattails for the rest of your life then A) That's going to require you to get EXTREMELY lucky and B) This episode is not for you.But- if you're interested in building a real, lasting career, AKA a business as a drummer- this episode is for you! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mark writes: What are the strategies you use to keep yourself motivated to progress in your playing and approach to practice? Do you have any tips to help get through a rut in your playing? Let's talk about it! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I've always preached that if you want to be a professional drummer- you have to do the things that other professional drummers are doing. And this one trick that I'll share today is a simple and easy way to not only do exactly what other pro drummers are doing, but also make your playing have a TON more feel and groove. I'm excited to share this with you today! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I suffer from the same affliction that you might have: I often find myself binging on videos of drum tutorials and performances. I'm starting to realize that this may not be such a good thing- and that we all can get so caught up in learning things on the drums, that we take away from the most valuable use of our time: playing the drums! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I hate playing behind those glass drum shields as much as you! So here's what I do to convince the sound guy that the shield isn't necessary. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You may not be able to hang out with other musicians right now, or build relationships like you usually could. But there's still plenty you can do right now to build your career. And what's even better is that this strategy works even when things get back to "normal". See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In part two of our snare drum sound series, we'll talk about how I tune every snare drum that I play. My approach isn't incredibly unique, but it is 100% ingrained in me and certainly contributes to my drum sound more than essentially any other aspect under my control. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I get a lot of questions about my snare sound and how I achieve it. So today's episode is part one of two that covers most of the details about how I do just that. In part 1, we'll talk about head selection, and my number 1 tip for selecting the right head for getting the sound YOU hear in your head! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.