subject: Secret Sauce For Drum Set Beats [print this page] When most drum set drummers start playing a beat (or groove) they focus entirely on playing the rhythm correctly in each hand and foot. They focus entirely on their coordination and timing. Obviously there is nothing wrong with that whatsoever. From my perspective though, that is just step 1 of TWO steps to sound awesome playing drum set beats and grooves. The second step is to work on the volume levels of each hand and foot in a way that make the beat sound magical and really jammin. (It goes without saying that you want to be able to play the beat rhythms of each hand and foot without speeding up or slowing down) If you are making soup and get the ingredients perfectly correct and then heat it up to just the right temperature (not too hot, not too cold) you have the secret sauce that makes that soup taste DELICIOUS. (Evidently Handel or Haydn was a great cook in addition to being a great classical composer and to me that is no coincidencea great cook would instinctively work to get ingredients with the just the right amounts and then get just the right temperature) Your job as a drum set drummer is to create that secret sauce by getting YOUR ingredients right (playing the rhythms correctly) not getting faster or slower while you play and getting the temperature of the soup JUST RIGHT (mixing the volume level of the hands and feet yourself with how hard you hit being adjusted) and then adding your own accents, feel and personality into the beat as you play. World class drummers like Carter Beauford, Steve Gadd and Neil Peart instinctively create this drum set secret sauce every time they play. The Rock Band and Guitar Hero drum pads are just fabulous for getting kids to work on their timing but they do not address this secret sauce I am taking about because your final score does not take into account how hard you hit the pads or how they were mixed volume-wise throughout the song. Please feel free to email me and ask any further questions or just get my free ebooks: Drum Set Magicand Drum Lines For Kids. Todd Omohundro "Todd O" ~ Fun Drums, Piano, Vocals, Guitar, Composition Guy. Todd has played over 5000 performances as a drummer, piano player and singer. He has taught music for over 17 years in private and public schools. Todd started an elemenrtary drum line that has played at 76er games in Philadelphia.
