An oldie, but a goodie, this quick little tip can come in handy.

Often I get the music for a gig or rehearsal with only a day or two away so many songs need to be learned within a short period of time. Instead of writing them out in a traditional musical chart or playing the songs over and over until memorized,  I’ve found it easier to use a drum chart shorthand using a spreadsheet program. Usually, just writing each chart will help get each song about 80% memorized.  After a couple run-throughs with the recorded material while reading the chart gets me to about 90% ready. Once in rehearsals with the band I can just take a quick glance at each chart before starting the song. If necessary, or in time crunch, I’ll bring the chart to the gig. The neat thing about this format is that I can get 7-8 songs on one page.

Sometimes I’m asked to record or perform song only after one or NO rehearsal. In this case I’ll pull out the pencil and paper and make a simplified handwritten version of this chart.

On the live gig, I find that matching song titles to songs to be one of the hardest parts about preparing for a gig. Often a tune will remind me of another popular song, so I will note something like “slow Moondance” if the song reminds me of a slow version of Van Morrison’s song Moondance or “Bonham” if the song has a big, heavy beat. Usually that’s enough to get the tune in my head. Ironically, the new drummer is usually called upon to remember the tempos for the person who wrote the song so you need to be prepared to get the tune in your head quickly! When in doubt don’t be too proud to catch the attention of a bandmate and say, “Pssst… how does this song start?” It’s much better to set your ego aside and start the song with the correct tempo.

I find that most good bands arrange songs so that one particular instrument starts, so a count off by the drummer isn’t always necessary. There is the dramatic approach too: Bruce Springsteen and the Dee Dee Ramone made an art of counting off songs! I try to save the drummer count offs for songs that really need the band to start all together. Instead of stick clicks or shouting, “one two three four” I find a drum fill that matches the intensity of the introduction to be musically more pleasing.

What I like about my  drumming shorthand is that the song form is laid out in bold on the bottom row. I can quickly get “Intro, verse, chorus, break, verse, chorus, bridge, break, verse, chorus, chorus.” It may seem like a lot, but it’s actually easy to memorize.

One of the most important things to note are song breaks. It’s usually easy to fake your way through a verse, but if the whole band stops and you don’t, well…the mistake will be obvious. Good bandmates who know that the material is new to you will usually give you a cue for changes so keep your head up, not buried in the chart. Don’t forget to do the same for a new member of your group! Marking the changes of song sections with an obvious drum fill, nod, and/or eye contact can go long way in preventing train wrecks!

I like to note the number of measures in each section. What I try to notice on the gig or rehearsal isn’t usually the exact number of measures, but rather if something is odd like a group of 5 measures or an extra 2 measure tag. Groups of 4, 8, 12, 16 measures can usually just be felt internally without any counting.

In the top row I note what’s being featured in each section. I can quickly keep track of the landmarks in each song by using the lyrics. Remember, your lead singer is always “right”! If the singer accidentally skips or repeats a section, you need to quickly find your place. I find that just a couple words of lyrics is enough to get back on track. Lyric cues also help me remember the new song because many times the song title isn’t the catchiest part of the tune.

Below is the first song off the drum chart I used when I play with Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise.

Here’s the full page version:

Part 6 in my series which applies traditional snare drum rudiments to the drum set. Here I demonstrate the basic Single, Double, and Triple Ratamacues and how to create variations for the drum set. I show different orchestrations, rhythmic variations, and double bass drum applications. Whether you’re into Bonham, Gadd, or Tre Cool, you will be able to take something away from this demonstration.

Click here to download the PDF transcription of the examples: PartSixSingleDoubleTripleRatamacue

Part 6: 

Part 6 (continued)

Next in my drum video tutorial series which apply snare drum rudiments to the kit, Part 5 explores the possibilities of the Single Drag Tap. Drawing inspiration from Steve Gadd’s interpretation of the Ratamacue in his video Up Close, I developed my own triplet, 16th note, and double bass drum applications of the Single Drag Tap.

Click here for a downloadable PDF transcription of the examples: Applying the Single Drag Tap

Part 5: Applying the Single Drag Tap to the Drum Set

Part 5 (continued):

Below are my four videos demonstrating various ways to interpret  the snare drum rudiment The Drag.  I was inspired by Steve Gadd’s interpretation of the Ratamacue in his video Up Close. You should definitely have that one in your video collection. Steve stretched out the rhythm and replaced a snare note with his bass drum. The result was a new idea to play around the drum kit that sounded much hipper than your average military style Ratamacue. I thought why don’t I do my own interpretations with other rudiments? So I did! Hopefully this will inspire you to develop your own licks based on the Drag.

Click here for a printable set of exercises based on these video lessons.

Part 1 is a demo song showing all of my Drag interpretation in a song context.

Part 2 demonstrates the basic drag with 16th note and triplet orchestrations.

Part 3 shows advanced rhythmic and linear applications of the Drag. Click here for a PDF transcription: The Drag Part 3 Examples

Part 4 displays my double bass (kick) drum interpretation of the previous Drag-inspired rhythms from Part 2. Click here for a PDF transcription: The Drag Part 4 Examples

Hello to those of you who checked out my Youtube drum tutorials. The videos are still works in progress. I’m posting them on Youtube to see how they look, but I have not finished writing out all the transcriptions. I’m currently recording Part 4 (double bass drum interpretations of The Drag) . I will get the video and the transcriptions posted ASAP, but for now you can click on this link for a PDF transcription of Part 3 of my drum tutorial: The Drag Part 3 Examples

Click here to download the PDF

 An instructional video to this lesson this week  is in the works, but I thought I’d post a sneak peek at the lesson.