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:

Some of my worst gigging experiences were the result of me not bringing a rug to place under my drums. Sometimes I forgot to bring it, but sometimes I was told that either the stage was carpeted or there was already was a drum rug I could use.

Drum kits that are not secured to the floor tend to slide ALL over the place while you play. I’ve finished songs with my bass drum more than a foot away from me. That’s a difficult reach for even the most flexible drummer! Sliding can happen with hi hat stands and even floor toms too. Some of you young players may not know this, but most manufacturers put metal spikes at the bottom of the bass drum legs and on the bottom of the hi hat stands. If you are playing on a soft enough surface you can expose these spikes by turning or removing the rubber feet on the bass drum or turning the metal screws on the hi hats allowing the spikes dig into the floor (or carpet).

Old Faithful - This rug has been on the gig for 19 years and running!

Sometimes spikes into the bare floor  is enough, and in fact, there are a few drummers who prefer to play this way, I know Steve Smith does. I assume he likes the livelier sound of the drums bouncing off the bare floor. However, many times the spikes will not grab the surface the drums are sitting on (like linoleum or concrete) or you might be playing on a nice floor that you’d prefer to not gouge. Sometimes even a carpeted surface (especially at clubs that book a lot of shows) will be loose and the drums will shift around. An interesting cat to check out is the jazz (and funk) drummer Bill Stewart. For some strange reason he seems to prefer to let his hi hat stand slide all over the place and he has become quite skilled at corralling it with his left foot as he plays. It can be entertaining, though a little distracting from his fantastic playing. Click here to watch Bill Stewart wrangle his hi hats.

What can help keep your bass drum in place is to make sure the bass drum legs raise the front of the bass drum enough that the weight of the drum is resting on the legs and not the hoops. Be careful to not raise the legs too much because you’ll change the angle that the bass drum beater hits the bass drum head. Besides giving your spikes a surface to dig into, another way to secure your kit is to use a manufacturer that places velcro underneath their bass and hi hat pedals to grab onto the carpet. I especially like this. My DW 8000 pedals do not budge as long as there is carpet to grab onto.

Another reason to ALWAYS bring your drum rug, besides keeping your drums in place, is that you can use your drum rug is to mark your territory. Often stages are just big enough to fit all the players and if you’re trying to set up your kit only to find out that your bass player’s giant 8×10 cabinet is in your way and she’s nowhere to be found, you’ve got a problem since many players don’t want you touching their stuff! The first thing I do once the band has figured out the stage set up is to throw my drum rug down to mark my territory. This way the other players know where I’ll be and not take my space while I’m getting the drums out of their cases. So it’s helpful to find a rug that is roughly the size of your setup.  A 4′X5′ rug purchased at K-Mart works for me. I’ve used the same one for 19 years.

If you’ve forgotten your rug and the surface you need to play in is slippery like tile, or maybe you’re playing an outdoor gig, try using using the floor mats from your car. I’ve never tried this, but I remember getting this piece of advice many years ago and thankfully I’ve never had to try it out.

So even if you hear, “They have a rug”, I advise to always bring yours. I like mine because it feels like a little piece of home is with me no matter where I play!

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