F. A. Q.- Welcome to the FAQ page! I get lots of questions and below are some of the most frequently asked. If you have a new one, you can email me your question at the bottom of the page. It may well end up added to the list!
Do you have any tips?
How do I become successful in the industry and get to do the things you do?
How do I get endorsements?
How do I become a good teacher?
How are rudiments important to me as a drumset player?
Is it really important to practice with a metronome or click?
How do I get really good hands?
What kind of drumming technique do you use? Stone? Moeller? French Grip? German grip?
How do I get good double strokes? What’s this “alley-oop” technique you talk about?
How important is the fulcrum in the grip? Is 1st finger or 2nd finger fulcrum better?
What do you think of fancy stick tricks?
Do your hands ever hurt or get injured? What about tendonitis?
What’s the deal with your ear problems?
Do I really need earplugs? What kind?
Do you have any tips?
Yes, buy my books & get my DVDs since I've already busted my butt to pack them full of about 40 million "tips" on how to figure this stuff out and get where you want to go. "Do you have any tips?" is such a loaded & open question--who's got the time? But, if I absolutely had to choose another short answer it be this: Practice smart & correct with a metronome or groovin` tunes and practice a lot since there are no shortcuts (though my "Get Good Quick Plan" is as close as you'll get to a shortcut). Get to work!
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How do I become successful in the industry and get to do the things you do?
This "career" was never intentional, things just happened step by step--people saw some good stuff happening and then opportunities started coming my way. I've pretty much never done anything because it was a good career move or specifically for personal advancement in the field. I've found that if your heart is in the right place and you do things for the right reasons, the Man upstairs hooks you up. I also believe that if you drum/teach or do whatever for yourself/your own ego, you're sure to hit many tough roadblocks that you wouldn't otherwise, and the journey will always leave you unsatisfied.
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How do I get endorsements?
I've seen a lot people who pursue endorsements for ego's sake--the wrong reason for sure. The question should be, "What can I do that'll benefit the company?" not, "Wouldn't it be cool if I could get free stuff and bragging rights?" So, to anyone who wants endorsements, my advice is this: Put all of your energy into advancing your craft and positively affecting the people involved simply for the love of it, and when companies see that you could benefit them, they'll seek you out and ask you.
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How do I become a good teacher?
Remember that you're there to serve the students, both in drumming and in building good life skills. A lot of people teach for their own ego and notoriety and fail to build up their students to be useful people/drummers. These people are always insecure and are never fulfilled by this. Just remember to serve them well, and as a side effect people will give you plenty of respect and more opportunities will come your way. I determine my success as a teacher by what my students do AFTER I've taught them.
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How are rudiments important to me as a drumset player?
I'll answer this question including independence in the same answer: Rudiments, independence, & chops in general will be incredibly useful to your playing and will generally show up completely out of context. No you probably won't play an inverted flam tap or some whacked independence exercise verbatim in a song, but you will suddenly be able to play a weird syncopation somewhere with some hand that is "just able to do it somehow" (actually meaning previously worked out and added into your muscle memory as doable through a rudiment or exercise). Drumming without rudiments and independence exercises would be like a football team that only ran plays without any drills or conditioning. That team would get their butts kicked.
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Is it really important to practice with a metronome or click?
Yes, and farther more, heck yeah. I always practice with a click because I'm human and can't trust myself nearly as much as the machine. We're all human and we're all born to err, so it's hard to trust our own sense of time. We play what we feel is right, but then listening back to it from a 3rd person perspective we'll often see just how off our interpretation what is right was. If you're comfortable with a large variety of rhythms within a large variety of feels & tempos, then you'll end up with some pretty good time (and will be able to "trust yourself" pretty well due to the metronome-managed training). Such maturity makes it easy to play with a click, the click becomes a comfortable safety net! Now given you could take this way to far and end up sounding like a machine, but there are very few who (being human) ever come even close to that.
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How do I get really good hands?
Get Rudimental Logic, Quad Logic, Bass Logic, Reefed Beats, Rudimental Beats, and a Heavy Hitter pad with laminates, and get to work! I'm laughing as I write this because it seems so shameless to plug it all one after another, BUT, I created all of those things specifically to build better/faster/stronger players! Also, get on my “Get Good Quick Plan” on VicFirth.com to attack the all important fundamentals on a daily basis. Practice smart and a lot every day, set goals and find ways to keep it fun! When you get into a rut, open a book that makes you play things that you wouldn’t normally do.
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What kind of drumming technique do you use? Stone? Moeller? French Grip? German grip?
I use them all! These techniques and more are all great and necessary for various situations so learn them all! The more techniques you have worked out the better off you are since there's no 1 technique that does it all.
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How do I get good double strokes? What’s this “alley-oop” technique you talk about?
The key to playing good quality doubles is the development of the wrist/finger control which I refer to as the “alley-oop” technique. The “alley” is the first stroke played mainly from the wrist, and the “oop” is the second stroke played mainly from the fingers. The stick will naturally drop height with each stroke at a medium or fast speed, but if you play the second stroke with a higher velocity (using the fingers) it is possible to get a well balanced sound where it nearly sounds like even singles. (Remember that volume comes from the velocity of the stroke, not the stick height.) It takes some time to develop, but the get good quick plan for doubles will help immensely to build quality where the second beats aren't just bounces that decrescendo.
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How important is the fulcrum in the grip? Is 1st finger or 2nd finger fulcrum better?
A good fulcrum is absolutely crucial. Without a fulcrum (or pivot point) in the front of the hand your fingers can then only grip the stick instead of being able to play the stick. With this scenario you can only expect to achieve about 15% of your hand’s potential since you’re only using wrist. I use both 1st finger and 2nd finger fulcrums based on need/convenience. It's very important that the first finger fulcrum be well developed because that's the one you need for finesse & speed (that's why I insist on focusing instruction primarily on first finger fulcrum). I use 2nd finger fulcrum quite often when I don’t need much speed or finesse. Using the 2nd finger fulcrum also lets more of the wrist action transfer to the stick.
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What do you think of fancy stick tricks?
As a general rule I don't really care much for them at all. Nick Angelis from Blast and I judged two different I&E competitions in Europe and we agreed that if you don't sound full and smooth during a trick then the trick is not worth doing. Some kids watch Blast and model everything after that. Let's remember that they're playing to an uneducated audience where tricks are the most entertaining part to them. Playing for an educated audience should be a different story. Jeff Queen and Nick Angelis are two of the best rudimental players this world has ever seen and it was their command of the drum that got them where they are, not the gimmicky tricks. Beats have to come first (& really they still do in their blast solos)!
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Do your hands ever hurt or get injured? What about tendonitis?
No, and I haven't had had any injuries like tendonitis. I believe that proper technique will help you steer clear of injury. The people I’ve run into or taught with past injuries always had really stiff & awkward technique. The only times my hands don’t feel good is when I push them too hard with insufficient warm-up (which is both rare and dumb on my part). As a general rule, if something hurts, stop because it means that you’re doing it wrong. On a side note, let’s not confuse the pain in this question with burning muscles--building endurance will require a little bit of burn from time to time.
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What’s the deal with your ear problems?
I don't have any substantial hearing loss, but I do have a raging case of tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I've had constant ringing since 1993 or so, but it can get louder and louder to the point where you just want to be unconscious so you don't have to listen to it. My ears are also now very sensitive where loud noises physically hurt, and my tinnitus is easily set off. For instance, some people's ears will ring after a rock concert or drumline rehearsal, where as mine can be set off by something as simple as a high 5. (And for me "set off" now means from a normal ring to a louder tormenting ring.) I need to wear earplugs on airplanes, in movie theaters, and of course whenever I'm near a drum. My tinnitus has forced me into retirement from drum corps, teaching high school percussion, and almost drumming entirely. The bottom line is: please take care of your ears! You don't want to have to face forced retirement from your life's passion at a young age.
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Do I really need earplugs? What kind?
Yes, I’d say that it is foolish to play drums which are ridiculously loud without protecting your ears. Most people don't like earplugs because they've only tried cheap "one size fits all" plugs (like the foam ones) that leave you half deaf and adversely affect your ability to hear what you want to hear. (I hate those things too, though at my advanced stage sometimes those are my only option for maximum protection.) BUT, there is a solution. Put it this way, all earplugs completely suck when compared to the musician's custom molded ER 15/25 earplugs. Everyone should immediately go to sensaphonics.com and order custom molded earplugs! You’ll kick yourself for not getting them years ago and will never want to wear the cheap plugs again.
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