I am 12 years old and have the best Skype lessons with Dean Hall to teach me how to improve drumming. I am currently the Australian D-grade snare drumming champion and play in the Scots School Albury Pipe Band.
Currently, I am leading the juvenile snare corps in the New Zealand Pipe Band championships in March. As we are practising I am teaching my corps how to improve drumming by playing in the middle of their drums for the best possible sound on the drum.
It is hard to play in the middle of your drum but it is a crucial part of pipe band snare drumming. My suggestion is to use the DrummingMad StartPad or a DrummingMad StrikeZone sticker. The DrummingMad StartPad is a definite must for a drummer! It has two crosses to aim your sticks at and some lines to show where the snare would be. This helps all drummers!
My favourite thing about the DrummingMad StrikeZone sticker is that you can stick it straight onto a drum, the StrikeZone sticker also has the two crosses to aim you sticks at. When you get really good and you can hit the drum right in the middle every time… you just simply peel it off!
Dean is currently teaching me a drum salute called DragQueen by Dougal McConnell. I am really enjoying it because it is fast and I love the back sticking, although I am mostly enjoying the challenge. Being challenged is a very important element of pipe band snare drumming… CHALLENGE YOURSELF. Without challenge you cannot improve and DragQueen is definitely a challenge. I try to challenge myself as much as I can with all the scores I play, especially for solos. This is how to improve drumming – through continuous challenge.
Keep tuning in to the DrummingMad website to see more tips from Cameron and I each month.Â
I’d love to hear from you. How do you practice playing in the middle of the drum? Have you tried using the DrummingMad StartPad or StrikeZones? How are you challenging yourself with your drumming? Let me know in the comments below.
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