the official blog of the Percussive Arts Society

"Learning to be proficient on tenors involves spending many hours exploring different sticking patterns, as there are endless possibilities when it comes to orchestrating a particular rhythm or phrase around the drums. When learning to play tenors, it is important that you are able to execute the phrase or pattern proficiently on one drum before attempting to move the pattern to four or five drums."

Check out several excellent exercises and additional tips for successfully moving rudiments around the tenors from a February 2000 Percussive Notes article.

“Drumming should not be a painful experience — physically or mentally. Musicians need to understand the difference between pain and muscle soreness. Only the individual can make that determination. If you feel you have a problem, you must speak up or you may end up like me with an injury that remains unhealed.”

Check out this valuable information about preventing and diagnosing potential injury from an August 2000 Percussive Notes article.

“These exercises were inspired by the late Shelly Manne. He could create the illusion of a ball being dropped on the snare without interrupting the jazz time feel. Our goal is a fluid technique that allows us to create rhythmic illusions that can float across barlines and to provide more expressive comping behind a soloist.”

Check out these tips and exercises for greater left-hand independence from an August 2000 Percussive Notes article.