James Demlow

Come and see my band this Saturday at Dublin Square in East...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:00:36 -0500

Come and see my band this Saturday at Dublin Square in East Lansing!

This is a short video of me messing around with a Mozambique...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:52:09 -0500

This is a short video of me messing around with a Mozambique groove, in the style of “Late in the Evening” by Paul Simon. My apologies for the abrupt ending. I think my phone got a text message and it killed the video.

Enjoy!

Manic Depression Groove This groove was originally done by...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:17:04 -0500

Manic Depression Groove

This groove was originally done by Mitch Mitchell with Jimi Hendrix. It’s in 3/4 time, and is a killer groove with lots going on. Enjoy!

This is just a quickie video I’m throwing together to help...

Tue, 24 May 2011 18:45:00 -0400

This is just a quickie video I’m throwing together to help out my students who have been asking about this fantastic groove all week! I hope the information presented here helps anyone who is curious about it. Thanks so much for watching!

John Bonham:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohlFjyCE0gA

Jeff Porcaro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwFdExvCxM4

Bernard Purdie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGXGpa458Ig&feature=related

"If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines,..."

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 02:40:42 -0400

““If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed quickly, to trap them before they escape.””

- Ray Bradbury (via wordpainting) (via distantheartbeats) (via suzywire) (via baringmysoul)

Here I am playing with The Grand Scam at the Green Door in...

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:52:14 -0400

Here I am playing with The Grand Scam at the Green Door in Lansing.

"Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at..."

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:02:47 -0400

“Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.”

- Dr. Haim Ginott

This is a short video of me playing the five stroke roll from...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:53:57 -0500

This is a short video of me playing the five stroke roll from slow to fast. Feel free to play along! Enjoy, and thanks for watching!

"There are three things to remember when teaching: know your stuff; know whom you are stuffing; and..."

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:58:07 -0500

“There are three things to remember when teaching: know your stuff; know whom you are stuffing; and then stuff them elegantly”

- Lola May

How to Practice: Save Your Minutes

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:10:00 -0500

There is a quote about money I have always liked: “Save you pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves”. I like this quote a lot for two reasons;

1. I have pennies. Lots of them. I’m also pretty sure I can get more. This leads me to believe I’ll be rich some day.

2. It helps to illustrate a very basic aspect of practicing the drums.

We’ll leave my future billions out of this article and concentrate on how this quote can do wonders for your personal practice. We’re all busy people nowadays. Work, School, Gigs, Kids, Pets, Parents, Yoga, Sports Center, etc. We don’t always have hours to practice our instrument, and sometimes we don’t even have a single hour! While I think there are many people who could be practicing a lot more instead of watching Star Trek: The Next Generation re-runs, and also some people who need to loosen up their schedules a bit, we can all relate to one simple idea; “I wish I had more time to practice”.

This is where that quote comes in. As it relates to practicing drums, I like to use the quote “Save your minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves”. What the heck does that mean? It means that if you could practice for just a few minutes every single day, you would see a tremendous amount of growth in your drumming, no matter what your skill level, style, age, or science fiction television taste.

Most people don’t believe this when I tell them, and the reason they don’t believe it is because they have been inundated with stories of drummers who wood shed for 8 hours a day for months on end, emerging with long beards and a sensitivity to light. People believe that in order to be successful at the drums, you have to practice to the point where you can’t possibly have a life, so why even bother?

While it is true that practicing for hours on end for days on end will make you very skilled, it IS NOT the way the majority of proficient, talented, and more importantly, WORKING drummers choose to live. You CAN become really good at the drums, AND even practice for great lengths of time, AND still have a life.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t like one of those plans where you lose weight while you sleep. It’s more like 8 minute abs (except this actually works).

Start by practicing for 10 minutes per day. Just 10, no more, no less. That’s it? Yup. Here’s why: you’re going to do it EVERY SINGLE DAY. Weekends, Holidays, Mardi Gras, whatever. It’s the everyday part that is most important. The reason why is that after about 21 days or so, you will develop the habit of practicing. You won’t have to remind yourself or make time for it, because it will simply be part of your routine. Once that happens, you can go to 15 minutes, then 20, and so on until you are getting an hour everyday. An hour everyday of quality practice time is HUGE. It can make a world of difference after a few months, or even just one year. You can take it as far as you want, but if you start with a solid foundation of consistent practice with quality material, your playing will hit warp factor 9.

I swear to you, no more Star Trek after that last one.

Pennies add up to dollars, and minutes add up to hours. Save them both, and wealth and happiness is sure to follow.

I hope this really helps you with all of your percussion endeavors. Feel free to e-mail me at JDemlow@gmail.com if you have any questions. I would love to help!

"One mark of a great educator is the ability to lead students out to new places where even the..."

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:24:42 -0500

“One mark of a great educator is the ability to lead students out to new places where even the educator has never been”

- Thomas Groome

This is a video of me using a double stroke check pattern from...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:14:21 -0500

This is a video of me using a double stroke check pattern from the vic firth website as a warm up. Feel free to play along! Enjoy!

How to Practice: Setting Goals

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:48:07 -0500

In order to be able to acquire, polish, or even master any techniques on the drum set, you must begin with practice. This is a pretty obvious, if not totally obvious statement. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? I’ll give you a hint, it is not a plane and then a taxi. There is however one exception that I take with the above statement, and that is that you must BEGIN with practice. Practice is a crucial element to any musician’s development, but I feel like many drummers of varying backgrounds and levels of development miss another critical element that I feel needs to exist before a person even picks up a pair of sticks.

Goals

In order for any practice, even the most basic practice, to have a truly positive and propelling effect, you have to have goals. Even one teenie, tiny goal gives a person enough direction to accomplish amazing things in a short amount of time. I know this may all seem very obvious, but many people come in to my lesson studio with what they think are goals:

“I want to be a better drummer”

“I want to play faster fills”

“I want to play an awesome solo”

“I want to impress chicks”

That last one by the way requires switching instruments from drums to guitar. All of the sentences above are fine statements and even worthwhile pursuits, but they ARE NOT goals. They are wishes, hopes, maybe even dreams, but not goals. A goal is something specific, tangible, it can be measured, and above all else, it can be clearly pictured by the goal setter.

“I want to play clean double stroke rolls at 120 bpm”. Now that is a goal.

I don’t want to fall in to the self-help abyss of goal setting and time management in this article, because I might not find my way out. So here is a quick checklist on how to set proper goals, so that you can practice in a way that gets you the best results in the shortest amount of time:

- Do I have a goal?

- Now that I have a goal, is it specific and can it be measured?

- How long do I think it will take me to achieve my goal?

- What benefits will I have gained once this goal is attained?

- Will this goal help me achieve other goals?

Remember, choose goals that will take you where you want to go. If you want to join your high school jazz band, don’t practice blast beats for three hours a day. Also, make sure you re-evaluate as you go. If you need to tweak your goals, that’s ok. The important thing is to keep things concrete, clear, and consistent (and any other alliterative happy phrases that you feel help).

Here is a video of me using a warm up for Single Strokes from...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:07:54 -0500

Here is a video of me using a warm up for Single Strokes from Vicfirth . com. 16ths, 16th Note Triplets, then 32nd notes. Silver to Platinum level. Feel free to play along! Thanks for viewing!

"Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand."

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:10:32 -0500

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”

- Chinese Proverb

Teaching: How do I get my students to practice?

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:11:00 -0500

No matter what instrument you teach, finding ways to motivate your students to practice is probably one of the biggest issues for private instructors. Many instructors can get frustrated, or even personally offended when their students don’t practice. It seems like a waste of time for everyone involved. What’s more, you can feel a lot of pressure from parents who don’t see their child putting in a lot of hours, and they in turn will feel like they are wasting their money on your lessons.

So the question is “How do I get my students to practice?”

For the purposes of this article, let’s assume that you are dealing with two types of students; those that don’t practice, but still manage to make progress, and those that don’t practice and are stalling out.

For the first group, it’s important to keep in mind that kids today (yeah, I said it) have a lot going on. Imagine a 15 year old that has a full day of school with three hours of homework every night, football practice after school, driver’s ed and a part time job, not to mention the pull of friends, girls, and Playstation 3. You as a drum instructor can be seen as asking a lot of this kid if you say, “I want you to practice an hour everyday”. This is a kid who really wants to play the instrument, but the thought running through his head is:

“If I can’t give it enough attention, then I’ll just suck, so what’s the point?”

These are the kids who like to practice, or would like it if they had more time and more motivation.

The other group is comprised of the students who don’t want to practice. These are the kids (or adults for that matter) who just don’t like practicing, no matter what the circumstances. “Why are they playing drums then” I hear you asking. More on that issue in future articles, but for right now, let’s assume you can turn them around.

It actually doesn’t matter which type of student you’re dealing with, because the solutions are almost the same (with some minor variations). First things first though, let’s talk about what you DO NOT want to do:

Don’t tell them to practice more

For some of you this may seem obvious. For others, this seems like the worst idea ever. The reason you don’t tell them to practice more is because they will take it like you’re giving them an order, and no one responds well to that. Even if you manage to threaten or scare them in to practicing, it’ll be temporary until they quit. You’re goal is to motivate them, not make them do it.

Don’t try to sell them on the idea of practice

They already know the idea that practice=good, and no practice=bad. That isn’t why they are not practicing. Telling them a long list of reasons why practice is good is asking to be tuned out like Charlie Brown’s teacher, and it isn‘t motivating. They don’t want to hear your reasons.

Don’t make them feel bad for not practicing

Never, ever, ever, purposely make a student feel bad, for any reason. Period.

So, now that we know what not to do, let’s talk about the ways that will turn your ENTIRE roster of students in to dedicated, and diligent drummers.

Tell them to play everyday

Especially if you are dealing with a beginner. It is more important that they play everyday, because that will create a positive attitude toward the instrument. Tell them you don’t care what they play, or even for how long, as long as they are playing as much as possible. They will naturally progress up to a point, and then ask you for help with the materials you have asked them to work on (not told them to practice).

Ask them what they want to work on

If you have an established student that is not very motivated, you need to discover what does motivate them. Have you tried asking? I know. It’s nuts. You just ask them what they want to learn, then show them how to do it. It’s crazy. It also works. Even if you feel like they should be learning rudiments instead of death metal, it is their lesson, and their time with you is best spent in a positive way. If you show them what they want to know, I guarantee you will be able to work in your materials.

Make them feel really good when they do something right

This is basic conditioning. Anytime they do something correct, make a really, really big deal about it. Not a patronizing, pat on the head, but a genuine “Yes! That was it! It sounded awesome! Do it just like that!” People like the feeling of accomplishment and praise. You want your students to feel that a lot in the lesson room. If they do, you shouldn’t really have to ask them to do anything. That is true motivation.

They should always feel in control

This is the most crucial element. Many studies show that a person’s happiness is very much related to how much they feel they are in control of their lives. The more you can help the student choose to play, the more they will want to. The motivation will stem from their desire, and not your orders. Let them create their practice routine. Let them choose between two exercises. Let them choose which rudiment to start with. The more control you give to your students, the more they will want to work on the material. Don’t underestimate them either. Trust that they will do the work if you give them the choice.

So, to sum it up:

DON’T:

- Tell them to practice more

- Try to sell them on the idea of pratice

- Make them feel bad

DO:

- Tell them everyday is more important than how long

- Ask what they want

- Make them feel good

- Make sure they feel in control

Next time, I want to talk about how to explain this whole “I’m not going to tell you to practice” attitude to parents. It can be a tough sell ;o) Feel free to e-mail me at JDemlow@gmail.com with any questions or comments. I look forward to hearing from you!

"Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:43:10 -0500

“Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Teaching: Patience in Teaching

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:21:00 -0500

I want to talk about a basic quality that I think all drum instructors should have. While this is a quality I think everyone should have anyway, it certainly applies to teaching drums, and other instruments in a very practical way. This also applies to teaching styles. Some people are better suited to learn from certain types of instructors, but everyone who teaches should have certain traits in common, no matter what their teaching style is.

The quality I’m talking about is patience. All teachers should be patient. It is the most basic skill for anyone trying to disseminate information to anyone else. I have never had a student say to me, “you know man, I really like learning the drums, but I just wish you would be a little less patient with me. I wish you would get frustrated a few times during the lesson. Maybe curse out loud even. Ask me to stop wasting time. That sort of thing. Thanks!”. Get my point? You can be like Bob Ross, or like Jillian Michaels. You can be rough and gruff, or a big teddy bear. Whatever your style, you have to have patience if you want to teach people how to play the drums. It is a requirement. NOT AN OPTION.

Now, someone reading this may say, “Dude, I had a great instructor growing up who I liked a lot, and they were not very patient with me. They were hard on me, and it really motivated me to get better. All the arguing and frustration made me the player and teacher I am. Why would I change that?”.

Let me start by saying, if this is you, you make up a very small percentage of people who had an instructor who was not patient, and actually walked away with a positive experience. I would bet money however, that you also had a bunch of really crappy experiences. You may have even quit the drums a time or two…or ten. Wouldn’t it have been better to have had those same experience or learning an instrument without all the frustration and garbage? Wouldn’t you be an ever BETTER instructor today, who could show even more people how to play, and affect their lives in a positive way?

“No. Why should I care about whether my students are happy or not with their lessons? As long as I teach them how to play, that’s all that matters.” If this is your response to the above paragraph, STOP TEACHING NOW. Go do something you like. Your students are not the time waster, you are. You are wasting their time by not teaching them. Overall you may be doing more harm than good, and if that is the case you need to take a long, hard look at the way you teach, and work on developing your patience.

Patience keeps you sane. It keeps you focused. It’s an amazing equalizer, and pretty much everyone who is great…I mean really, really great at teaching percussion is also patient in the lesson room (even if they come unglued outside the lesson room). ;o)

So think about the ways in which you are patient, and the ways in which you could improve. Remember to breathe and relax while your teaching, and always keep each lesson in perspective, and always, always, ALWAYS keep your student’s wants and needs at heart. They are your student, but as the instructor, it’s not just your job to inspire and motivate, but to help your clients achieve their specific goals, and desires on the instrument. A patient teacher is one with a full roster of happy kids and adults who can’t wait for their lesson day, because it’s the best part of their week. It’s the first, and most important quality in building a set of skills that will make you an EXCELLENT instructor. Not an ok, good, or even great instructor…but an EXCELLENT one.

Next time, I want to talk about applying this principle to motivating your students to practice. Something we can all relate to. ;o) If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here, or e-mail me at JDemlow@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you about what you think about teaching, and what your experiences are like. Talk to you soon!

A couple of patterns from the GE series that I like to use as...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:37:21 -0500

A couple of patterns from the GE series that I like to use as warm ups. Enjoy!

This is my first video upload to YouTube. This is a video of me...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:02:42 -0500

This is my first video upload to YouTube. This is a video of me playing a variety of styles. Linear Patterns, Military Cadence, 5/8 time, etc. I’m just learning Windows Movie Maker, and needed a video to work with. I hope you find this enjoyable, and thanks for viewing!