X8 Drums Blog

Drummer Chad Smith recently hit the Drum! Night stage in San Jose, California. The charity event supports the Lincoln High School music program and showcases performances, workshops, a gear expo, and an auction. Metro Active reports that Smith began drumming on ice cream cartons at age 7 and honed his craft in public school music classes and bands. Smith considers himself a prime example of the importance of public school music programs and works to spread that message far and wide. Drum! magazi …

image courtesy of last.fmWorcestershire hopes to erect a statue of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham. The drummer passed away in 1980 and the band disbanded as a result, but business owners from Redditch are campaigning to memorialize the drummer. Music Radar reports that John’s sister, Deborah Bonham, is excited about the project and only wishes it could have been done when other family members were still alive. She says that John was so unassuming that he likely would be shy about th …

Music is helping a group of developmentally delayed young adults in Greensboro, North Carolina, expand their horizons. A class called Connections is helping them to work both fine and gross motor skills and interact with one another. Music therapy uses music to help people work on social and physical skills, because research has shown that music helps draw people out. Your News Now reports that the class is facilitated by a certified music therapist and parents say they notice an improvement wit …

Weerachat Premananda Jr has become a big hit on youtube. The Thai musician drew a drum kit on a wall and then pretended to drum in a video. He is a music teacher who happens to also love chalk drawing and the video is quite impressive. A director helped guide his air drumming while shooting the video and Premananda plans on adding more youtube instrumentals in the future using a variety of instruments. The chalk drumming video has already generated more than 200,000 on YouTube and, according to …

Summer is the time of festivals and a drummer’s paradise may be found at renaissance festivals around the country. Frame drums are the notoriously popular renaissance drumming fare and are believed to be the earliest type of skin drum. Traditionally constructed using bent wood and a rawhide head, many cultures have a version of the frame drum. These drums are usually round, but octagon shaped frame drums can also be found. Played by hand or by striking with a mallet, frame drums have entertained …

One of the reasons most people get into teaching is to share what they know. While having a lot of knowledge or passion for something does not automatically equate to teaching it well, it certainly helps. Teaching drumming is not for everyone, but people who gravitate toward it genuinely love drums. The trick may be in transferring that love onto the student, because people take up instruments for a variety of reasons. An important drumming tip for teachers is to keep it fun, because drumming is …

Guitar Center’s 25th drum competition is under way! Entrants are being accepted for the popular drumming contest. Interested drummers are encouraged to apply at any Guitar Center, which will supply the drum kit and has 30 spots available at each store. Contestants are allowed to use their own snare, drum pedal, and throne, if desired. The store will also supply a Roland SPD-30 that drummers may incorporate during their three minutes of drumming. The winner of the contest will take home $25,000 c …

Drummer Matt Nichols, of British metal band Bring Me the Horizon fame, recently opened up about his struggles with drumming. Now in the business for about 10 years, Nichols finally feels like a real drummer, according to an article on Noisecreep. The drummer feels that in the past, his desire to be as metal as possible hindered his playing and he has since taken a more responsible stance regarding his career. He now practices with a Korg Beatlab to build up the strength and playing ability of hi …

There are many ways to play tambourines and many types of tambourines available these days. Gone are the days of street musicians finagling ways to strap a full-sized tambourine onto their feet; now there are tambourines made specifically for that purpose. And, while many Americans may be most familiar with the gospel music background of the instrument, tambourines are also popular in the classical, rock, and Persian genres of music. From a simple round piece of wood with mini-cymbals attached, …

The connection between music and math has been widely studied, especially when it comes to the academic achievements of students involved in music classes and programs. MusicRadar, however, has recently published a thought-provoking article on the connection between drummers and mathematicians. In this piece, it is noted that complex math is required to create and understand music, and the ability to connect to something that is ultimately intangible requires a special sort of mind related to th …