Niagara Music Drum Tips

Niagara Music award winner for Jazz Group of the year and Rysons drum teacher Tim Popek shares some music tips for students.
Music Lessons in Niagara: Drummers are cool. Drummers are usually the focal point of a musical group. Knowledge for new drums students: If you want to be a good drummer don’t talk about it, don’t think about it, don’t read about it. Find a drum teacher for private music lessons in Niagara, put the sticks on the drums and let the fun begin.

“Sticks” What about sticks? Names on sticks can be confusing like 5B, 7A or 2S. Long ago, size A was for orchestra, B was for band and S was for marching. A sticks were smaller and lighter, B were thicker and S sticks were like small baseball bats. Nowadays drum sticks are labelled jazz, funk, rock, and powerhouse etc.

Beginning music students are usually advised by private music teachers to start with 5A, which is middle of the road. For example, Lucas Venneri of the Golden Hammers uses 5A, so does his teacher Tim. Heavy sticks can cause tiredness, cut practice time and can cause damaged muscles if you’re not careful. Thin sticks may cause cramps because you have to squeeze harder. Niagara music teachers who are professionals will always advise you to choose the sticks that will enrich your playing.

Drum sticks are made of hickory, maple and oak. Hickory is more flexible and will absorb shock whereas maple is harder but doesn’t flex as well. Oak stands up to harder play but doesn’t absorb shock. Synthetic sticks are designed to withstand breakage, but shock can be transferred to wrist or arm; sometimes if you’re doing a rimshot, it’s better to break an inexpensive stick than hurt yourself.

Drumsticks also have different beads or tips such as acorn, teardrop, oval, round or barrel. Acorn beads on sticks are more versatile; by angeling the sticks you can obtain different sounds from your ride cymbals. Nylon tips rebound better than wood, so they are favoured by musicians who employ a lot of double strokes or buzz rolls. Furthermore, Nylon tips won’t wear down or splinter like wood tips, but can sometimes become unglued.

Point of interest – the neck is the portion right below the bead; the thinest part of the stick. If you play hard and loud, choose a stick with a thick neck.

Always ask the music store owner and your music teacher for advice as you progress as they may recommend drum brushes, mallets, coloured sticks and other items to enjoy the gift of music. Your sticks will soon become part of your hands, allowing you to get every possible sound out of your instrument .

Now that you have proper knowledge of sticks, your teacher will take you through matched grips, traditional grips and making the strokes to play on your drum kit.

Thanks for stopping by. If we can help you just visit the store.