We talk all about groove today as Mrs. "What Is Up" joins us in the studio. The Single Ratamacue is the Rudiment of the Week and Aaron Comess is the Drummer of the Week.  Show Notes

In the last episode (February 29th, 2008) of Drummer Talk, the guys discussed how to get out of a musical rut. Many good ideas were discussed, but I wanted to challenge you to consider this: how, or in what, do you find inspiration? For myself, I wanted to elaborate on two points that I feel have provided me musical inspiration: using electronics to step away from being just a "drummer", and taking a break ...

I often get asked about how to learn a groove, or practice this or that style, particularly jazz. Practicing with a metronome is great practice in developing a sense of tempo and pulse, but how far does it go in develop a sense of groove ... of pocket? This is where playing along to recordings is invaluable. The best advice I can give you is to simply find some good jazz ...

Ok, let me get all existential on you. Drumming (especially playing old Stax/Motown music like "Green Onions") is much much more than keeping time, or chopping, or fills, or whatever. When your playing, and everything's cooking, and the bass player is laying down a phat groove so wide that you just slide in .. when everything is going and you're deep in the pocket, you begin to spearate yourself from your personal performance. ...

Good to see that Louie Bellson is on the mend. This guy is a big reason we study jazz today. He really did a lot for drumming, jazz music, and musicianship in general. Here's to many more years! Source: ModernDrummer.com The great Louie Bellson was recently hospitalized a few months back while recovering from a hip-breaking fall. However, he has been enormously encouraged and thankful by the greeting cards and well wishes. Mr. Bellson has now transferred to ...

The drummer's number one enemy when grooving isn't an inability to keep time (though that's a big one too)... it's the itch. It's the feeling you get to break out (musically) when you are locked in the pocket. It's like the musical equivalent of claustrophobia. Staying in a groove can make your musical universe seem very small. So you leave the pocket to come up for air... deep breath... and then you're back in again. ...

Today we cover playing along with pieces that don't necessarily call for drum parts (like in classical music!) ?uestlove is the drummer of the week, the ten-stroke roll is the rudiment of the week, and Dave rants on MikeDolbear.com's reader poll results! Show Notes

One last Bob Gatzen video. Here, he offers his tips on tuning up toms. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ9Unab1OzU]

On the Creative Coordination DVD, Thomas Lang states that Independence and Interdependence are both different states of mind. And after considering and pondering what he said for a couple of minutes, I came to agree. If you think about it, the only difference between interdependence and independence is how you view what you're playing. If you view what each limb is doing as a separate rhythm, that's independence. if you view each limb as playing ...

Tuning guru and über drum tech nerd, Bob Gatzen teaches about tuning snare drums. I don't necessarily agree with 100% of his techniques, but this guy knows his stuff. He even has an exhaustive tuning DVD. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs]