Tyler Walton

About four months ago I had a student in his late thirties contact me about signing up for drum lessons. He had been a guitar player in bands for many years and he wanted to begin learning how to play jazz on the drumset. Rarely do I ever have a prospective student come to me with a specific stylistic pursuit in mind. Most of the time students (both kids and adults) just want to get started on the instrument and learn the basic aspects of drumming in many different musical settings. I prefer it ...

Ride cymbals are the most complex -- and largest -- of the cymbal family. Most ride cymbals range from 20 to 22 inches in diameter. For rock and pop music a medium-thick ride with a clear stick definition (referred to as "ping") is desirable. If you prefer to occasionally hit your ride towards the edge with the shoulder of the stick (think Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters) then you will want a ride that isn't too thick in order to produce a good "crash" sound when desired. I use ...

Let's talk about cymbal polish. Don't do it. *end snarkism*

Resist the urge to buy cymbal polish in order to clean your cymbals. Let them age naturally. The dust, grime, and grease from your hands that gets onto your cymbals gradually changes their sound and serves to shape the character of each cymbal in its own unique way. Polishing a cymbal will only hinder this process and make no discernible difference in preserving a cymbal's original sound. This especially applies to ride ...

Cymbal selection is an often overlooked aspect of comprising a drumset. We spend a good deal of time choosing the right drums and the right sticks, but cymbals are an equally important component of a drummer's voice on the instrument. The first rule of thumb when purchasing a cymbal -- or any piece of gear for that matter -- is never buy anything without playing it first. Find a music store where you can physically test out a cymbal, preferably on a nearby drumset as well. If dealing with a private ...

When it comes to practicing, I try to get the most out of my routine in a short period of time. If I have an hour, I touch on the following areas of practice: technique, reading, and soloing. I accomplish this by working out of such method books as Ted Reed's 'Syncopation.' I find this book very conducive to an "all-in-one hour" practice routine because it contains many pages of rhythms with an underlying bass drum ostinato. When practiced with varying tempos and stickings, these reading ...