A degreed professional musician with a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance, and Master of Music post-graduate work, Bart Elliott has worked for 40+ years in the music and entertainment industry with over 100 album recordings to his credit. His decades of experience exhaustive understanding of contemporary and classical music makes him a complete and skilled master musician.
Bart continues to work as an active drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, music arranger, director, comedian, MC, educator, writer and visual artist. He is the owner and creator of DrummerCafe.com, which he founded in December of 1996.
The late Shelly Manne , who came into prominence as a West Coast session / jazz drummer after moving to Los Angeles, CA in the early 1950s, has provided percussive contributions to numerous cartoons,...
Ways To Reduce, Recycle and Reuse — Saving Energy & Money While You Practice "Going Green" doesn't necessary involve replacing everything you own with Energy Star rated appliances and products. While...
Many of us face an ongoing battle when it comes to removing unwanted buzz from our snare drums. This buzzing sound is almost a way of life for most drummers... but in order to resolve the issue we fi...
I'm having trouble with my sixteenth-notes. I can't keep a steady beat when playing sixteenth-notes (two hands) on the HiHat and moving to strike the Snare drum on the backbeats. Do you have any techn...
A Drummer Cafe member writes: Hey Bart, I have a tendency to speed up/slow down a bit sometimes, and am trying to correct it. It is not a major problem in most areas of my playing, but in certain plac...
So how did drummers find the tempo of a song... back before there was a "Tap" feature on electronic metronome? I personally would try to guess the tempo, get it in the ballpark, then spend the next 5...
It's a lot of fun to learn to play the drum/percussion parts exactly like our favorite drummer or percussionist played them; anything from a solo to the entire drum or percussion track. Sometimes we a...
So how does one go about becoming a "session drummer" or "studio drummer" nowadays? Being a great player, able to work with other musicians and producers, solid feel with click tracks, able to develop...
How does one come up with drum fills? I hear this question asked a lot during my clinics, private lessons with students, and on the Drummer Cafe community forums. Chances are that if you are reading t...
A brief definition and description of Jazz styles, as well as number of legendary musicians representing each era. TRADITIONAL — Jazz music associated with the early part of the twentieth century. Usu...
There are so many great study materials on the market today, it would be impossible for me to list them all here. To help me make my decision in figuring out what to place on the list, I chose to incl...
"How important is knowledge of music theory for the working drummer?" "Is music theory essential to having a good career in music?" If you are going to attend a music school to major in music, you'll...
How important is practicing rudiments for you? Which ones are especially useful, and where? Are they really helpful to everyone, or just for people who want to build their chops to insane levels? Drum...
If you are a solo artist or in a group/band where you need to build your brand, fan base and/or listening audience, these eight different suggestions are definitely approaches you need to be taking (i...
PART ONE Anyone who has learned to play a musical instrument knows that practice plays an important role in the learning process. Unfortunately, many musicians spend time practicing without having a f...
I get a lot of emails regarding "record deal" questions... so I thought I would provide some basic information to help those of you, artists and/or bands, who may be asking (thinking of) the same que...
A Fever Beat is not a specific groove or beat (although some may argue the point), but rather it's an approach to playing various grooves. The key ingredient found in a fever beat is the pulse emphasi...
I get a lot of questions on how to develop the "weaker hand." Individuals with a dominant right hand struggle with their left hand; the reverse being true for those with a dominant left hand. Yes, the...
As drummers we spend a lot of time discussing the various types of woods used to make drum shells. I thought it might be interesting to provide a little insight as to the hardness and density of these...
I receive numerous inquiries regarding the pursuit of a career in music as well as questions about attending a college or university with the intent of obtaining some sort of degree in music. While a...
Sometimes referred to as a Log Drum , which is historically a very different instrument, this Slit Drum or Tongue Drum uses 3/4 inch boards all the way around. The top should be made of a hardwood. Pa...
Here's a brief list of percussion literature available in duet form with various instrumentation set-ups. Keyboard Percussion Duos Fifteen Bach Inventions J.S. Bach/Lang Warner Bros. Duets for Vibraph...
The phrase in the pocket is used to describe something or someone playing in such a way that the groove is very solid and with a great feel. When a drummer keeps a good metronomic pulse, often referre...
I've been developing my internal clock over the years, although I still have a lot of growing to do (don't we all?). A few years ago, I came up with a way to get myself "in the ballpark" when it comes...
We all go through it from time to time, feeling a lack of motivation or inspiration to practice and develop ourselves... so don't beat yourself up or be too hard on yourself. I don't know all the rea...
I've noticed a lot of young players worry too much about the whole endorsement thing. Personally, I think they need to focus on their playing and becoming a better musician. It's an honor to have a re...
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to that work, typically for a limited time. In layman terms, it is simply "the right...
The English progressive rock band, Genesis , released their eighth studio album, Wind & Wuthering , in December 1976 with Phil Collins on drums and lead vocals. One of the instrumental tracks from the...
