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.
I've always enjoyed using a lot of different drum and percussion set-ups, allowing the music genre I'm playing in, the type of group I'm playing for, the venue I'm playing at, and my overall mood to g...
Peter Erskine has always been one of my favorite drummers, so it was a pleasure to transcribe his comping from the opening 4-bars of Joni Mitchell's "I Wish I Were In Love Again" ( Both Sides Now ). Y...
The Natural Grip is just a term I came up with to describe my approach to holding the drumstick. I simply start with the most relaxed, ergonomic position my body can be in, with no contortion or rotat...
A good place to start when beginning the Linear Drumming concept would be to first work with beats you already know (and can play). Beginning at this point will definitely help with gaining a deeper u...
There are three basic ways to tune a double-headed drum: Both heads (top & bottom) tuned exactly the same. The top head tuned higher/tighter than the bottom head. The top head tuned lower/looser than...
Using a Tumbao* on Congas, in a Rock/Pop setting Let's assume that you know very few conga patterns and/or rhythms... and you want to expand your sound. If you are playing in a style where the drumme...
So you've been working on all these great licks and fills... but how do you organize them and put it all together to create an interesting drum solo? Some of my favorite drum solos, dare I say "the b...
The Endurance Method is a 10-minute hand exercise I came up with back in the early '80's in order to warm-up, build strength and dexterity in my playing, and increase my speed. Using this exercise eve...
A number of years ago one of my students asked me to notate the pattern used by Jeff Porcaro on the tune Mushanga , from the Toto album entitled The Seventh One , so I thought I'd share it with you. W...
Grab a pair of your favorite drumsticks and snuggle up next to your Snare drum or practice pad... it's time for The Rebound Game ! If you've got a mirror near by, sit or stand in front of it, watch y...
To fully develop one's pocket in time keeping, it's important that we first realize that the beat/pulse of the music is actually very wide. There's not just one minuscule point in time where a pulse e...
This one-bar fill by Carter Beauford appears at the 14-second mark of Dave Matthews tune "Too Much" , from the Dave Matthews Band album Crash , released back in 1996. If you don't know what a linear f...
Your feet should ALWAYS stay in contact with the pedals; whether you use heel up or heel down, it doesn't matter. For general playing techniques, the "ball" of your foot should always remain on the pe...
As one of the most recognizable Rock tune introductions of all time, the opening four-bars of "We're An American Band" by the legendary band, Grand Funk Railroad , is still one of those drum licks tha...
Many of us are familiar with Stick Control for the Snare Drummer by George Lawrence Stone... especially the first three pages of sticking exercises. I wanted to share some of my ideas and concepts, i...
This routine (now with video supplement) is designed to prepare the body by stretching and relaxing before actually beginning to play. Failure to properly warm and relax the body may cause unwanted st...
BIOGRAPHY Emil Richards, born Emilio Joseph Radocchia on September 2, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, was an American percussionist and vibraphonist, best known for extensive resume as a first-call LA...
BIOGRAPHY Mitchell Peters , born Mitchell Thomas Peters on August 17, 1935 in Redwing, Minnesota, was an American percussionist, educator and composer, best known as the principal timpanist and percus...
BIOGRAPHY Grady Tate , born Grady Bernard Tate on January 14, 1932 in Durham, North Carolina, was an American hard bop and soul-jazz drummer. As a singer, Tate is known for his distinctive baritone vo...
BIOGRAPHY Paul Humphrey , born on October 12, 1935 in Detroit, Michigan, is an American jazz, funk and R&B drummer, best known as the drummer on Marvin Gaye's 1973 album release, " Let's Get It On ",...
BIOGRAPHY Mike Clark , born October 3, 1946, in Sacramento, California, is an American jazz / funk drummer, best known for playing in Herbie Hancock's band, The Headhunters, in the mid-1970s. Mike Cla...
BIOGRAPHY Jack Imel , born Lawrence Imel on June 9, 1932 in Portland, Indiana, was an American percussionit, singer, dancer, and television producer who is best known for his work on The Lawrence Welk...
BIOGRAPHY Stanton Moore , born on July 9, 1972 in New Orleans, Louisana, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of Galatic. Moore travels internationally giving drum clinics on New Orl...
BIOGRAPHY Colin Bailey , born Colin James Bailey on July 9, 1934 in Swindon, England, is British-American jazz drummer, author and educator. Learning to play the drums as a young child, Colin Bailey b...
BIOGRAPHY Ndugu Chancler , born Leon Chancler on July 1, 1952 in Shreveport, Louisiana, is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, and producer, who has worked with the likes of Miles Davis, Sta...
BIOGRAPHY Sly Dunbar , born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar on May 10, 1952 in Kingston, Jamaica, is a reggae drummer, best known for his partnership with bassist, Robbie Shakespeare, who rose to international...
BIOGRAPHY Tom Brechtlein , born on May 10, 1957 in Long Island, New York, is an American jazz-fusion drummer, best known for his work with Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola, Jean Luc Ponty, and...
BIOGRAPHY W.S. "Fluke" Holland , born April 22, 1935, in Saltillo, Tennessee, is an American drummer, best known for his extensive work with Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Holland played drums with num...
BIOGRAPHY Tito Puente , born Ernesto Antonio Puente on April 20, 1923 in New York City, New York, was an American salsa percussionist and Latin jazz composer, best known as a timbale player for dance-...
BIOGRAPHY Sib Hashian , born John Hashian on August 17, 1949 in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, is best known as the former drummer for legendary rock band, BOSTON . Working with the band from 1976 to 1983,...
