PAUL WERTICO

Improvisation Essentials: Expanding Your Creativity

>> December 19, 2021. 1:30pm-3:00pm <<

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER!

The ninth person to successfully complete "Day 30" of the DrumMantra3030 course is Mr. Bryan O'Flynn from Austin, TX!

Bryan will be receiving a custom DrumMantra Low Boy Custom Beaters for his focused practice and perfect execution of the final challenge in the 3030! His hard work paid off big time!

Completing Day 30 has taken participants on average about 8 weeks of intense focus to get perfect. It is no easy task. Bryan just accomplished something VERY DIFFICULT and deserves mad props!

 

(To learn more about the DrumMantra3030 Course, and how you can win a Custom Low Boy Beater, CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW)

On January 30, 2021, we began a weekly online practice session based on the first book in the DrumMantra collection, The Foundational Series. I devised a way for it to take 26 hour-long sessions to go through the book in its entirety. We are currently on Week 17 of the second round right now - but anyone can jump in at any point because PRACTICE IS PRACTICE.

For several years the students in the DrumMantra Lesson Vault have been asking me to either create another course like the 3030 or a practice session for my second book, The Primary Series. 

Whereas the Foundational Series has three sections, the Primary Series has eleven, making it a bit more challenging to figure out how to present the material in a linear fashion that is cohesive and logical.

I finally sat down a few weeks ago and started mapping it all out, putting pages in order, creating play-alongs, etc. in preparation for what is now the THIRD live weekly practice session that we are now doing at DrumMantra.

I'm thrille...

Some reflections from the Zappa/Crimson show last night:

The Zappa Band:

They were insanely tight and played some very challenging material. Even though I spent many years listening to his music, it was the first time I had seen anything Zappa live (I know, I know...)

When I was watching Mike Keneally doing everything at an unbelievable level I suddenly remembered when I got called to do percussion overdubs on one of his records about 8 years ago but was out of town. I thought about that for a while during the show. (Thanks to Kris Myers for that call way back when)

It is so fun and incredible to watch Scott Thunes, and I could listen to Ray White sing all night. I was definitely giddy seeing Robert Martin and thinking back to all the video footage I had seen of him with Zappa.

When they played Peaches en Regalia I turned to Shana and said, "when Chris Siebold was directing the guitar ensemble at Elmhurst College about 15 years ago, they were recording this tune and on the morning of the se...

Yesterday, June 13, I was notified that the DrumMantra Podcast was named one of "The 20 Best Music Theory Podcasts of 2021" by Welp Magazine. This is the third year in a row that another site has named the podcast in the category of "must listen." I thank Welp Magazine for finding me, and for including me on their list of music theory podcasts for 2021!

Receiving the email from Welp led me down the rabbit hole of podcast metrics which ultimately landed me on a stats page that ranks all the podcasts in the world. All 2,472,245 of them. I was quite surprised, yet thrilled to learn that the DrumMantra Podcast is in the top 5% most popular shows in the world!

If you are an avid listener of the podcast, I must apologize for not being as consistent as you may wish. There are certainly times where I am able to get an episode out, on time, each week. I love those times. There's nothing better than getting to cross something off the "to do" list. And there are also times that I either get too...

When I heard Dan play this fill the other day, I knew I had to do something "DrumMantra" with it. Please enjoy this style and analysis breakdown based on my own approach to education.

This fill will be part of Dan's upcoming online course and book and I am very grateful that he granted me permission to present my approach to studying his genius.

The thing I found so intriguing about this fill was the subdivision. It is still fairly rare to hear polymetric groupings in drumming, and when you do the subdivision is usually sixteenth notes. To hear a 5:4 polymetric relationship as eighth note triplets is fantastic! What a brain-twister.

In this video, I break down the fill and then provide 12 exercises that will lead you down the path of being able to do this fill yourself. 

Enjoy!

If you would like the downloadable pdf, individual play-alongs, and an interactive experience with this lesson you can visit the DrumMantra Lesson Vault where you will find nearly 100 hours worth of uniq...

8-Week/8-hour Online Drumming Intensive

Starting January 10, 2021

Join brush master, Anthony Stanislavski, and DrumMantra creator, Rich Stitzel, in an 8-week intensive that will inspire, motivate, and improve your playing!

Work in a group setting from home while Anthony & Rich guide you each step of the way.

In this 8-week/8-hour Online Drumming Intensive, you will meet with Anthony to work on brush techniques for an hour once a week AND you will meet with Rich for an hour once a week to work on timing, coordination, reading, polymeters, and grooves!

DrumMantra Intensive - 4 Week Course (Fortnightly Lessons)

This course will cover the six key aspects of becoming a great drummer.

Time. Reading. Coordination. Polymeters. Phrasing. Groove.

Course Outline:

Week 1: Warm-Up in 4, Reading in 4 part 1, Coordination part 1, Phrasing 1, Groove part 1.

Week 3: Warm-Up in 4, Reading in 4 part 2, Coordination part 2, Phrasing 2, Groove part 2.

Week 5: Warm-Up in 3, Reading in 3, Coordina...

NOTE: THE EXERCISE VIDEO IS AT END OF BLOG POST

Quote:

“Learn the rules like a pro so that you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso.

Learning “the rules” can be a tedious and even an overwhelming task. 

Most of us fall in love with an instrument and want to be a musician because of the allure of the unknown.

In the beginning, we sit behind the kit, perhaps trying each sound individually to get a sense of what we have to "paint" with. We try a tom, then a cymbal, then a couple of bass drum hits, followed by closing the hi-hat with the left foot a few times. The magic of the instrument is pulling us in. The fascination with doing something that requires all the limbs takes over our entire being.

Maybe, in the beginning, you wanted to play a beat. Something from the music that you listened to that made you fall in love with the instrument in the first place. Maybe you just wanted to experiment with the sounds, textures, and colors. The joy of invention, the wonder ...

Rich Stitzel--Chicago-based drummer, educator, and author--has been signed to the roster of Yamaha Artists

BUENA PARK, Calif., Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Yamaha Drums today announced the signing of Chicago-based drummer, educator, and author Rich Stitzel to the roster of Yamaha Artists.

"Rich is one of those rare, consummate artists who has garnered widespread respect and recognition as a drummer, percussionist, author, composer, and educator," said Greg Crane, manager of Artist Relations, drums, Yamaha Corporation of America. "His unwavering dedication to music education aligns fully with Yamaha, and we look forward to supporting Rich and to help broaden his influence, both on the stage and in the classroom."

In his nearly three-decades-long career, Rich has toured the world extensively and played with such notables as jazz-fusion violinist Christian Howes, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, The Jim Widner Big Band, country music superstar Miranda Lambert, and many others.

As...