Getting Started Brushes are generally associated with jazz drumming more than they are with other styles of music, but they can be played and used effectively in most any genre or category of rhythm section-based music. While the following column will present various techniques and instruction, the drummer is encouraged to use their ears to find the best brush-playing results. My first drumset teacher showed me some of the standard how to hold the brushes and play a beat back in 1960, but it was by listening to other drummers on recordings and then comparing my results to theirs that I came upon my own methods and motions. The ears don’t lie. You can trust yours to assist in guiding you to find any beat-keeping solution. My first attempt at teaching brush-playing by way of a book resulting in more diagrams than a Super Bowl Sunday sports announcer’s telestrator video […]

January 2025 Issue