Percussion

"There is a thread in this music. What they have in common is these little rhythmic cells, things that are actually from Africa and other ancient places. This is in Brazilian music, in Afro-Cuban music. It's in calypso, it's in New Orleans music. So there is a little musical DNA that's in all of them. It's like cooking. If you understand what curry does, what salt does, what pepper does, what garlic does, what olive oil does, you can play with food. I tell that to my students in every class: I don't want them to play rhythms; I want them to play withthe rhythms."

"Playing brushes is a dying art. Brushes are hard to play and even harder to teach, because there's no standard notation; for one thing, a lot of it is visual. The foundation is the patterns to specific tempos: ballad strokes, mid-tempo strokes, up-tempo strokes, and specialty strokes. Students need to be able to play steady time within those tempos before we can talk about soloing."

"I usually try to practice about six or seven hours a day. That's what I've been accustomed to, because for about eight or nine years I've been practicing next to two guys who were Berklee grads. They are the ones who showed me that it was essential to practice as much as possible. Playing metal for me is a little more physical than other styles. I find that a little speed workout really gets your body to loosen up, like going to the gym. I play for about a half hour, then I stretch out so my muscles feel relaxed. I tend to have an agenda written down before I practice, so that I know what I am trying to work on. That could be anything from sight-reading, chart-reading, styles, double bass, left hand, etc. That's what I was taught: be dedicated, organized, and a hard worker."