- Begin your practice with a visualization. Bring awareness to the cable of nerves and muscles originating at the sacrum and working it's way up the spinal column, branching out at the base of neck, moving through the shoulders and elbows, and branching out at your wrists into your 28 knuckles and 10 fingertips.
- Be aware of your breath.
- Be mindful of the flow of energy throughout your body, and how it manifests sound.
- Always play from the Drum. Your energy should be focused on pulling the sound out of the drum, not
into it. Let gravity be your friend for the down-stroke, and allow your hands to bounce.
- Keep the "time" with your alternating feet. Dance.
- When learning a new rhythm, sing the rhythm using syllables. "If you can't sing it, you can't play it."
- Visualize the energy of your legs move through the soles of the feet and straight to the core of the planet. This will help ground you and make your groove stronger.
- Start with slow tempos and gradually work your way up. Do not go faster until you feel solid.
...the slower you go... the faster you will get there
- Music is a high form of communication. Put the proper intention behind what you are trying to say, and who you are saying it to, even if it is just yourself. Clarity of tone and phrase communicates clear intentions.
- The most important thing is to be in the moment of every note we play.
- Give thanks for the ability to create and share Sound.
