the snare drum seems like it could be the most boring instrument on earth. regardless, you still have to sound as musical as any violinist or oboist or trumpeter.

in today's video, i'm showing you 7 ways you can express phrasing and musicality on the snare drum.

last week, duncan patton, my former colleague at the met opera, demonstrated how to build a basic legato stroke on timpani. today he’s back to show you the other 8 stroke types you should learn to build a complete sound pallet.

in high school i found an old PAS article on building a legato timpani stroke that changed my life. i didn’t know it at the time, but the author would turn out to be my colleague in the met orchestra, duncan patton. here’s duncan's guide to building a legato stroke, 22 years later.

your mallet bag should be a collection of the best of the best. you should choose new mallets in a scientific way, without wasting money. 

on my first day of freshman year in college, greg zuber handed me a 283-page packet of snare drum exercises, charts, grip diagrams, and articles. thus began my college snare drum journey. in today’s video he explains some of his most important foundational snare drum concepts that you can incorporate into your daily snare warmup.

if you want to be an orchestral percussionist, should you do drum corps or will it ruin your stroke? i asked jake nissly, principal percussionist of the san francisco symphony and former member of the dubuque colts.

my 3-step plan to recover from a performance you'd rather forget

there’s no magic exercise to fix a shaky soft roll or uneven 4-stroke ruffs, so stop looking. the solution lies in how you practice.

includes VIDEO LESSONS, sticking, technical exercises, suggested tempo, excerpt recording, and recommended orchestra recording.

i asked legendary philadelphia orchestra percussionist angela zator nelson (angie for short) to come explain how she learns difficult mallet licks. 

college auditions decide your life, so choosing your repertoire has to be very carefully considered.

 i’ve heard lots of marimba players with huge potential shoot themselves in the foot by missing these basic elements of musicality.

do you want a secret weapon on snare drum?

if you want to be employable, you should practice tambourine religiously.

can you slam together two trash can lids and make a beautiful sound? welcome to crash cymbals. here’s how to practice cymbals to stop getting air pockets and ugly crashes.

stick control and the rudiments have never fixed my snare drum problems. this is the 60 minute(ish) snare drum warm up that actually works.

it’s so annoying when you’re trying to get a piece ready for your lesson or for an audition and there’s one part of it that seems impossible.

let’s talk about snare drum gear for a minute.

how to play a smooth timpani roll (and 4 reasons your roll sounds like “bligabogldkgavlknlelkeevke” instead of “LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL”.)

so…one thing i’m terrible at (and not really ashamed to admit it) is independent rolls on marimba.

a few considerations when choosing your college if you eventually want an orchestra job

i'd like to invite you to step into rob's practice room, aka my new youtube channel!

3 steps to replace and clear your snare drum head.

how to tune your snare drum for délécluse, auditions, and orchestra. download my free snare drum tuning guide!

and 20 mock audition stress-inducers

should you practice kije all day, or make sure to touch all the instruments? (with helpful advice from chris deviney, principal percussionist in the philadelphia orchestra!)

(video) how to break down a buzz roll into its simplest elements and build it back into a smooth trill.

3 steps to creating the 'you' school of snare drum.

including what mallets i use on porgy, sorcerer's apprentice, and salome.

it's called the 'peaks and valley's exercise, and it's awesome.