X8 Drums Blog

Latin-funk band Grupo Fantasma will soon release a few projects. For fans that have been waiting since their last release in 2010, the next few months should prove exciting. AL.com reports that the group will release an acoustic live EP, a studio album, and a concert DVD in which fans will get a glimpse of how the band works. The band’s music has been part of popular shows like “Weeds” and “Breaking Bad” and they have backed Prince on a few occasions, as well. Their last album resulted in a Gram …

If you have ever wanted to visit the Paiste factory in Switzerland, here is your chance. Paiste cymbals is holding a contest for fans and the top three winners get to visit the factory (plane and hotel fees included), win a signature cymbal of their choice, or win a universal reflector set. According to Paiste’s website, to enter the contest, fans must take a photo of their Paiste cymbal set up and post it on the company’s Facebook wall or send it to them through the Facebook message system. Con …

While hi-hat cymbals are a typical part of any drum kit, they don’t always receive love and respect from drummers. In fact, some drummers never really learn to play the hi-hat. However, learning basic hi-hat techniques overwhelmingly enhances drum skills and sound and improve your coordination and sense of rhythm. The hi-hat makes an obvious difference in the sound and quality of your music, and mastering the drums includes mastering these cymbals. The number one problem most drummers experienc …

Norton Healthcare is leading the way for music therapy in hospitals. The company owns Norton Audobon Hospital in Kentucky and, according to the Tri-Valley Dispatch, is dominating the burgeoning music therapy scene as part of hospital services. Norton Audobon Hospital recently received a $400,000 expansion and renovation to its therapy section. The hospital provides music classes, a music library, performance space, and other things that help make their music therapy program intense and effective …

Music therapy is a growing field as more scientists validate how helpful it is to people in medical situations. Music has been shown to help alleviate and reduce stress and anxiety, help positively socialize autistic children, and bring dementia patients into the present if only for a few minutes. However, music therapy is not all glamorous show tunes and walks down memory lane. For some post-traumatic stress disorder patients, music therapy can help bring too much pain to the fore, requiring de …

A group of women have taken to Argentinian drumming and love it. The Illawarra Older’s Women Network (OWN) in Australia provides space and activities for women over age 50. In Illawara, Argentinian drumming has become an important class offered by the wellness center. They now have a regular hour-long class, as well as a 30-minute beginner’s class. Illawarra Mercury reports that when the formal teacher for the drumming class could no longer make the trip to their town to teach, members stepped u …

A new type of event looks to serve parents and care-givers of autistic children in Illawarra, New South Wales. The Care and Share Autism Event offered a day of child-free pampering and drumming for the harried and often-overlooked care-givers of children on the autism spectrum. Illawarra Mercury reported that parents may find themselves consumed by the overwhelming task of raising a child on the spectrum, limiting social gatherings and leading to neglect of self. Organizers of the event hope to …

Waverly Community House in Scranton, Pennsylvania, offers a drumming program for special needs children. The Times-Tribune shares that Cheryl Mozdian leads the program, aiming to help children with self-esteem issues through the musical curriculum. The “World Music Drumming” program will begin September 11th and continue for 10 weeks. It is a call and response program run by Cheryl, the local high school’s marching band director. At the end of the session, the children will perform an ensemble p …

More and more studies are confirming what ancient wisdom has told us all along: drumming is healing. An article in India Times reports that hand drumming helps reduce stress and anxiety by engaging the right side of our brains, allowing the left and more logical sides of our brains to take a rest. A long-term study in the United States among 112 healthcare workers found that six sessions of hand drumming was able to reduce a happier state of mind in 46% of the workers. After six weeks of drummin …

Drumming can be great exercise. Anyone who has drummed a gig for a few hours or just practices for a few hours a day can tell you that you can get a great workout by drumming a certain way. But, just like you wouldn’t want to run a marathon without warming up first, you don’t want to simply start a hard-hitting drumming session without a warm up routine. There are a few reasons for the importance of drumming warm up routines and some of them might surprise you. First of all, we have the common …