Kat DaVille | Musician, Blogger, Consultant | Central NJ

6 Quick Tips for a Successful Recording (Not Just for Drummers)

Posted on April 7, 2018

in Artists, Education, Effeciency, Instruction, Uncategorized

So you want to record an album? Good for you! Prepare yourself, however. All of your flaws will be exposed in full view of your mates, producer, engineer, and whoever else may be present during the recording session. It would benefit you to leave your anxiety at the door and come to terms with the fact that you're a human being. Artists in general are filled with complicated emotions. Individuals, especially musicians, make mistakes (including in the studio) and not a single one of us is perfect. Your mates and producer (primarily the producer) understands (hopefully) this concept wholeheartedly. But don't worry. You've got this. Once you've come to terms with the natural order of things in the studio, your recording session will be a lot easier. Prepare Your Gear.[caption id="attachment_50845" align="alignnone" width="604"] Courtesy...

8 Ways to Maximize Your Practice Time

Posted on March 22, 2018

in Artists, Education, Effeciency, Instruction, Practice, Productivity

by Kat DaVille

23 Comments

Practice makes musicians (or any discipline, really) surpass their potential exponentially. However, sometimes random situations pop up and get in the way of our progress, like major life events. Or a total act of God. Whatever the case may be, it's important to acknowledge that our livelihood not only relies on improving our chosen discipline, but also bettering our performance to benefit the livelihood of others. We achieve that by protecting our practice time. Without practice, we don't get better. Without improvement, we don't evolve. Without effort, our dreams fall flat. Therefore, it's critical to take our practice time as seriously as brushing our teeth. If you're like me, with a large family (complete with small children) and a mortgage, it's extremely difficult to get time to take a shower, let alone sit...

5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Playing Drums

Posted on February 22, 2018

in Education, Effeciency, Practice, Productivity

by Kat DaVille

36 Comments

"How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? Practice."It's a time old story. A traveling tourist is lost somewhere in Mid-Town Manhattan searching for their next stop on their site-seeing adventure. As the tourist is walking uptown, he stumbles upon a beatnik of sorts. The mysterious stranger, dressed in faded black slacks and the quintessential artsy skull cap, strolled along the sidewalk, bringing about the smell of adventures from the night before. "Excuse me," he asks. "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The beatnik lowered his sun glasses, and beamed at the tourist with razor sharp focus and absolute certainty. He replied one simple word: "Practice." Cliche? Absolutely! However, it raises a certain point. In order to achieve your ultimate goal, regardless of your path in life, requires purposeful, focused and, above...