A recent post on the Drummer Cafe forum inspired me to explain some of the secrets I've learned about what makes playing every day modern rock and pop special. Ten drummers can play the same beat, but one will likely stand out over the other nine. Why is that? It's a question I've been investigating for 30 years.

Here are three tips I've found helpful in providing energy and electricity to the mundane:

1. Attack the drums. Two mistakes young drummers make are playing too loud and playing too weak. You need to find a balance between the two depending on the dynamics of the song, but most important is providing confidence to the audience that you are in charge. Don't rely too much on what you hear behind the kit. Focus on projecting forcefully to the audience without drowning out the music. Drums are meant to be hit. Hit them. Be liberated! Realize that attacking the drums still requires getting the stick off the head for each stroke and allowing the drum to resonate. It's still a drum. It's not whack-a-mole.

2. Don't ignore 1 & 3. It's another rookie mistake. You can flail away on 2 & 4 all you want without inspiring a single person to dance. Matching dynamics between bass and snare are essential, and one of the hidden secrets behind studio legends like Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, and Keith Carlock. Given a reliable rim shot, you can even pull back on 2 & 4 to match your bass drum volume, but definitely work on laying into the bass drum head to complete the fullness of your beat.

3. Vote hi-hat, early and often. Your hi-hat equals pent-up energy, and everytime the hi-hat disappears from the sound you lose forward motion. It's a generalization to be sure, but a technique seemingly lost to 70s pop and rock drummers: Your left foot can work your hi-hat almost as well as your hand. If you're playing eighth notes on the verse, keep eighth notes going with your left foot on the chorus with your left foot. Keep it going in transitional fills. Just keep it going as much as possible. Old jazz drummers will tell you they were often instructed to always keep 2 & 4 on the hi-hat because that centered the time for swing, not the ride cymbal, where patterns went divergent. It's the some for rock, in a sense.

Properly incorporate these three elements into your playing and I guarantee people will notice a difference. They may not be able to explain what's better about your playing, but they will feel it, which is the wonderful magic of the drums.

Matt Self is a freelance writer and drummer in Phoenix, Arizona. His articles have been published in over 100 magazines and newspapers. He has been a working musician in Arizona since 1989.

Matt has been an active Drummer Cafe community member since March 2002.