I am excited to announce I am working on my 4th book, Marching Percussion Mindsets: Sixteen Systems for Becoming a Great Drumline. I am deep in the process of writing and still have a ways to go, but wanted to share an excerpt from one of the chapters on “how...
Just wanted to share this short excerpt from a great interview I heard this morning on the Success Talks Podcast with Entrepreneur Jordan Harbinger. Success: What is the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you? Harbinger: You don’t have to be the best at...
“Typically a musician develops this in their mid-30s when you’re well into your career where you’ve dedicated your life to your craft and your art and you find it slipping away.” —Billy McGlaughlin, guitarist In early 2005, I was playing Parcours en Duo for...
As percussionists from around the world make their final plans for PASIC 2016 in Indianapolis this week, I wanted to share the power of PASIC and the impact it can have on your life, whether you are attending your first or forty-first convention. Those of us who have...
As my students and I prepare for our Fall Percussion Concert this Thursday, November 3rd featuring the Clemson Percussion Ensemble, Steel Band, and Drumline, I thought I would share some strategies behind our concert preparation that others might find valuable as they...
Below is an excerpt from my new article, “Teaching Jazz Drumset,” published in the October issue of the Jazz Education Network newsletter. To read the complete article, visit https://jazzednet.org/Teaching_Jazz_Drumset_Paul_Buyer. The fundamentals of jazz...
Last week I participated in a live stream with Golden State Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, who’s team won the 2015 NBA Championship and came within a play of winning a second one back to back. The program, called Cats in the Corner Office, was offered through the...
In Ryan Holiday’s new book, Ego is the Enemy, he writes about the importance of criticism and humility, stating, “The art of taking feedback is such a critical skill in life, particularly harsh and critical feedback. We not only need to take this harsh feedback, but...
I am an avid listener of a podcast called Finding Mastery (www.findingmastery.net), hosted by high performance psychologist Michael Gervais who has recently worked with USA Women’s Volleyball in Rio as well as the Seattle Seahawks. According to his website,...
For musicians, if you think about it, most of our time is spent practicing. In fact, one could argue that 80% of our time is spent practicing/rehearsing while only 20% is spent performing, and that may be high. As a result, it is easy for rehearsals to become routine...
