First Impressions


Just like first impressions, you only get one first note. As a drummer, "feel" is kind of part of your job description. Your bandmates are very likely using your feel to determine how they approach and play their own instruments. If you've practiced with your band, then they know when you're about to come in, and they're listening for it. A common problem that occurs is that it can take us drummers a few notes or a few measures to get settled into what we're actually doing. However, professionals start with the energy and feel they want from their first note.
What is feel? What are you even talking about?
It's complicated; that's for sure. It can be described as an emotional connection. It's what makes you bob your head. It's made up of important and unimportant notes with an awareness of where the pulse is. 

 When you start playing, if you haven't locked into your tempo from the first note, your feel is going to feel funny for the first couple notes because you are not aware of where the pulse is. When you start playing and you emphasize different notes the first couple times, it messes up your feel because you're changing which notes are important and which ones are unimportant.
So how do you start with the feel you want from the first note?
There are two things I always do before I start playing. First, I imagine (or hear) what I'm going to play before I play it. Second, I literally move my wrist/arm/body in the tempo before I even start hitting the drums. It kinda looks like I'm air drumming while sitting at a drum set. But by doing these things I'm 100% engaged with the feel I want before I even start playing. So when it's time to play my first note, I'm exactly where I need to be with the feel I want every time.

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