If you’ve never performed in front of an audience before, how do you get over the nerves? Raghav Mehrotra remembers freezing at his first gig, trying to figure out how to work up the courage to get on the stage. He’s now a seasoned performer (at the ripe old age of 16) and has a couple of key tips and expectations for any drummer who’s worried about their first gig.

The main takeaway is the more prepared you are, the more relaxed you’ll be.

1. Overprepare

That being said, there’s no such thing as being overprepared. If you’re learning a set and you have the list of songs, practice all of them and try to get them exact. You might want to coordinate with the other band members in advance on how you’re going to start or end songs. If you get all the details locked down before the gig, you won’t be left guessing when you hit the stage.

2. Practice until you can’t get it wrong

“Don’t practice until you get things right, practice until you can’t get it wrong.” It’s one of Raghav’s favorite mantras, and it should be yours too – because if you’ve prepared so thoroughly that you can’t physically mess up, you’ll have more confidence, and your nerves should ease up.

3. Map out your songs

Practice the songs exactly how you’ll play them at the gig. Try to map out the song by section – like a roadmap of where the verses, choruses, or transitions are. You should also note what the other musicians are doing, so when you’re in the heat of the moment and you hear those cues you’ll know exactly where to go from there. Memorize them so you’re never left in the dark!

4. Always watch and listen

When you’re onstage, always be watching and listening. Be present in the music and try to be ready for any situation. Non-verbal communication with other musicians will help you catch last-minute changes. If the vocalist motions to you to end the song sooner or the guitarist needs another ten seconds before you count in the next song, you won’t miss these things (and your bandmates will be thankful for it).

5. Arrive early

As a drummer, if you’re on time, you’re probably late! With so much gear and so many moving parts, you might need more time to adjust your setup in advance. You don’t want to be stuck trying to change your snare height mid-song.

6. Be the foundation

Our job is to keep the groove – we aren’t (usually) hired to play solos. Remember that you’re the backbone of the band. You can hold down that foundation while still making things interesting. It’s a win-win.

Looking for even more tips to prepare for your first gig? Check out this article here.

Break a leg! (But not a stick)

Why do some grooves make you feel good, and some just don’t work at all?

Whether you like it or not, says Raghav Mehrotra, your purpose as a drummer playing with musicians is to be the backbone of the band, keep time, and make it feel great.

Here’s how Raghav recommends building grooves that do just that:

Bass Drum

What to do: This is the foundation of your groove, and in many styles you might want to correlate it with the bass guitar because it provides a similar function in a band setting.

First, take into account the style of music you’re playing. In disco, for example (the style in the video), the drums and bass should complement each other. Place the bass drum notes where they won’t clash with the bass guitar. In this particular song, Raghav keeps a solid quarter note going to ground the groove, and occasionally adds one or two extra notes to give it that extra push. The key is keeping it simple.

What not to do: Make the bass drum parts too complex or too dense where they clash with the bass guitar.

Snare drum

What to do: In this track, there’s a synth, guitar, and bass guitar. Raghav decided to use the snare to complement the guitar. He keeps it simple, hitting on 2 and 4 because when people hear disco music and want to dance, they need a solid backbeat to get them moving.

What not to do: Too much subdivision, too dense, or too many ghost notes. When the other instruments are playing a note-heavy riff, you don’t want to compete.

Hi-hats

What to do: You can afford to make the hi-hats a little busier because they’ll be at a higher frequency compared to the other instruments in the track. There’s really a fine line between playing whats musical – and what fits the track – and being too complex.

What not to do: Make your hi-hat part too busy or too fast.

The big takeaway here is to play musically and not step on the toes of another instrument. Your drumming can push the track forward but still have its own voice!

Has your snare ever argued with your kick?

Just 15 years old but bearing wisdom and creativity far beyond his years, Raghav Mehrotra is already a pro drummer who’s helping to usher in the next generation of players. When it comes to looking at where drumming is going, he’s the perfect go-to.

In this lesson, Raghav talks about what makes a groove ‘modern’, how to develop the next generation of grooves, reversing what’s expected, and how layering rhythms and working on elastic timefeel will help you get there.

He explains why musicality is his number one priority, how to take risks as a drummer without taking away from the piece, and how you can create modern grooves while paying homage to pioneers like Elvin Jones and Tony Williams.

Lesson Index:
0:00 – SONG: “Timeline” by Nujynisis
7:10 – Inspiration and defining ‘modern’
10:05 – Layering rhythms
14:35 – Conversation between limbs
21:07 – Time elasticity
30:18 – SONG: “Funky NASA” by Raghav Mehrotra
32:01 – Drums in the forefront
41:19 – SONG: “The Slant” by Vinny Valentino/Joel Rosenblatt/Baron Browne

About Raghav:
At just fifteen years old, Raghav has already starred in a Broadway musical (School of Rock), performed at the Tony Awards as well as on Good Morning America and Late Night With Seth Meyers, and shared the stage with legendary musicians Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Earl Slick (lead guitarist for David Bowie), John Wetton (King Crimson), James Genus (Saturday Night Live), Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets) and Vinny Valentino (Vital Information).

Raghav plays:
Sabian Cymbals

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