Don Ashley Official Website

Negativity Kills Creativity.

and negative people are a drag to be around, so do yourself a favor and work hard to keep these traits out of your playing. And run like hell from musicians who exhibit them in theirs. You are not responsible for other people’s problems and you can’t fix them. By being the very first rat off the sinking ship you can protect your love of the art and keep yourself open to the new possibilities that will come your way every day. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Now, you go do the math.

Confidence :

is what is the absolute that makes you a better drummer or a great drummer When you have confidence in your ability to play your instrument, success for the band is more likely to occur.

People: who are not musically inclined just want to be moved by the music. They do not evaluate it like musicians do. if the bassist seriously flubs something up, then that's a different story Not being creative and not adding to the music is one thing, but making critical mistakes is another Musician, or not, people know what is, or not, pleasing to the ear.

If you stick to One style only , then how the !@#% is the world is your Music ever going to evolve?

Why Are Drum Rudiments Important?

Practicing your drum rudiments as a drummer is a lot like going to the gym as a professional athlete. The same is for a drummer we must train our muscles to hit harder more accurate and faster. This is where rudiments come into play. They force us to do nothing else but practice stick movement. A lot of times drummers will get side tracked on a drum kit and lose out on valuable practice time. Go through the basic exercises will drastically improve your skills on the drum set allowing you to roll a lot faster and giving you more options on the drum set.

每次演奏一定要注入自己的靈魂，加入自己的東西這樣我們每次演譯都不會一模一樣令我們可以忠於原著及有自已獨一無二的風格。這樣才可以令人百聽不厭。因真正動人的不單是準確性，重要的還要注入感情。很多鼓手錯誤地認為我的技術是來自長時間的不斷練習，但事實是我會用極多時間去思巧鼓的藝術及反覆研究所有世界級的鼓手及他們的音樂很多認識我的人都知道，音樂對我是與生俱來的，因在我的成長環境中是不可能有鼓給我練的，但我通常會在腦海中自然就會聽見。對你們來說這可能是也可能不是但我可以告訴你們確實有天賜這回事. 不要否定它的存在。現在的我仍然努力不懈的尋求更多更多的音樂知識音樂是無止境的，是樂趣無窮的是可以不斷地進步的只要你不放棄。最後，你要問自己的並不是自己是否有天份而是有沒有對打鼓的渴求節奏的愛和激情，及尋求最佳的指導和訓練令夢想成為事實。

In 2003 Don had torn both sides of his shoulder tendons torn through daily constant martial arts training / gym / touring /and In-sufficient rest and was

told that if he were not to recover within a two year period he would surely

never be able to play the drums ever again.. Thus this became the worst two

years of my life, Depression Insomnia and nothing but pain running through my body 24/7, I needed to Rest and Recuperate under the special care from one of the Best Chiropractors in Asia.- Dr: Lu Chak Keung

不可為之事！假若你身處舞台上想證明你的技巧有多麼的超卓，正忙著表現自己，試圖把樂曲的旋律得以流暢，這樣樂曲便變得生硬乏味，亦將音樂變糟了。我曾遇見一些鼓手在樂團的表演中因過份表現自己的技巧而顯得格格不入，引致其他團員給他即時目光，亦因為那鼓手太投入自己的表演而忽略了團隊精神終有一天他將因此而被解散。音樂不會只因你而完美，而你應為完美的音符作出無限貢獻。這樣音樂才得到尊重，一同演奏之樂師亦同樣得到尊重。

ACKNOWLEDGE: There seems to be a ridiculous rumor circulating that a

Mr. Fred Carpio whom also is a Drum teacher residing at Musicland Studios that he is my teacher? This is considered an Insult to God who is truly my teacher! Please Stop your B.S. or I'll see you in Court!

很多人問我在 Musicland Studio 教鼓的 Fred Carpio 是否我的老師？不知道為甚麽會有這個不知所謂的謠傳??? 我沒有跟任何人學過打鼓，我相信這是神賜給我的吧！所以神就是我的老師 , 不要再無中生有!!

Rudiments are one of the most important building blocks of modern drumming. applying the rudiments on your drum kit will enable whole new levels of creativity. Virtually every rudiment can be applied in dozens of unique ways around even the smallest of drum sets. To say that they are useless is to imply the drum set is obsolete!

Quality : it's not how fast you can play your notes but more of how great in detail the notes are which makes the essence of quality, otherwise you're going to regret it at a later stage and have to start cleaning those notes from scratch. if you're not enjoying it? then you're doing it totally wrong.

What not to do!

If you are on stage to

prove how great you are, the music suffers because

you’re too busy showing

off to lay down the foundation that makes

the song flow. I’ve seen drummers play so inappropriately that the horn players will turn
around and glare at them

on stage.

They usually don’t notice they’re too wrapped up

in how amazing they are
until they get fired.

The music is not all about

you, but you should be all
about the music. That way you’re respecting it and those who play it with you.