Dave DiCenso

hello music fans, just touching base to let you know that my second book is in the wrapper. i've decided to self-publish this one, and as a result, edited it myself - which is what i've been doing for the last several months. i'll let you know when it's ready to ship! aiming for spring 2013.

and i know Laurie already posted this news but for those who didn't see it, there's a big, fat article on

yours truly in the recent issue of the fantastic magazine called DRUMHEAD - complete with a bunch of pics…

one of my favorite tunes in the set to play - Alla Luce Del Sole - this is from Stockholm, Sweden last week...

Greetings from Stockholm...

I see some of you are wondering about the Yamaha drums I'm playing on the Josh Groban tour. I want to let you know that I'm not a Yamaha endorser. In the interest of making my entrance as smooth as possible, I wanted to play a kit that would be the same sizes that previous drummer, Gary Novak, was using. The production team for the tour felt the same. As none of my own kits met these specs, I tried to procure a Pearl kit in these sizes, but there just wasn't time for this as I…

hey folks - i'm here in Bergen (Norway). i mentioned yesterday on facebook that i would get some pics posted from the road. trying to do that but my files are too big to get up on the site. i'm going to send some to the beautiful and talented Laurie (my wife) so she can take care of this (she's good at this stuff) but it may be a couple more days. just letting you know. btw, i've never been to Bergen before and i hear it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world. wanted to get out today and see some…

Hi all~

Big news... we are happy to let you know that Dave is taking over the drum chair for the remainder of Josh Groban's international tour... starting this Friday in Denver, CO, then on to the west coast, Canada, Europe, then back home to the east coast, & finishing up in South Africa the end of November. You can check out more details of their travels on www.JoshGroban.com, and Dave will be doing some blogging from the road to keep you up to date on the goings on...

The past few days have been an…

thanks for staying with me people! believe it or not i'm blogging as often as i'm able at this time...

i'd like to thank scott k. for his weigh-in on this subject matter (June 6 entry). in particular, i'll focus on his comment in regard to detachment/achieving the "it" factor... 'i think it has not much to do with drums at all'. this reminds me of some 'perspective' ideas i share with my students that i'd like to offer here.

the first time i was invited to play at a drum festival was the Montreal Drum…

to reiterate: by "it" i mean that thing, that spirit-element that allows us to go beyond playing 'correctly' to playing in a way that moves people - emotionally and physically. by emotionally i mean you hear someone play and you say, for example, "mmmm, that feels so good (even if it's a sad/minor tune). by physically i mean you hear someone play and your head/toe/hip starts moving involuntarily.

moving people, moving the music, and doing it consistently is a skill that CAN be developed. in my last blog…

I’d like to respond to Chris Whitehouse’s asking me to clarify what I mean by ‘grace’, and ‘is it a touch thing’?

First I’ll say that it is a touch thing, but the touch is a symbol (or, symptom) of what’s happening inside. I’m perceiving the ‘inside’ as mind and body. Mind being the creator, body being the conduit to the touch, tone, sound, feel, which is external.

One can address the mind (via meditating while playing for example) to increase fluidity, power, sensitivity, (grace) in the body – which…

Congratulations Dave for being the first recipient of the Drummer Cafe "Chef's Choice Award" for his book, Universal Rhythms for Drumset! You can see Drummer Cafe's Bart Elliott discuss the book here on Drummer Cafe TV (www.drummercafe.tv) towards the middle of the broadcast during the "Chef's Choice" segment. 

You can read Bart's full review of the book here at DrummerCafe.com.

Again, congrats Dave! If you dig his book, share this, & let's show Dave some love for all his hard work as an educator &amp…

thanks so much for the great responses guys!!

i DO believe that "feel" can be learned and, today, i'd like to share an approach i take with students that helps to increase feeling in their playing. i will offer some more in days to come.

one major discipline i assign is practicing certain "beliefs". One idea i impress is: "art is life and life is IMPERFECT"

as artists we're supposed to be telling the stories of life and i feel if we strive for perfection we are missing the point! "perfect" playing seems…