Beats & Best Friends

In this episode we explore one of the biggest gripes that musicians have when performing live - SOUND LIMITERS. You may not be aware of these if you are not a musician, but they are becoming increasingly more popular as venues look to obtain live music licenses and any up-coming musician needs to know how to deal with them. We also explore the power of dynamics within groove. One not to be missed....

In this episode we explore the ups and downs or creating online content for our parent company. Behind The Beat. We discuss our home studio setups and offer tips and reflections on the world of content creation. Come join us as we navigate a world dominated by people who know much more than we do and find out why we are turning to teenagers for business advice! See you in Episode 3! Jon and Ben. S...

We are back and better than ever! Welcome to Season 2 where you can now enjoy watching every episode in both audio and video through our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@behindthebeatofficial . We kick off this season with a bit of a catch up on what we have been up to since the end of Season 1 and there is plenty to talk about! Gigs, pets and...ironing?! We are excited to back in your ea...

In the season finale, we reflect on the incredible journey it has been setting up our company Behind The Beat and this podcast. We wanted to take a moment to talk about the reality of going into business with your best friend and the joys and challenges that it can bring. This project has been an enormous amount of work and stress and in true B&BF style, we wanted to share an honest and open a...

Our final guests of this season are two of our graduating students who have been quite simply, a joy to teach and get to know over the last 3 years. James is a graduating drummer and Silvia came to us as a first-study vocalist but is leaving a vocalist/bassist!. Join us as they share their stories and reflect on the last 3 years of studying as they begin their transition from students to professio...

When you think of university, you may think of a bunch of 18 year olds coming to the big city and finding themselves. However, we are very lucky to have many mature students join us as ICMP, and we are a much richer institution for having them there. On this week's episode, we are joined by 2 of them! Andrew and Tabasum are quite simply two of the most lovely people you could meet, and we are very...

One of the best things about working in music or education, is the people. Our students have such a profound impact on us and it wouldn’t feel right not having some join us as guests on the podcast. In this episode of B&BF, we talk with the wonderful Beth Brackenbury (1st year drum student) and Tay Grace Harvey (final year bass student) about their journeys as musicians, as they share their re...

In this episode of B&BF, we discuss one of the most important tools for any professional musician, the ability to learn material accurately. In this episode we break down our strategies for when we need to learn new songs and reflect on the differences between a drummer and bassist's approach to the process. From charting to listening skills, join us for a deep dive into developing this essent...

In this episode of B&BF, we talk openly about our struggles with mental health and some of the most challenging moments of our friendship. We hope that by listening to this episode you feel seen and heard and it encourages you to talk about any issues you need to. We are both huge advocates for mental health and a sustainable life style and we thought it was essential that we covered these are...

In this episode of B&BF, we discuss our best and worst gigs of our careers so far. Listen to hear some hilarious stories about life on the road, lessons learnt and a celebration of our live music careers so far! Thanks for listening and see you in Episode 5! Jon and Ben. 👥 https://www.patreon.com/BehindTheBeat 📱 https://www.instagram.com/behindthebeat_official/ 🎼 https://www.youtube.com/@be...

In this episode of B&BF, we discuss our origin stories as teachers and reflect on the journey going from students to professional educators over the last decade. We talk about our passion and ethos surrounding our pedagogy and creating a supportive culture with our students. You will also find out which drummer Ben would most like to have dinner with!... Thanks for listening and see you in Epi...

In this next episode of B&BF, we explain the stories and reasons for our choices behind season 1 of Behind The Beat. We discuss how these players have influenced us and why we had to start with Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan! Thanks for listening and see you in Episode 3! Jon and Ben. 👥 https://www.patreon.com/BehindTheBeat 📱 https://www.instagram.com/behindthebeat_official/ 🎼 https://www....

In this first episode of B&BF we explain the reason for starting the podcast and how it links to our music community company, Behind the Beat. We explain our passion for both music and teaching and our goals and intentions for this show. We go into the origin story of our friendship and by listening you should get a good idea of what we are all about. Thanks for listening and see you in Episod...