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Bill Powelson's School of Drums

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ISSUE #69 \__\__\___THE____/__/__/ Sep 5, 2002
_______________TEMPO DISPATCH ___________
Newsletter For Drummers and Drumming Enthusiasts
Copyright Bill Powelson 2002 all rights reserved.
____________'IT'S ALL ABOUT DRUMS'_______
Tips * Tricks * Hints * F*r*e*e - Lessons *
_________NOW more than 13,000+ SUBSCRIBERS!__________

IN THIS ISSUE . . .

FEATURE ARTICLE:

1. TIPS FOR IMPROVING THE LEFT-HAND.

2. Humor: WHY A DOG IS BETTER THAN A SPOUSE . . .
_____________________________________
|__________FEATURE ARTICLE___________|

     What is the BEST way for drummersto get the WEAK-HAND
up to par with the STRONG-HAND?

THE BOTTOM LINE . . .
     *  All drummers devote their LIVES towards getting
and keeping that weak-hand, up to speed with the
other.  Right-handed players must constantly work with
the left-hand and vice versa.

     I'll TRY to give you some 'quick clues' here.
Yet, this is only the TIP of the berg.  You'll really
need to read and follow about half the lessons in
my 'FUN', 'EASY', homestudy-course online, to get ALL the
tips. 
     This just can't be 'said' in two or three paragraphs,
or 2 or 3 pages for that matter.

BUT, I'LL TRY . . . (Follow these steps.)

     #1.  Throw that practice-pad back in the drawer . . .
(for later.)
     #2.  Think 'PRO-drummer'! 
         * How do they get where they are? 
         * What's the MOST DIRECT PATH?

ANS:
    They discover the FUN of drumming, EARLY-ON,
by playing on something that resembles A REAL DRUMSET,
ALONG WITH 'REAL' RECORDED MUSIC.

     #3.   Build a practice drumset (if you don't 
already have drums.) <--- This is REALLY step #1.
  
     The cardboard set (at the bottom of the above
page) may cost you all of $20 and I
recommend it over everything else (except REAL drums)
. . . because it will SOUND very similar to a REAL
drumset (if you'll put your imagination to work.)

     SOUND is the MOST IMPORTANT 'MAGIC' INGREDIENT.
     We're learning to PLAY MUSIC, here!  It'll
be a total drag, if we don't LEARN TO ENJOY THE
'SOUNDS' WE MAKE.
     (Munch on that thought for SEVERAL minutes!)
    
     #4.  Begin JAMMING with recorded music EVERY DAY!

NOW, THE REAL ANSWER . . .
     #5.  Learn to USE rudiments AS FILLS when jamming and
playing for fun.  You'll discover HOW to do that in the next
5-muntes!  The rest of the time, you'll be having GREAT
fun as the rudiments, rolls and fills slowly develop!  It does
take CONSIDERABLY longer than 5-minutes to MASTER these
rolls . . . but once the FUN becomes a factor, the equal
development of BOTH hands (and feet) will occur naturally
AND PAINLESSLY. 

     (*FUN is the keyword, here.)  You'll find ANOTHER
10-LESSONS on THAT too, (and why), later in the course.

BACK TO THE LEFT-HAND . . .
     I'll give you UNPAID students a couple of the more
important lessons, in a minute.  Those S*P*E*C*I*A*L lessons
may do the most for you to develop your bad or weak hand.
     The paid students will be directed to several other
MORE EFFECTIVE lessons at the MEMBER site.

     The equal development of both hands can't be mastered
in ONE or two lessons.  There's a 'MINDSET' that's needed here
and you need that more important mindset, or you'll
be headed for absolute boredom and possible failure.

POINT . . .
     The LEFT-HAND will come to life as you 'PLAY', 'PLAY',
'PLAY' while incorporating a few EASY-TO-LEARN left-hand
maneuvers.
 
     THAT'S THE MINDSET!
     I'm using the word 'PLAY' too.  I didn't mention
that dirty old word 'W O R K'.  It shouldn't
be boring, difficult or ANYTHING LIKE WORK.
     WORK is for ditch-diggers!  Most PRO-DRUMMERS
are far too lazy to enter that realm at all,
haha. (Sad, but true.)   :>)

     Let me help you find the FUN! 
     EVERYTHING ELSE WILL COME NATURAL!

SUMMARY:
     * Your WEAK-hand will QUICKLY come to life
as you HABITUALLY 'use it' while JAMMING (in a
constructive way) and having FUN, endlessly for
hours, on a daily basis. 

PROOF!  (MORE . . . about the mindset)
     Which of the following two drummers will enjoy 
the most equal-development in ALL limbs?

     a.  The drummer who practices rudiments on
a practice-pad 30-minutes per day.
     b.  OR . . . The drummer who obsessively JAMS with
recordings 15 hours per day, HABITUALLY USING rudimental
techniques, after becoming totally obsessed with THE FUN
OF PLAYING.

     TRUST ME!

     'b.' is the CORRECT answer.

     FORGET ALL THAT NONSENSE you've read
about ENDLESS rudimental repetition, on a practice
pad.  It was written by NON-PLAYING teachers who
had not discovered the FUN, themselves!
     There's really no excuse for such boredom!

..................................................
     SURE!  WE NEED RUDIMENTS and 'OTHER' rhythm
patterns, designed to develop BOTH hands, but there's
a 'FUN' way that works, and a 'BORING' way that
kills the spirit!
     WHICH WOULD BE BETTER?
     WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
.................................................

    One way to develop BOTH hands equally,
is to discover how to USE the MAJOR rudiments, quickly
and easily, as they'll be shown in the lessons, below.


     RUDIMENTS . . .
    Go here, if you don't know what a 'rudiment' is:

    The rudiment-application lessons in the 125-lesson course
are INTENTIONALLY simplified! BUT, the implications of those
lessons SHOULD be MIND-BOGGLING . . . once the process 'sinks-in'. 
There's MUCH MORE to see and learn, than just these few lessons! 

POINT:
    *  Virtually ANY RUDIMENT may be applied to nearly ANY SONG
OR BEAT, exactly as the 'CLASSIC RUDIMENTS' have been explained
in the lessons below.  You won't SEE that, until you can ACTUALLY
apply and USE the primary rudiments, FIRST!
    The KEYWORD here is "USE" and/or "PLAY".

    By that, I mean USE them AS YOU JAM with YOUR FAVORITE
music! 
    MUSIC is the MAIN OBJECTIVE, ISN'T IT? 

    THINK ABOUT THAT!  Use ANY rudiment the same way
THESE rudiments are shown in the lessons below, and your
hands will develop equally, quickly and naturally:

 Understanding and USING Rudiments.


ALSO . . .

     DO YOU KNOW ALL OF THE FOLLOWING 'NOTE-VALUE FILLS'
(IN THE LESSON BELOW?)
     DO YOU USE THEM REGULARLY ON YOUR GIGS, OR AS YOU JAM?
THESE FILLS (BELOW) MAY BE 10-TIMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OF
THE 400 'KNOWN-RUDIMENTS'.

WHY?

    BECAUSE 'ALL' OF THE 400 RUDIMENTS ARE MADE-UP, EXCLUSIVELY
FROM THESE SIMPLE 'NOTE VALUE FILLS', BELOW . . .
   MASTER ALL OF THEM!  USE them ROUTINELY as you play! 
   They're being used in ALL the music you listen to EVERY DAY! 
You won't believe what I'm saying UNTIL you have mastered
ALL OF THEM!  Then, you will begin recognizing and USING
them ROUTINELY as you PLAY along in-time with your favorite
music.
    Aside from that, you'll get a second BONUS from this
lesson (below.)  The following lesson will also instill
and embed all the NOTE-VALUES deeply within your sub-conscious
knowledge-base, by name, sight and sound!  Doing so,
will improve your READING AND WRITING abilities too,
in the most painless way possible.  I call it a DOUBLE-WHAMMY
lesson.  You'll receive two great benefits from the absolute
least amount of effort!

 Note Value Fills.


NEXT:
    GO TO THE FOLLOWING LESSON . . . MEMORIZE, AND BEGIN
USING ALL THESE 'EXTENDED' RUDIMENTAL APPLICATIONS every
day as you jam with recordings, or play 'live' with your
band.



 Using Whole Measure Rudiments and Rolls.

    OK!  Once you've MASTERED all that . . . we'll be ready
to DO SOME VERY SERIOUS THINKING!

THE RUDIMENT CHARTS!
WHAT ABOUT THE RUDIMENT CHARTS?

    THEN (and only then), visit the rudiment charts!
Get the practice-pad out of the drawer and be ready to
devote about 1-hour towards some necessary 'boring' effort.
    You'll quickly discover that ALL 26-rudiments can easily
be MASTERED and MEMORIZED in about one-hour, now that you
are totally prepared for them.

......................................................
    The Rudiment Charts are located on the main menu,
at the beginning of, 'Rudiments, Rolls and Fills, PART I'.
......................................................

    They won't be difficult AT ALL, because we will
have ALREADY developed your chops, by learning
the MOST USEFUL AND MOST IMPORTANT RUDIMENTS, FIRST.
 
    All those other '26 to 400' rudiments are made-up of
the USEFUL primary rudiments and fills IN THE ABOVE LESSONS. 
It will be simple, practical and ACTUALLY fun, to SWALLOW 
ALL 26 RUDIMENTS WHOLE, this way!  AGAIN, you'll receive
the greatest amount of benefit, from the least amount of
effort.

...........................................................
Could this be an issue?
   Could it be, that you won't be satisfied unless you are
bored-to-tears with endless hours of rat-a-tat drills on a
practice-pad! 
   Forget that masochistic, self-destruct notion!

I HAVE BIG NEWS!
   There's a FUN, EASY way . . . and there's the old,
traditional (boring) way.  It's your choice, and you won't

need me, if being bored is the thing that thrills you.
.........................................................

   Take your time getting to the charts! MASTER and begin
USING the most important rolls and fills, FIRST.  The
others will be a snap, later!

SUMMING IT UP . . .
   If you aren't 'USING' the PRIMARY RUDIMENTS AND
NOTE-VALUE FILLS, as you JAM and play for fun, you
HAVEN'T really learned them at all, yet!
   It only takes a few minutes to learn them ALL as
HALF-BAR fills.  Do it!  Then USE them EVERY DAY as
you jam with music.

   * NEXT . . . begin combining any rudiment with ANY OTHER
rudiment as combination fills.  That alone should keep you
busy for several thousand years!

..........................................................
(NOTE:  AS A GENERAL RULE . . .
    *  ANY rudiments based in the numbers 3, 6, 9 or 12,
may best be used AS FILLS with Blues, Shuffle, Swing or Waltz.
    *  ANY RUDIMENTS based in 2, 4, 8 or 16, may best be
used AS FILLS with 16th 4/4, 8th 4/4, or Quarter 4/4.
    Think about that a long time.
    (5s, 7s, and 9s are RARELY used.)  
..........................................................

MORE WEAK-HAND TIPS:
     SYNCOPATED BEATS (snare syncs.) will also help the
bad-hand tremendously too! More on that in another issue.


     See ya next month!

.......................................
_________________________________
|___________HUMOR? ______________|

WHY A DOG IS BETTER THAN A SPOUSE . . .
1.   The later you are, the more excited they are to see you.
2.   Dogs will forgive you for playing with other dogs.
3.   If a dog is gorgeous, other dogs don't hate it.
4.   Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.
5.   A dog's disposition stays the same all month long.
6.   Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
7.   A dog's parents never visit.
8.   Dogs do not hate their bodies.
9.   Dogs agree, so you don't have to raise your voice
to get your point across.
10.   Dogs like to do their snooping outside rather
than in your wallet or desk.
11.   Dogs seldom outlive you.

12.   Dogs can't talk.
13.   Dogs enjoy petting in public.
14.   You never have to wait for a dog; they're READY
to go 24-hours a day
15.   Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk.
16.   Dogs like to go hunting.
17.   Another man (or woman) will seldom steal your dog.
18.   If you bring another dog home, your dog will
happily play with both of you.
19.   A dog will not wake you up at night to ask,
"If I died would you get another dog?"
20.   If you pretend to be blind, your dog can stay
in your hotel room for F*r*e*e.
21.   If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the
paper and give them away.
22.   A dog will let you put a studded collar on it
without calling you a pervert.
23.   A dog won't hold out on you to get a new car.
24.   If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't
get mad, they just think it's interesting.
25.   On a car trip, your dog never insists on running
the heater or air conditioner.
26.   Dogs don't let magazine articles guide their lives.
27.   When your dog gets old, you can have it put to sleep.
28.   Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.
29.   Dogs are not allowed in Bloomingdales or Neiman-Marcus.
30.   If a dog leaves, it won't take half your stuff.

Special thanks to Dianne Conner for this one . . .

 

 What you don't know is a killer.  Take a minute to actually SEE your
future.    Reach DRUMMING GURU STATIS in under 2hours, here.


END OF TEMPO DISPATCH #69 SEP 5, 2002






Copyright Bill Powelson 1994 all rights reserved.