Issue #1_____\__\__\__\__\__________/__/__/__/__/01/05/97 THE TEMPO DISPATCH FREE Newsletter For Drummers and Drumming Enthusiasts ______/__/__/__/__/__________\__\__\__\__\________ ========================================= 'IT'S ALL ABOUT DRUMS' Tips * Tricks * Hints * Ads * Freebies * Lessons * Gigs? _____________________________________________________ "THE TEMPO DISPATCH" is a FREE publication *** Originating From *** BILL POWELSON'S SCHOOL OF DRUMS on the web Where the Drum Lessons are FREE! http://www.catalog.com/drummers/bphome01 ==================================================== You are receiving this e-zine because someone at your address has expressed a burning love for drums. The focus and intent of this publication is to unite, enlighten, humor and entertain all the percussion enthusiasts of the Internet. If you wish to receive NO further issues, simply reply to to the address at the top of this message and type "REMOVE" on the subject line or body of the message. Your address will be removed immediately. PUBLISHERS PLEDGE: This subscriber list will NEVER be made available to any other company, at any time, for any reason. I value and respect the privacy of each and every one of you. This is my promise and pledge to you all. (Bill Powelson) ___________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS What is in this issue? Contents: 1. Feature Article: Creativity Vs. Academics 2. Bass Player jokes 3. Land of Lost URLS 4. Drummers wanted! 5. Advertisements 6. Special Announcements: (Writers Wanted) ___________________________________________________________________ ***FEATURE ARTICLE*** DRUMMING Creativity Vs. Academics "The Best Drummers Live In Both Worlds"! THE SECRET TO BECOMING A GREAT DRUMMER: The secret to becoming a great drummer is a balancing act between creativity and academics. Too little of either ingredient may produce less than perfect results. Every drummer needs a combination of academic knowledge and creative flow, if the greatest success is to be expected. The trick to gaining control over your career and reaching all your intended goals may be as simple as doing a quick self evaluation, HERE and NOW! First, determine if you fall into one of these two categories then simply adjust your habits enough to get on a fast track to success. ******************** NATURAL DRUMMERS TYPE A: (Natural Drummers) I personally know hundreds of great drummers who do not know a quarter note from an eighth note . . . or a paradiddle from a flam. These same drummers are out there on the front lines, in the bars, nightclubs and honkey tonks of the World playing their hearts out every night for their supper. For lack of a better word, we will call them 'naturals'. Many of these 'naturals' will knock your socks off! They play terrific drums but they may never be as great as they might have been without a touch of academic knowledge. IF YOU ARE A NATURAL: It is quite common for many natural drummers to experience some degree of difficulty with written notation. An inability to read is often the single most limiting factor toward achieving absolute success. If you have experienced problems reading drum notation, Maybe this little tip will help: Try learning to read, in a reverse order. In other words try your hand at writing! You heard me correctly! Try writing beat patterns that you can play already. Don't worry about fancy notation, complicated math and elaborate symbols and terminology. Simply place Xs on paper. Think of your favorite beat, lay out the cymbal line as Xs on paper, then determine where the basses and snares fall in relation to the cymbal notes. It goes without saying, if you can write a pattern, surely you will be able to read it. Your reading/writing ability will expand as you do this more and more. Before long, as you gain more knowledge, the Xs will grow stems and flags, becoming full-fledged notation. Suddenly it will become apparent that reading or writing notation is no longer an intimidating task. You will need to do this on a regular basis or it may not be effective. Give it a try though . . . You may surprise yourself! If reading drum notation is really a problem for you and you would like some special help. Pay a visit to my website and study these three lessons: DRUMMERS APTITUDE TEST: Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/daap01.html READING DRUM NOTATION: Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/read01.html BASIC DANCE BEATS: Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/prime01.html Your 'onstage' confidence will improve tremendously with the knowledge gained from these three, fun and easy lessons. Hopefully, you will begin to realize that almost all music will fall into one of six basic dance beat categories. If you ARE a natural, the chances are very good that you already know these patterns instinctively anyway. The trick is to visualize the 'written' beats as you 'feel, listen and play along with your favorite music. Soon after that, the billions of beat variations/permutations that exist in each category will become easy to comprehend, write and read. Each of the basic dance beats may break down into millions . . . even billions of variation possibilities but the basic structures remain the same. Gain that knowledge and conquer the music world. ********************* TECHIE DRUMMERS TYPE B: (Techie Drummers) Next, we must acknowledge another type of drummer, the 'Techie'. These techie types have the rudiments down pat, they sight read, know all the terminology and possess enough technique to rival the Worlds greatest players. Yet, the techies are lost when it comes to playing a gig. For some reason they can't seem to get it all together when trying to jam with a band. Surely you have met a few like this. What is the missing ingredient? Why are so many of these types still working day jobs when the original dream was to play drums? If you fall into this category, take heart! I have the answer! LOOSEN UP AND JAM! Forget the books, the manuscripts and manuals. Forget about teachers, instructions and private lessons. Get your 'ears' working overtime. Listen and analyze every song you hear. Make it an obsession! Learn to quickly 'lump' songs into (basic dance beat) categories by sound alone. If you know the six basic dance beats, this task will grow easier with each new song. You should gain the ability to lump any popular song into one of the six basic beat categories within the first few audible notes. Why? Because that is what you will be doing most of the time in the real World, as a professional drummer. Think about this imaginary future scenario for a moment . . . The phone rings . . . You are being asked to 'fill in' or 'sub' for a drummer who didn't show up. You have no idea what songs the band will play! These guys are desperate and you need a gig! Will you help them out? Could you do it? The advice that follows, may put you onstage making money, before you know it! Learn to jam with ALL music. Scan the radio dial . . . stop every time you hear a song playing . . . listen intensely . . . feel the rhythm . . . categorize the song as one of the basic dance beats . . . then start playing! Forget everything you may know about note values, rolls and rudiments for the time being. Put all that on the back burner! It will come in handy later on, but for now you need to reach inside. Learn to create fills and beats that are uniquely your own. Feel the flow of a song and add your own personal touch! This is what the 'art-form' of drumming is all about! This is where the fun is! If you can't play the exact beat to a particular song . . . just play something close . . . stay in time with the music and MOST OF ALL, HAVE FUN! You may need to enjoy many long hours of this. Maybe you have been missing this kind of practice all along. If so, it is never too late to start! A deep love of music and raw undisciplined creativity, seem to be the driving ingredients that will catapult a 'natural drummer' into the business and keep them there. Most naturals have always indulged in a heavy diet of music jamming, feeling the groove, the tempo and dynamics of their chosen music style. From there everything else just comes . . . natural. Techie types may have devoted most of their efforts toward study and academics. It is often a fact that these types have not allowed enough time out for fun, experimentation and improvisation. So, at the risk of getting myself tarred and feathered may I say, the techie types may be TOO disciplined! They should LOOSEN UP AND JAM! There is something about Jamming by the seat of your pants that cannot be adequately described by books. Get into a good jam today and do it routinely from now on! ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| BASS PLAYER JOKES It just seems natural that drummers should poke a little fun at Bass players . . . 1.Q: What's the difference between a bass and a trampoline? A: You take off your shoes to jump on the trampoline. 2.Q: Why don't bass players ever catch a cold? A: Even a virus has some pride. 3.Q: How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb? A: Never mind. The piano player can do it with his left hand. 4.Q: What's the first thing a bass player says when he knocks on your door? A: "Pizza!" ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| THE LAND OF LOST URLS 'Webpages that are buried on the bottom of the search engine dogpile.' ============================================================== 1. Visit with Fabian Feld at 'The Dream Drummer Studio' (bi-lingual) webpage in Argentina. Fabian is the editor of 'Drum Tips', a hardcopy magazine for Spanish speaking drummers. Fabian has also published a drum method book in Spanish called 'Los 80 Modulos Fundamentales'. Visit this great webpage at: http://www.serviweb.com/drummer/ ============================================================== 2. Chuck Silverman's "Chop Shop" webpage: One of the Worlds' greatest drummers is alive and in living color on the web. Chuck is internationally known for the way he adapts Latin and Afro-Cuban techniques to the drumset. Don't miss this site! I also recommend his books, tapes and videos to all serious students. Check out this great page at: http://www.chopshop.com/silverman/ ============DO YOU HAVE A WEBPAGE DEVOTED TO DRUMS?========= ============================================================ If you do have a webpage, it is probably lost on the bottom of the search engine dogpile, along with the majority of us. The search engines are totally maxed out and bursting at the seams! If your website doesn't come up within the first 250 of 2,600,413 hits, then you are out of luck. No one will ever find you. It is a dilemma that needs to be addressed. (Drum roll please . . . :>) TEMPO DISPATCH to the rescue! (Ta-da) *** FREE URL ADS *** With each new edition of the dispatch we will randomly select and publicize a couple of URLs, FREE OF CHARGE. The objective is simply to give a few of the underdogs a little boost. After all, it takes a lot of work and expense to create a great website. These people deserve recognition for their efforts! So, send me your URLS! I won't make any promises but eventually everyone may get an honorable mention from this little service. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$ BRIBES ACCEPTED!!! $$$ Of course BRIBERY WILL WORK! ;>) hehehe. If you would like to have a guaranteed URL ad insertion into the next edition, send a check or money order for $5.00 in US funds, to: Bill Powelson 107 Douglas Dr. Holly Hill, Fl. 32117 Be sure to include your E-mail address. ($15.00 will get your URL ad in the next four editions of Tempo Dispatch) =============================================================== ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| *** DRUMMERS WANTED *** (FREE SERVICE) If you have knowledge of job openings anywhere in the World, let us know. Job placement anouncements will always be free! ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| *** ADVERTISEMENTS *** (3) 80 word lines/$10.00 (US) per insertion 4th insertion FREE! =============================================================== OVERCOME BAD GIGS, FOREVER! In this webpage discussion I will show you how to keep PERFECT TEMPO and put an end to the tempo-wars with your band members. . .for good! Visit the following URL then leave a short E-mail note asking about the BEATBUG. The BEATBUG is the miracle gadget of the ninetys for drummers! Every drummer needs a BEATBUG! Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/z.html =============================================================== "OLD DRUMS INTO NEW MONEY" This new book is a motherlode of buying and selling tips! The music dealers hate me for writing this! Learn to turn old drumsets into fast cash and big profits! Discover how to squeeze BIG discounts on new equipment at your neighborhood music store. This book contains too many secrets to mention here. Ask about it via E-mail: powelson@america.com =============================================================== IBM COMPATABLE DRUM MACHINE A DRUM MACHINE CAN BE A GREAT WRITING, LEARNING & PRACTICING TOOL! 'The*Drums Professional' is a drum machine emulation & drum-track composing software product for any PC running Windows! It's a really great and easy to use program! In addition to 'The*Drums Pro' the developer also offers two other more flexible & feature-packed programs for composing drum-tracks in a pattern-based environment: 'Rhythm Brainz' & 'Rhythm Brainz PLUS'. With these programs you can compose your own drum beats, rolls, entire rhythms or whatever. You can also listen to your beats & rhythms repeatedly to learn them for real at your practice drum kit. 'The*Drums Professional' is a shareware product that you can download directly from the developer's web-site and use immediately! Note that you will be required to contribute a small registration fee to the developer for continued use of the software. Once registered you will receive a key-code that will allow you to export your patterns and song sequences to Standard MIDI Files (for use with typical linear sequencers). This program only requires about 325k bytes on your hard drive, and to use it you will need a sound card, or a MIDI interface installed in your PC connected to one or more MIDI instruments (e.g., synthesizer, sampler, drum machine, etc.). Check-out 'The*Drums Professional' or a demo version of 'Rhythm Brainz' NOW from MediaTech Innovations at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MediaTech_Innovations =============================================================== CHUCK SILVERMAN'S LATEST EFFORT! THE FUNKMASTERS- Guitarists, bassists, drummers of the James Brown bands-1960-1973. 144 pages of lessons, history, pictures, anecdotes, 2 CDs packed with playalongs and lessons. Clyde Stubblefield, Jab'o Starks and Melvin Parker are 3 of the drummers featured in the book. ORDER NOW. Email to drumnart@sprynet.com for ordering info. Two tracks at http://www.chopshop.com/silverman/ =============================================================== ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| *** ANOUNCEMENTS *** (FREE SERVICE) =============================================================== This is your platform! If you have an announcement to make, you can make it here, FREE! Just send an E-mail note to powelson@america.com. No Spams please! Think in terms of public service announcements. Like this . . . =============================================================== WRITERS WANTED! send your drumming related articles via E-mail to Bill Powelson: powelson@america.com. If your article is chosen to run as a featured article, in a future edition of this e-zine, you will receive FREE advertising in four editions of Tempo Dispatch ($30.00 value). Some spamming is allowed in feature articles! :>) =============================================================== CYA NEXT TIME! END OF TEMPO DISPATCH #1