Issue #4_____\__\__\__\__\__________/__/__/__/__/APRIL 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 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: Improvised Fills using the Hi-hat 2. Bass Player Joke of the month 3. Land of Lost URLS 4. Drummers wanted! 5. Advertisements 6. Special Announcements: (Writers Wanted) __________________________________________________________________ *** FEATURE ARTICLE *** For APRIL 97 =============================================== *** BEGINNERS CORNER *** =============================================== SPECIAL NOTES: #1. In the lesson that follows, I am assuming you have mastered 'The Basic Dance Beats' lesson, at: Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/prime01.html #2. I realize that many of the subscribers to this newsletter do not own a drum set. No problem! You can practice these routines right where you are. Use your imagination! Tap on anything nearby and pat your feet on the floor. Get accustomed to practicing this way. I recommend it for everyone, including those who DO own a drumset. =============================================== *** USING THE HI-HAT *** There are many approaches to using the hi-hat but the most common technique is to kick the hi-hat on the 'back beat' of the particular dance beat you may be playing. The 'backbeat' is the snare portion of the basic dance beat. If you are playing 8th note rock as it is shown below, your right hand will be on the ride cymbal and you will kick the hi-hat with your left foot as you connect with the third cymbal and simultaneous snare. ( Left-handed students must do their own transposing here.) ============================================================ SPECIAL NOTICE: NOT ALL E-MAILERS ARE CREATED EQUAL! The fonts in your E-mail program may not be the same as mine. This may cause the notation (below) to shift and appear improperly spaced. The font being used in this note is New Courier, 9 point. ============================================================ 8TH NOTE ROCK: C C C C Ride Cymbal (Right hand) S Snare (Left hand) B Bass (Right foot) X Hi-Hat (Left foot) Get accustomed to kicking the hi-hat with each repetition of the above pattern as you jam with your favorite recordings. It will become second nature with only a little practice. Try doing the same thing with *ALL* the basic dance beats. You *DO* have all the basic dance beats memorized! Right? NOTE: The Waltz beat is an exception. Many drummers kick the hi-hat on 2 & 3 of most Waltz beat patterns. =============================================== *** INTERMEDIATE CORNER *** =============================================== MAGIC FORMULA FOR SIMPLE FILLS: One of the most common E-mail questions I receive at the website, concerns fills (i.e. dropping rolls into a song while jamming). Everyone seems to be looking for a 'magic formula' to help them develop their roll patterns. I learned by listening to various drummers and imitating their rhythmic ideas. I recommend this to everyone, but there are other things we can do to make the learning process a little easier. ================================================== NOTE: The following trick will work with nearly any dance beat pattern, but for simplicity, we will use the 8th note rock beat to illustrate the idea. If you have not learned to play the 8th note rock beat yet, go to: Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/dapp01.html ================================================== IMPROVISED FILLS In this exercise, you will learn to jump from a basic dance beat, then improvise (or make up) a random fill and return to the beat. It is easier than you think, if you are comfortable using the hi-hat as it was studied in the 'Beginners Corner' above. LET'S DO IT! Play a repetitious, basic 8th note rock beat and kick the hi-hat as we learned earlier (above). Get it going! Keep it going for awhile, then stop hitting the ride cymbal and snare. That's right! STOP YOUR HANDS, but continue with both feet. Hold both arms over the drums, but don't hit anything yet. Your feet will be playing the steady beat, producing a "boom, chic, boom, chic" effect. Keep the feet going in steady rhythm, just as they were when the hands were engaged. If you were playing along with a song, the feet would remain 'in time' with the music. Got it? OK! You are half way home! The feet are still marking time . . . boom, chic, boom, chic . . . Begin thrashing at the drums with both hands! Do anything you want but don't lose the flow of the bass and hi-hat. The . . . boom, chic, boom, chic . . . effect should remain steady as you thrash about with the hands. Bang away on the snare, go to the toms and back. In short, do anything that sounds good to your ear. Challenge yourself to do this for long periods of time as the feet maintain the steady rhythm. It gets easier with a little practice! You are now playing an improvised fill!!! That is all there is to it! The hard part will be in returning to the beat, without losing tempo. RETURNING TO THE BEAT . . . Ok! You are still thrashing away at the drums with both hands while the feet are marking time . . . Resume playing the beat on *ANY* bass drum (or right foot)! Your right foot has not stopped (we hope). Each right foot marks the beginning of another repetition of the beat . . . so, just come in playing the (8th note rock) beat on *ANY* boom sound or right foot. (LEFTIES: You must do your own transposing here.) REMEMBER THESE THOUGHTS: You can do anything you wish as a fill . . . and the fill may be of any length you desire. You may play on any of the drums (objects) in front of you. Just maintain the beat flow with your feet as you play your fill. This way, you will never lose track of the beat flow within the music. Practice the above lesson without music until it becomes 'natural' or 'second nature'. Then try it with simple, medium tempo songs. You needn't wait for the drummer on the recording to play a fill either. You can add your fills anywhere you choose for now, while you are learning. Later on, you will learn to be selective about fill placements. Fills are normally used by drummers to 'fill' up the holes or dead spots in a song. We usually save our fills for those little empty gaps in the music where nothing much is going on (i.e. between verses or leading into the chorus of a song). There is more to think about here but we will save it for the 'Advanced Corner', coming up next. =============================================== *** ADVANCED CORNER *** =============================================== The above lesson is definitely not intended as a substitute for getting around the 'rudiment' issue. It is only intended as a primer to rudiment studies. If you know your rudiments and rolls, the same instructions will apply with one marked difference. You will no longer be thrashing at the drums! Instead, you will be executing your own interpretations of the academically accepted roll patterns (i.e. N.A.R.D. rudiments and other standardized rolls). As an interesting freebie, check out the following 'hidden' URL at the website. "Advanced Rudiments, Rolls & Fills (Part II)": http://www.catalog.com/drummers/fills44.html ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| BASS PLAYER JOKE OF THE MONTH A couple, who's relationship was on the rocks, went to a marriage counselor who could not get them to discuss anything. The communication block was so heavy that nothing he suggested could make them open up and talk. Finally after several sessions of non-communication, the counselor stands up, walks to the corner of the room and produces a bass guitar. He brings it to the couple, plugs it into a small practice amp and begins to play fervently. Gradually their barriers break down and they begin to discuss their problems and little things that always bothered them that they never felt encouraged to bring up before. At the end of the session, they were smiling and laughing just like old times. They paid their bill and before leaving, the couple asked the counselor, "What did you do? How did that song help make everything work out?" He answered simply, "Everybody talks during the bass solo." ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| THE LAND OF LOST URLS 'Webpages that are buried on the bottom of the search engine dog pile.' =========================================================== THE TOMAS HOWIE DRUM PAGE: More Free Drum lessons: Tips on tuning, ambidexterity, linear drumming, practice and other super topics. Get your 26 Rudiments here! http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9870/ =========================================================== JACK'S GOSPEL HARMONICA PAGE Maybe you are ready for something refreshing and different. Drop in on Jack Earl and learn to play Harmonica for free! Jack's method is so easy to follow, you will be playing in no time. http://www.volcano.net/~jackmearl/ ============================================================ ============DO YOU HAVE A WEBPAGE DEVOTED TO DRUMS?========= *** 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) THIS, JUST CAME IN: WANTED: Drummer with MIDI equipment, for long-distance programming/recording. I'm a singer/songwriter doing Indie releases, and know my limitations. In my studio I have a DM5. What I propose is that I'd send a standard MIDI file (or a Performer file, if you use it) with a rough mix. You'd then add your drum track(s) and whatever setup info is necessary for the DM5. I'll mix the tracks here. The style is mellow, and I'm looking for melodic drummers for this project. Tracks chosen for the release will receive album credit, and a couple of copies of the recordings. I look forward to your replies. Write by email to: falconer@bigfoot.com Thanks, Tempo, for the space! ********************** If you have knowledge of job openings anywhere in the World, let us know. Job placement announcements will always be free! ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| *** ADVERTISEMENTS *** (3) 80 word lines/$10.00 (US) per insertion 4th insertion FREE! =============================================================== COMPLETE HOME STUDY COURSE IN DRUMSET TECHNIQUES $30.00 (US) Send an E-mail note to: powelson@america.com mention the 'HOME STUDY COURSE' and receive a FREE, E-mail drum Lesson. =============================================================== OVERCOME BAD GIGS, FOREVER! In this webpage discussion I will show you how to keep SOLID 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 90's for drummers! Every drummer needs a BEATBUG! Http://www.catalog.com/drummers/z.html =============================================================== "OLD DRUMS INTO NEW MONEY" BOOK: This new book is a mother load of buying and selling tips! The music dealers hate me for writing this! Turn old drumsets into fast cash and big profits! Discover how to squeeze BIG discounts on new equipment from your neighborhood music store. This book contains too many secrets to mention here. Visit this quick-loading page: http://www.catalog.com/drummers/oldrums.html =============================================================== CHUCK SILVERMAN'S LATEST EFFORT! THE FUNKMASTERS- Guitarists, bassists, drummers of the James Brown bands-1960-1973. 144 pages of lessons, history, pictures, anecdotes, and 2 CDs packed with playalongs and lessons. Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo 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/ =============================================================== LAYON DRUM TRIGGERS Layon Drum Triggers are the best choice for triggering from your acoustic drum set: Highest Quality, Greatest Durability, Most Comfortable, Great Response, and a Useful Sensitivity Range. A HREF="http://www.theonlynet.com/~lsc/ ============================================================== ________________________________________________________ |________________________________________________________| *** ANNOUNCEMENTS *** (FREE SERVICE) This is your platform! If you have a drumming related 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 . . . =============================================================== ANNOUNCEMENT #1: 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! =============================================================== ANNOUNCEMENT #2 THANKS!!!! Thanks to everyone who has volunteered their editing expertise to the 'Tempo Dispatch'. The response to last months call for help was overwhelming. Thanks to all of you! Bill P. ================================================================ ANNOUNCEMENT #3 TIPS WANTED! An old friend and former student, now living in Orlando, Florida, wants to add a special drum practice room onto his home. He would like to receive any advice you can offer. Send your tips to Bill Rispoli: Brill24@aol.com Bill would be interested in getting suggestions, as to methods and materials i.e. dry wall vs plywood, sound proofing materials, ventilation tips, plexi-glass thickness etc. If you have expertise in these areas, please drop him a note! ================================================================= ANNOUNCEMENT #4 *** Tempo Dispatch Archives *** If you have missed earlier issues of this newsletter, you may see/download them all online at: http://www.catalog.com/drummers/tdarc.html ================================================================= C-YA NEXT TIME! END OF TEMPO DISPATCH #4 4/5/97