July 1st Issue, 2008

The Transparency of Beats.

Sound like an odd title? One thing you'll notice when you study many different styles of drumming, is that certain beats, phrases, fills etc can be played in a multitude of styles. Often with just a different inflection, perhaps a different drumkit sound, a different tempo or emotional intention, the same beat or fill which is technically identical in either case, will sound completely different.. Or will it?

In this video I want to share with you one of the many examples I've found of this in my relatively short time behind the kit.

Back in the 90's I was really into Acid Jazz. I listened to a lot of bands like Incognito and Brand New Heavies. But it wasn't until I went back and listened to funk bands from the 70's like P Funk, Earth Wind & Fire, Tower Of Power etc that I realized that a lot of the beats, at least from the drummers point of view, were exactly the same. OK, so not perfectly exactly, but close enough for me to wonder if it was indeed a new style at all..

I think it's really important, particularly with any kind of pop/rock music to always have a good listen to exactly what's going on as far as the drummer is concerned. Because, quite often you'll find the beats, fills, phrases etc aren't REALLY that much different to what drummers have been playing from 20 or 30 years. A lot of things that great rock drummers like John Bonham and Jeff Porcaro were playing decades ago, are still being used today.

Obviously drumming as an art form has come a long way since then, with people of a world class caliber like Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and scores of others taking the art in exciting new directions and pushing the boundaries both technically and conceptually. But for mainstream music, my advice is the next time your music buddy says, "Oh man you have to check out this new style of music!!".. have a good listen to what the drummer is playing, because there's a good chance that you may already know how to play what is required.

STAY TUNED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS!
"100 Years Of Drumming" is currently at the printers, and we're doing a big launch discount once we get stock!

Taken from "100 Years Of Drumming"

2) Get on the Priority Notification List for 100 Years Of Drumming!

When we release 100 Years Of Drumming (100YOD) in June 08, we will be doing a special launch CHEAP AS CHIPS sale price for the first week only, given it is essentially a re release of Ultimate Drumming Review (with 30% new content).

To guarantee you are among the very first to hear about 100YOD, make sure you sign up ONCE ONLY to the box below. Remember, signing up to the box DOES NOT lock you in to buying, it simply means you will hear about it before anyone else.

July Icanplaydrums.com Updates!

1) Professional Ticket Based Customer Service. It has become increasingly difficult in recent times for sites like ours who email to such a large audience to get all emails delivered, EVERY time. Every once in a while, an email you send us or a reply we send you will get trapped in an over zealous spam filter, so will be scrapping email all together and using a professional Ticket Based service as of early July.

This will be better for both you and us! You will get your own customer service account and will be able to keep track of all tickets through a very easy to use interface. You can set an urgency priority status, browse our knowledgebase, FAQ section and more.

2) Icanplaydrums.com Affiliate program! Yes! It's finally launching in July 08. We are in the middle of drawing everything up now, but you can expect the highest % affiliate commission in our industry, the highest conversion in our industry and more. Stay tuned on that!

3) New Members Section! We're giving the members section - www.icanplaydrums.com/members.htm a new makeover. This will truly be unlike anything currently available on the internet. In fact it will be more than twice as big as the 2nd largest free drum lesson website online.

There will be 8 different video formats, with over 640 FREE videos total. Something pretty cool you can market to your affiliates wouldn't you say? (remember every lesson has a link to UDS 2007).

ALSO COMING IN 2008!

1) The Drumming Body - I'll be teaming up with renown personal trainer, postural correction and physical rehabilitation specialist, Perry Venakis, to bring you a worlds first analytical look at what happens inside the body when we play the drums. Including a detailed break down of all the movements and muscles/joints/plains used when we drum, potential postural problems, preventative and correctional exercises for problems caused from drumming and HEAPS more. More on that in June 08!

2) Rudiments Around The Kit - Around Australia - The 2nd DVD set filmed under the Destination Drumming Series, this massive DVD set will take a look at Rudiments applied to the drumkit in ways not shown on ANY other DVD before. Locations to be confirmed include the arid middle of Australia's Simpson Desert, The Yellow Limestone PInnacle Desert, Daintree Rainforrest, The Snow (location undecided) and more..

Topics will include..

* All 40 PASIC rudiments explained from 3 angles as a reference
* RUDIMENT PERMUTATIONS: The Flam Family
* RUDIMENT PERMUTATIONS: The Roll Family
* RUDIMENT PERMUTATIONS: The Drag Family
* Rudiments In Context: Rock/Funk
* Rudiments In Context: Jazz
* Rudiments In Context: Latin
* Snare Solos & Ostinatos
* The Working Drummer DVD and HEAPS more!!