Welcome to the Big Drum video newsletter!

Hi and welcome to the March 2007 Big Drum. You'll notice this is the first time I've ever sent a Big Drum as an html email. I thought I'd give it a try and see how my open rates go. In the past html emails have often been suspected as spam, but it's supposed to be getting better. Read on for the latest!

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

1. Server upgrades finished. We realized that instead of upgrading our dedicated server we actually needed to get a new one! We have close to 60,000 members now at Icanplaydrums.com and every day (and particularly anytime a BIG DRUM is sent out) we have massive amounts of downloads from our servers. We now have an even faster dedicated server, so we're really happy with that. So far everything is running smoothly!

I republished my site a couple of days ago, so if you checked some of the links or pages and found they weren't there, try them again, everything has been re-uploaded.

2. Moonshadows comes to an end! We have finished up the Cat Stevens show, Moonshadows, what a great experience it was. Fantastic band and crew, and McPhersons were a delight to work for. We have some dates in Canberra which I'm doing, they are:

Moonshadows in Canberra - 19^th – 21^st April & 26^th – 28^th April 2007

So anyone from Canberra who wants to see the show now is your chance! Here are some pics of us in the Melbourne season..

3) Ultimate Drumming Review is still coming along strongly. Now that I'm not doing 8 gigs a week I'm back into full swing with recording and editing. The Fusion section is done, im now doing the modern rock section!

4) Big Drum issues being uploaded. I have close to 15 back issues of Big Drum that I'm re vamping and putting into the archive section at jacksbigdrum.com, so check that in a few days all the back issues will be there.

On with the show.. a golden oldie from the archives (excuse the audio!).

"How to play a dead even Double Stroke Roll using rebound strokes!"

It seems the Double Stroke Roll is still one of the most misplayed rudiments today. When playing a Double Stroke Roll, you always aim for a DEAD EVEN roll. That means 2 things:

1) The space between each note is exactly the same - so even in 'real time'

2) The volume of every stroke is the same, whether it's the first or second stroke from the hand

The most common problem I hear is that the first note of the double with each hand is louder than the second. This can be true even if the notes are even in real time. In my opinion this is due to the GRIP - the problem arising from the fulcrum...

This video shows you how and more importantly WHY I grip the stick the way I do. Most important - the fingers I use to make up the fulcrum.

NOTE: using the above method you can play loud, soft, fast and slow, and EVERY combination of all 4. This is ultimately what you want - you want the most versatile technique you can, so that you can play any speed at any dynamic, without choking up.

This next video shows another way of gripping the stick that is sometimes taught. It is a matter of preference, but this video demonstrates why I DO NOT use this technique.

That's it for this Big Drum, hope you enjoyed it. If you have any songs you'd like to see reviewed (current or old) drop me a line at bigdrum@icanplaydrums.com

Jack Bennett
Icanplaydrums.com

Privacy Policy | Return Policy | Contact Us