2013 Holiday Gift Ideas for Drummers

It’s that time of year again! The holiday gift giving season is upon us so it’s time to head to the store to purchase something unique for your special drummer. Many of these items I personally use myself each and every day and others are items I have on MY holiday wish list.

Tools to Create Your Own DRUMLINE Sheet Music

How to Write for PERCUSSION: An extremely detailed and helpful book, not just for beginners but intermediate and advanced musicians as well. Whether you have years of percussion writing experience or no idea how to even approach it, this book will give you hundreds of great new ideas and will show you exactly how to realize them in your music.

Finale Print Music 2011: Simply the best professional music software for arrangers, composers, teachers, students, and drummers too.

My Practice Essentials

BOSS DB-90 Metronome: Dr. Beat! The most advanced metronome available. Trigger input to access unique Rhythm Coach Exercises. I never practice without it.

 

Evans 2-Sided Real Feel 12 inch Practice Pad: The most popular practice pad and for good reason. It serves its primary purpose well - QUIET practice with REALISTIC feel. Definitely a must-buy for drummers who have whiny neighbors.

Percussion Hobbies

Beat Generals: Beat Generals helps you unleash your inner super producer by teaching you all the techniques and tricks the pros use to create the hottest beats on the radio today. I love playing with this in my spare time – try it today!

 

How to Build a Marimba: Really fun comprehensive guides to build your own xylophones, marimbas, vibraphones and other quality percussion instruments.

Other Tech, Gadgets, and Toys

 

Google ChromeCast HDMI Streaming Media Player. Stream my Dumline YouTube videos right to your TV using your smartphone, tablet, or laptop! Perfect for parties, creating playlists, or sharing pictures with grandma and grandpa.

R/C Helicopter. This Brand New 3 Channel mini rc helicopter is the world's newest, most durable and stable helicopter. The item comes with the latest gyro system for precision control. The metal frame has proven to withstand dozens of crashes.

HDMI Pocket Projector. Projects up to 1080p HD images up to 60" diagonal. Rechargeable and portable. Connects via HDMI to most smartphones, tablets, computers, video players, cameras and more.

Breaking Bad: Complete Series. All seasons plus tons of amazing extras for the greatest show on television. The episode titled "Ozymandias" is my favorite episode of any TV show I've ever seen.

Amazon Prime

I highly recommend joining Amazon Prime. If you order something off of Amazon on average once per month then it pays for itself, or if you're ordering a bunch of gifts this holiday season it probably will too. The FREE two day shipping is awesome and everything I've ordered really has come in two days or less. You can also stream movies, TV shows, and get a Kindle book every month. Great alternative for Netflix or Hulu and well worth the investment in my opinion. Cheers!

What gifts are you getting your fellow percussionist for the holidays? Please let me know by commenting below!

Carolina Crown Wins 2013 DCI World Championships

Carolina Crown won their first ever DCI World Championship last weekend. For only the third time in DCI’s history, (in 1992 and 2004), a record nine corps broke 90 points at the World Championship Finals. The top ten scores were:

1 Carolina Crown 98.300
2 Blue Devils 98.050
3 The Cadets 96.950
4 Santa Clara Vanguard 96.850
5 Bluecoats 93.350
6 Phantom Regiment 93.250
7 The Cavaliers 90.500
8 Boston Crusaders 90.400
9 Madison Scouts 90.100
10 Blue Knights 87.750
11 Spirit of Atlanta 86.400
12 Blue Stars 85.450                

View a complete recap from DCI.org.

Here are the 2013 World Class Caption Award Winners:

Donald Angelica Best General Effect Award
Carolina Crown

Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
The Cadets

John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
Carolina Crown

George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
Blue Devils

Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
Carolina Crown

 

Posted below is a video of Carolina Crown's victory run after winning the DCI 2013 World Class Championship.

Download drum corp sheet music.

How to Create Beats with Beat Generals

Beat Generals is a site that uses FL Studio to teach you how to create beats with easy to follow HD video tutorials. In case you don't already know, FL Studio is a pretty cheap, easy to find, music creation software suite responsible for hit records by Drake, Jay Z, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and others. It’s easy to make simple drum loops but takes a lot of skill to pull off a well-polished song.

 

So, naturally, I was excited just to find some awesome video tutorials that could help me to start making the beats I loved faster than ever possible before. So now, all I needed were some good drum sounds to make my beats sound better. Luckily, Beat Generals also provides drums for you to use to really get that professional sound quality in your music. Practically anyone can create full radio-quality songs with little more than their home computer! Here is a video tutorial example:

 

 

It's simply amazing to me that one of the most popular programs out there for making beats has so few resources to teach quality techniques. Sure, many things come with experience but where do you get the basics and the advice you need to help elevate yourself to the next level? Beat Generals isn’t something made by some kid in his parent’s basement. We're talking about industry professionals teaching you what you need to know and showing you exactly what to do. If you’re even remotely serious about making beats and making money within the music industry, or you just want to create cool beats to play for your friends, you should check it out.

Beat Generals offers a free trial, so you really have nothing to lose. Try them out today and start making your own beats now.

Drum Licks on Instagram Video

The new fifteen second video feature on Instagram is a great way for us drummers to share our sweet drum licks with the world. You can view a few of mine on my Instagram page: ntweisen.  If you do check it out, I want to apologize, I don’t have a real snare drum and haven’t played on one in years. I just wanted to record pieces of this solo I wrote before my chops are completely gone. Record a few solos of your own and use the hashtag #snarelick or #drumsolo. I’d love to see what you come up with!

 

Pictured below is the snare drum sheet music to one of my videos, just a short and simple little lick I came up with. Feel free to use it if you want.

 

 

And here I am playing it if you don't have Instagram. I haven't uploaded a video to YouTube in two years and today I've uploaded two!

 

2013 WGI World Championships Recap

The 2013 WGI World Championships were held in Dayton, Ohio last weekend. Rhythm X won first place in Independent World competition with a record score of 98.263. Aimachi, the WGI group from Japan and always a fan favorite, placed 6th. In scholastic world class, for the first time ever, Dartmouth High School did NOT place in the top three (they just missed the medals by placing fourth)! Father Ryan always has entertaining shows and finally got a medal for their effort. The list of winners for each class is below (with some links to some YouTube videos):

• Independent World Champion - Rhythm X
• Scholastic World Champion - Chino Hills School
• Independent Open Champion - Capital City Percussion
• Scholastic Open Champion - Upper Darby High School
• Independent A Champion - Brookwood Independent
• Scholastic A Champion - Hilton High School
• Concert World Class - James Logan High School
• Concert Open Class - Clayton High School

You can find all the finals scores here.

Fan Favorite Awards

Fans at the show voted for their favorite drumline via text message. Interesting, none of the fan favorites were the gold medal champions picked by the judges. Here are the winners of the fan favorite award for each class:

• Independent World - Infinity
• Scholastic World - Father Ryan High School
• Independent Open - River City Rhythm
• Scholastic Open - Dorman High School
• Independent A - Spirit of America
• Scholastic A - Mechanicsburg High School
• Concert Class - Tunstall High School

Now that indoor drumline season is over it’s time to begin looking forward to drum corps. See the 2013 DCI schedule here: http://www.dci.org/schedule/

Drumline Humor: Honk War

This is a funny drum video called Honk War. An innocent meeting at a traffic lights quickly escalates into an all out war over who has the better skills playing the car horn.  The battle climaxes when one driver pulls out a pair of drumsticks and starts drumming on the steering wheel. Hilarious! And something I’ve totally done before (drum on the steering wheel that is, not get into a honk war). Watch the funny drum video below:

Blue Devils 2012 Snare Solo

The Blue Devils drum and Bugle Corp won their 15th Drum Corp International (DCI) World Championship this past summer and their drumline won the top overall percussion score behind one of the best lines I've ever seen. I recently found some sheet music for their show transcribed by a fan which I will be sharing with you. The first segment is the snare drum solo. Download the full music as a pdf file using the link bellow (file is hosted for free on box.com).

Download 2012 Blue Devils snare drum solo sheet music.pdf

 

How to Begin Drumming - Multimedia Lessons

Do you want to learn how to begin drumming? Instead of spending over $1500 on drum lessons try this new revolutionary multimedia approach. I wish techniques like these had been around when I was learning how to play snare drum. In my drumming experience I've found the best thing to do is to first learn technique and then learn how to apply that technique. It's the same with learning drumming rudiments - first learn the basic rudiments on traditional marching snare drum and then you can apply those rudiments when playing drum set. Begin Drumming teaches these best practices and more! The Begin Drumming package includes how to videos and many pages of sheet music. You can learn at your own pace. Try Begin Drumming today and maybe one day you'll be marching with the Blue Devils or jamming out on stage at a rock concert!

Click Here to begin your drum lessons!

Honda Battle of the Bands

Eight marching bands performed in front of 60,000 fans at the Georgia Dome for Honda's Battle of the Bands (also referred to as HBOB). The Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase is the nation's largest and most highly anticipated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) music event. Elijah Hayes of Fort Valley State University was the winner of a new 2012 Honda CR-V. For more information on the Honda Battle of the Bands program and the Invitational Showcase visit their website where you can watch a video of the drumline highlights.

Also, be sure to check out Honda Battle of the Bands on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HondaBattleoftheBands, Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/the_honda  and o YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hondabotb .

How to Choose a Musical Instrument

I saw this "How to Choose a Musical Instrument" diagram on Facebook today and had to share it. Many paths are funny, yet sad and true at the same time.

New Percussion and Drum Stuff Download Page

I’ve created a new page for the Percussion and Drum Stuff blog where I will be adding links to all the drumline sheet music files I’ve made available to download. You will be able to find all of our cadences and sheet music snare, tenor, bass, cymbal, battery, pit, marimba, etc. We’ve got transcriptions of some of the best indoor percussion lines out there as well as audition packets. Please comment if you have any original compositions you would like to share.

 

Now you won’t have to search through the whole site looking for one file. Simply go to the new page and read through the list of pdfs. The link to the downloads page is located at the top of the blog, or click here.

 

Please let me know if any links are not working. Thanks!

 

In the coming weeks I plan on adding a ton of new music so stay tuned!

Holiday Gift Ideas for Drummers

Looking for that extra special holiday gift for your drummer friend? Here are a few suggestions on gift ideas for percussionists.

RealFeel by Evans 12" 2-sided pad has a large playing surface that fits inside a standard snare basket, a natural gum feel on one side for realistic stick rebound, and a harder recycled rubber surface on the other for a real workout.

Rock Band 3 Wireless Pro-Drum and Pro-Cymbals Kit. 4 Durable drum pads / Metal-reinforced kick pedal / Sound-dampening, velocity-sensitive heads for more expressive performances. Wireless connectivity/3 AA Alkaline batteries included.

 

Once you've seen Drumline: Special Edition, halftime shows will become works of art. This formulaic yet surprisingly captivating movie honors the military precision of college football marching bands, those battalions of eager, sternly disciplined brass sections, drummers, and fly girls who turn halftime shows into well-oiled Vegas variety acts on steroids. 

The Blue Knights are a competitive indoor drumline from Denver, CO. Every year they travel to Dayton, OH to compete in the Indoor Drumline World Championships. Watch On the Line today!

Blue Man Group takes the audience on a 90-minute journey that pushes the boundaries of the rock concert experience. Filmed during their summer rock tour, The Complex Rock Tour Live is a behind-the-scenes look at the creation and themes surrounding the tour. 

Finale SongWriter lets you hear your music play back, print sheet music, share songs with the free downloadable Finale Reader, and save MP3 files for your iPod. From the creators of Finale, the world's leading music-notation software, SongWriter is perfect for songwriters, band and choir directors, church musicians, students, and other musicians. 

 

Virtual Drumline 2.5 by Tapspace. The world's most powerful, complete marching battery and concert percussion sample library ever recorded - featuring the 2004 world-champion Santa Clara Vanguard percussion section. 

On The Beaten Path: The Drummers Guide To Musical Styles & The Legends Who Defined Them (Book & CD). Learn to play the most legendary drum beats and solos ever recorded! This book is your essential guide to the biggest & best drummers to ever grace the instrument, the music they played, the gear they used, and the drummers that influenced them. Pick up your copy today!

 What are your drummer gift ideas?

Drum Up Some Excitement with The Epcot Jammin' Chefs

I found another video of a Disney drumming group today. While the Epcot JAMMitors are world-famous for their percussive tunes on trash cans, the Jammin’ Chefs utilize kitchen utensils, ovens, pots and pans to serve up some palate-pleasing percussion. After awhile it starts to sound like pounding to me but it would still be a fun group to be a part of. The Jammin' Chefs are making an appearance during the final weekend of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Anyone know how you become a Disney drummer?

Happy Fourth and an Update

Sorry for the lack of regular updates lately but I have a big surprise for you. Within the next few weeks we'll be launching our very first contest in which you could win up to $100 cash! Stay tuned for details. Have a happy and safe fourth of July weekend!

Want to make a career out of drumming?

World Beat Drummers at Islands of Adventure

 From Orlando Theme Park News: As you know, since Islands of Adventure had a huge boost in attendance last year, the Universal management started to put many small shows and entertainment bands around the parks. This year, near Jurassic Park River Adventure we can find the World Beat Drummers, which are great in interacting (or at least trying to interact) with guests passing by.

Read more: Orlando Theme Park News: World Beat Drummers at Islands of Adventure

 

Tim Jackson Rapid Form Sheet Music

Here's the sheet music for Tim Jackson's tenor solo "Rapid Form." The end of the solo feature a ridiculously fast version of the tenor solo from Rhythm X's 2002 show "Our World " (PIO World Championship). Click the link to download the sheet music pdf. I've also embedded a video below so you can play along (yeah right).



Rapid Form Tim Jackson quad solo sheet music.pdf

Holiday Shopping?

The holiday season is upon us! It's time to start thinking about what's on your shopping list. The easiest way to avoid all the inconveniences of holiday shopping lines and crowds is to order your gifts online. But what does this have to do with this blog? Well, why not help support this site and get your holiday shopping done at the same time? I would really appreciate it if you can help support this site by using our Amazon.com search box. It's simple to use: just type the name of the product you are looking for in the Amazon.com search box and it will automatically take you to the Amazon website of the product. Simply order the gift as normal and a (tiny) fraction of what you spend will go to this site. What am I going to do with the money? Put it all back into the site to make it even better! Help me help you. (We also accept donations through PayPal, see the link on the sidebar).

Do you need a little extra cash during this holiday season? Start using the internet to your advantage to make some additional revenue. See the sidebar for the most popular sites I use to make fast money off of the internet. They're all free and easy to use. You don't have to put anything into it except a little time. Sites like Opinion Outpost pay you to take surveys online. Within a few weeks of joining you could be holding a check for $100!

Black Friday Deals Week:http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=384082011&tag=ca0a8-20

Beat It: The World of The Modern Drummer

When John Lennon was asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world he quipped " He wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles". Lennon's natural put-down is typical of the way drummers are belittled within music circles.

Presenter Phill Jupitus challenges this notion with the help of a cross-section of musicians to discover how they have gained this reputation?

We hear from Clem Burke (drummer with Blondie) and Dr. Marcus Smith who together have proven scientifically that Clem burns a similar amount of calories during a concert as a premiership footballer. Phil Collins (Genesis) and Stewart Copeland (The Police), explain how they cope with the physical demands of performing and how these veterans react to the negative image of the drummer.

Having established the physical demands made on drummers does this exclude women? Dame Evelyn Glennie thinks not as she believes the physicality is not an obstacle. The programme also hears from Kenny Jones (The Small Faces, The Faces and The Who) who still features a drum solo in his set but has the drum solo had its day? Has the modern drummer discarded this indulgence and settled for keeping time at the back? If so why?

For many, the drummer is the joker in the group, Phil Selway of Radiohead explains within the ranks of Britain's moodiest band, there is not too much light hearted banter but he does see his role as a supporting one for the others to be creative.


Great show. Give it a listen.

New Facebook Fan Page!

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