Memory Lane

[Scheming Demon]

I was just thinking back to my misspent youth and when I first started learning rudiments from my then teacher.

When first learning double stroke rolls, rrll rrll etc.  He taught me to think "mama daddy" as I was hitting the parts.

Seven stroke roll was "pepsi cola hits the spot"

and a nine stroke roll was "everybody likes to play the drum"

dopey yes, but that's how I was taught and @$%# if it still isn't permanently embedded in my puny brain.

Just wondering if others were taught with the same or similar method.

[alanwatkinsuk]

Yes, I was taught Mamma, Dadda although I did not know the others.

Fortunately, I had a wonderful and gifted "off the wall" teacher for timpani who stood me (I think I was 9) before them and said: "I want you to imagine these are gas stoves with flames leaping up....and these are not timpani sticks but lollipops....you must hit the gas stoves with the lollipops so quickly than they do not melt."

What Denis was trying to teach was "touch".  I have grown up to be equally off the wall and teach the same technique half a century on.


Mamma, Dadda, Mamma, Dadda......yes I do remember that ;D ;D  And it took me a hell of a long time before Mamma and Dadda merged into the same sound.

I was a very slow learner.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
Kind regards

[Mister Acrolite]

Great name for this post - it reminds me of Miss Koch, the old lady that taught our 5th grade band, and who gave me my first drum lessons.

She was a BIG proponent of the mama-daddy school - she had names for everything!

8th notes (in pairs): partners
16th notes (in groups of 4): Mississippi
triplets: Eskimo
6/8 shuffle (quarter followed by 8th): Day by day by....

She'd have us say this stuff out loud while we played, so I have some foggy memories of chanting some pretty weird stuff about Mississippi Eskimos and such!  ;D

[Carn]

quintuplet = u ni ver si ty

[Pops]

Double Drags-

go t'bed, go t'bed, TOM!

cheers, Pops.

[Paul DAngelo]

Nothing with respect to percussion in particular but I'll always remember:

Every  
Good
Boy
Does
Fine
-
FACE

Good
Boys
Do
Fine
Always
-
All
Cows
Eat
Grass

Wonderful how your mind stores incredibly useful information for your whole life  ???

[Tkitna]

Nothing with respect to percussion in particular but I'll always remember:

Every  
Good
Boy
Does
Fine
-
FACE

My music teacher in school taught this to all of her students also. My piano teacher at the time almost croaked when she asked me what a certain note was and I said those words to find it. She wanted you to KNOW the notes and not to memorize sayings. I saw no wrong in it. What do I know?

[felix]

We had a drum core workout...maybe you guys have heard this...that the snare drum line used to do.

One would play 16ths and then accent the little phrases which we yelled at the top of your lungs.  Made for some nice alternating, but the payoff was when people would be around and you could watch their face as we went through the drill.

It went like this (turn editor on)

"In your face"
"In your face"
"In your friggin' face"
"In your friggin' face"
"In your mutha friggin face"
"In your mutha friggin face"

then back to
"In your face"
"In your face"

Just thought I would share that one, kids you know?

[Paul DAngelo]

(turn editor on)

I was wondering if that was the edited for cafe version!

[Drumbo]

I feel deprived.
I do recall "every good boy deserves favors", but, my teachers avoided that "mama daddy" stuff. They made me count everything; 1e&ah, 2e&ah, etc. I counted 1e&ahs in my sleep.

Of course, I do recall that at the time I was being teased at school because I didn't use the Haskel W. Harr method like the other drummers - they told me that my Podemski method was by a dumb Polock and you can imagine what they said about my Goldenburg Modern School for Snare Drum book.  

Anyhow - I showed them. I went on to become a real drummer playing in bars while they all went on to become doctors and lawyers and stuff!

[alanwatkinsuk]

Yes you certainly did show them Drumbo....there's quite a lot of lawyers and doctors and others out there who would give a LOT to be sitting behind your drums.  When you want to sue or you need medics you go to them.......when they want something good to happen to their soul outside their understanding they come to YOU.

That's okay with me and probably with you also.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

[Joe]

That's very good advice that I am glad that I have learned, if only fairly recently.  

I was about 15 or 16 when I was at the lake with my father, beating away without intent on a Remo tunable practice pad.  All of a sudden, two men and a lady jogging by stopped over.  One of the men introduced himself to me as a drum teacher, and asked about my playing.  He then took the sticks that I offered to him, sat on the ground with the pad, and proceeded to blow me away with all kinds of virtuosic rudiments.  He taught me to sound out paradiddles and ratamacues phonetically, like "PAR-a-did-dle" and "It's-a-Rat-a-ma-CUE".  He then told me to ask him about anything that I wanted to learn, and I had many questions for him that he gladly answered.  I was in bad need of instruction back then, and he generously gave up his pace and showed me his insight on playing.  I'd like to thank him again, if I ever run into him.

[Paul L]

ah, the early memories.

ok, I have a story to tell ya.  my 7th grade band director, Mr. White, taught me to play drums.  He had a really bad temper, too!  We called him "chrome dome", cuz he was nearly bald... and when he got mad, the top of his head would become bright red... you knew then to look out!

anyway, chrome dome frequently lost his temper during band class.  this was back in the 60's when teachers used "corporal punishment" (spankings).

one day, while CD was on his podium directing, he became irritated at one of the guys in the drum section.  evidently this student was not playing his part correctly.  I knew there was going to be trouble when CD snapped his head towards the drum section, beamed his pirecing eyes at the offending sound, and began making motions with his baton.

when the student failed to immediately correct his mistake, CD absolutely lost it.  he threw his baton across the room, flew off his podium and into his office to fetch his paddle.  he kept a HUGE wooden paddle hanging on the wall for just such occassions.  seems like the da-m thing had holes in it, too.

as he came back to the drum section, we noticed his bright red head and the large paddle.  CD snatched the student by his collar and yanked him over in front of a music stand, bent the guy over, and told him if he can't read the music he'll help him.  so he played the notes at triple-F on his butt.   :o  with excellent wrist action.  i think there were a few 16th notes in there, too.

CD was my favorite teacher.  he taught me alot and I'll always remember him.  

[Hummada]

This one is eigth notes and triplets put togehter-

pass the goshdarn butter pass the goshdarn butter

well,we did use some major curse words during the season,which I will not write out on this forum ;D

[Paul DAngelo]

this was back in the 60's when teachers used "corporal punishment" (spankings)........

he kept a HUGE wooden paddle hanging on the wall for just such occassions.  seems like the da-m thing had holes in it, too.

Hmm, looks like you were in 7th grade about the same year I was.  Your 7th grade music director must have gone to the same school of discipline as my 7th grade shop teach and gym teacher (my experience was one of a participant in the punishment, not one of an observer)  ;D

[Paul L]

PD, yeah I think all the teachers back in the 60's & 70's were able to maintain dicipline in the classroom.... unlike today, with all the restrictions now.  I'd hate to be a teacher today cuz I'd probably end up in court!

Hey, we must be about the same age then... except I don't have a long grey beard   ;D  but do have a big belly cuz I luv to eat!  btw, I graduated HS in '71

[Ratamatatt]

Yes you certainly did show them Drumbo....there's quite a lot of lawyers and doctors and others out there who would give a LOT to be sitting behind your drums. . . .

That's for sure!!!