Hey there, fellow, drummers…
I recently took the GoPro plunge to get some decent quality videos out into the world in furtherance of some rather ambitious drumming plans. One way to make such things happen is to declare them and then set reasonable and small steps along the way.
In 2012, I published my rhythm pattern theory books (The Elements of Rhythm, Vols. I & II), and I kinda thought they would take off on their own. The reality was, I was exhausted and drained from finishing them, and there was still yet another book to be completed (Tourette Syndrome and Music: Discovering Peace Through Rhythm and Tone).
When I finished all three, I figured the hard work was done. Well, one stage maybe, but the reality of getting your words and plans out there is an entirely different story.
I’m sharing this because today, we as drummers can take the reigns in our world an make a great deal happen. We don’t have to sit and wait and hope. We can steer the ship and head for the high seas. It’s taken quite some time to acquire the musical equipment I wanted and needed to be able to do that, and I did without a lot to make this happen. But what, you ask, is it that I want to do that’s rather ambitious?
Dominate the drumming world! Specifically, be known as the guy who coined the term “binary rhythm pattern theory” and who wrote the definitive texts on the subject.
Yep. That’s what I wanna do.
I want to lecture on my books and hold clinics both here in the US and overseas. To do this, I’ve spent the past few years making very good contacts in the UK, Japan, and India. I’ve also reached out to mainland Europe. Nothing in South America yet, but it’s certainly on the list.
Your readership for the past 5 years from all over the world has inspired me to go for it. My thanks cannot possibly be expressed enough, because WordPress displays this map of the world to let me see where people are reading from, which is kinda cool. Actually, it’s exciting and flattering, and I mean that sincerely.
I’m preparing to shoot a series of videos for my YouTube channel (DavidAldridgeDrums) that were designed to explain more about how The Elements of Rhythm work and what you can do with them. I’m going to include some basic videos on odd meter fundamentals, how to improvise within them, and how to play them in different musical styles.
But what I really, really, really wanna do is tour the world and visit drum shops where I can teach this stuff in person and meet you. If I can’t get endorsements to help offset costs, I’ll spring for it all myself. I have always wanted to share this information broadly and show you just how amazing the underlying structure of rhythm evolution is and what we can do with these patterns.
So there you go, world drumming domination plans revealed. You definitely do miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so I’m gonna take a very deep breath and aim long. As for the losing weight part? Well, that’s where the gym comes back into my life. Turning 56 kinda slowed the metabolism down a bit, but it can be picked back up with some effort. And that’s what this little blog post is really all about.
Wherever you live, whatever you are doing as a drummer… you can crank it up and go really big if you want to. All you have to do is say, “I’m gonna do this,” and keep repeating that message to yourself. I promise you, it works, and I guarantee you, I’m gonna pull this off. How do I know this?
Cuzzzzzzzzzz  no one else wrote the books that define the subject! But it needs more than just ink. It needs face time. And I hope to show you my face all over the planet in the next couple of years.
If you have your own plans for going big, crank them up and blast them out to the universe. You might be very, very surprised to see how far it takes you. I hope that doing this exceeds everything you could ever imagine, and maybe we’ll see each other along the way…
I certainly hope so!