I Hope this is something NEW

[serpico3]

Hello all Felllow Drummers , Hey I was doing the Drum site web search thing and I found this , Click on using Netscape.com search engine and type in Moeller Technique for drums Wow I got several Cool Drum sites one exclusively on Jim Chapin, Then theres Mark Wessal and I find and Amazing young Drummer who was a Champion Snare Drum Champion in 1995 and you can download several of his videos , Man this guy Burns, What great chops and technique for snare drum rudiments and free style he is simply amazing, Even though it's to do with playing a Marching snare drum , hey technique is technique and it still applies to Drum set playing using smooth, controlled playing anyway you can see what I Mean check it out ok> Also in looking into Moeller his First mame is Sanford , I mistakenly called him Standislaw but in my search I found that name plus Jim, Gus,Norman but for real it's Sanford another didy for your knowledge I found out that this Guy sanford not only was the Pit drummer for Radio Music Hall for Years but the way he came to discover this Moeller technique was a a young man he went and talked to several War Veterans of the Cival War So Wow he had to be young this goes back some Decades ok Anyway they told him the reason for the way they played was because the Heads back then were much to be desired and on any given day such as Rain or humidity the heads would go slack plus arrdious Hours of Playing to save energy they develop this technique of one stroke becomming many and the whip of your wrists provides the strike neede to accomplish this anyway as Jim Chapin puts they were a Great bunch of Bashers who could kick ass in playing . So Check this out I found it not only fasinating but in some way made me proud our profession has this heritage.... Sincerely serpico3

[djarrett]

Hey, Serpico3:

You are so correct. We as drummers MUST remember our heritage. Drumming throughout history has meant and represented many things.

Drums were used for communications. Many of the rudimental solos that we that grew up playing rudiments remember ... like Three Camps, etc. were actually military drumming communication cadences. That's right, the drums were used to signal things like advance ... or retreat! The drummer was as important as the flag bearer!

 

Many drummers today would never know or realize that until the late 1950's heads were still being made with animal skin and were vunerable to humidity. If is was mid-summer and a relative humidity of 85%, you were playing mush for heads!

 

We must remember, that much in the same way family traditions are past down through the generations, ... to pass down the heritage of drumming! It is and will be important. We are entering into a time period when most of the "real greats" (not to say that there are not greats being birthed everyday, but these guys were around at the advent of a communications boom. They ARE and always will be the legends. There are not many drummers today that are household names like Krupa, Rich and Bellson!!) are dying off.

 

When you become a drummer, make it a point to learn all you can about all aspects of your instrument of passion!

 

DJ

[serpico3]

Dear DJ, Wow your right on the money let bus not forget these Great Pioneers of Drumming whether they were players, innovators, clincians, Studio, Broadway, Man we can in almost every important historical event that happened or took place there was Drums and Drummers involved, From the Parthanon, to to probably Stone Hedge someone was beating a drum , either for to call a gathering, warn of approaching enemy, messages to be carried over the land for miles instead of having a runner, Anyway you get the picture So Much and I constantly am searching for historical events, times about drums , I mean I even played on Calf skinned heads I used them on my 1943 set of Leedys and 0n a 51 Gretsch Kit and yea when things were right and on! Boy they were the best in sound and techure , Soft yet suttle , firm but yeilding they were a rareity for sure ,But man what a pain to keep tuned and care for . I remember once playing in a Fairground late summer in August I must of been 13 or 14 playing for a Dance Band that played popular tunes to Polkas anyway It was Hot and Humid I had to get buckets of Ice to Place around my drums with a Fan Blowing on them to Cool down my Drums plus rub Ice over the heads then Dry them quickly with a towel then jump on my set and wail. Now I know your thinging they had weather Kings then , yes your right but they were just out and the waiting list for them was incrediable, also remember hoops back then also were different and bearing edges and the seat of the head . sometimes we used a paraffin wax to run along the bearing edges before adding your heads to it also around the rim wood or steel . You know it sort of makes me laugh when I see Companies as Ayotte now others copying Wood rims and hoops , because actually thats all there was once and it later became apparent that Steel Rims and hoops were far superior in strength, Sound, endurace , looks, plus they seated the heads much. much better I know I lived through it back then, So know these companies are ressurecting an phoenix of old and Promotting it as more better it this and that , Wow if you youngsters only knew. Plus the old Heads back then were made to accept Wood hoops and rims they complimented each other and to explain it would take a life time you had to be there is all I can say, When REMO introduced weather Kings back then there first was alot of scepitizums about them , Pros and cons and I wish I could remember some of them actually there pretty funny in todays standards but anyway thats were steel hoops came in they were much more aptable in tunning and holding that tunning for much much longer than were the wood hoops were. Again they were affected by the weather , climate and such . tunning your heads back then combine with the wood hoops one could only hope for one good gig that night buy half way through your gig you heads were startin to flop and sag and at the end of the night well lets say that was a great way to start your Moeller Technique your heads were flat. Were as when weather kings , Permatone heads arrived and steel rims and Hoops , it was like a miracle happen for us drummers I never forget the astonishment I felt the first time I incorporated them both and it was a Hot night , the place was packed inside with no Air Conditioning then so inside the humidity rose to 100% and heat Man it was Hot but at the end of the gig which included a Drum solo of song " Big Noise from Winnitikka" or Sing Sing Sing they actually sounded just as sharp and snappy as in the beginning and my heads were tight . not floppy, saggy, nor was the heads wet as were the Calf skin heads always were after a gig , I took my drums home set them up and played till dawn and never had to turn a drum key once . Man to me that was a Miracle .Plus one other thing no one ever mentions but Man was it important , Calf skin heads wet Stunck to high heaven an undoubtidly being a Drummer constantly tunening and retunening that head during your gig will lets say you were not to popular getting chicks back or in the ride back if you shared a ride with the other members of the band . So in more ways then one these weather king Heads were a Blessing when I see and read about these so called new Wood Hoop Drums and even seen Rope tensionning Drums sets I can't believe my eyes to think weve' gotten so bored with what works , remember the old saying don't fix something that don't need fixing well thats how I see this , these drum makers thinking they inspire something as a gimmick to make a buck or are they really for real thinking theirs is a better way, I have a problem with , Man if they did there home work they will see that out dated method or drum hoops are gone for a reason, I also laugh at these companies making Vintage Drums , making replicas sets over, Though cool in concept back then you didn't buy a Vintage set you wanted to buy a set thats was looking sparking new and sounding , Thats were Drums took off on accordian makers using Pearls, and laminates as Blue Sparkle and so on . I'm a Gretsch Man totally but even when they came out with there Broadcaster series using gun metal on there hoops and lugs to make them more vintage along with there dry satin stain , well for the first time I thought they lost it I stuck with them through the Balwin era and many other dry times but this was the pits , I suspect someone screwed up the plating processing , during there chromming phase and it came out all messed up so in seeng there Era in thousands of Already made Hardware , what do you do scrap it or salvage it some how , And some genius over at Gretsch figure out to Gun Plate it or pewter plate it giving it a Vintage look then put out a Marketing PR to promote this as a New series of vintage looking Gretsch. But back then could you invision drummers back then buying this type of Drums , Hell no they wanted Drums , Shinny, Sparkling, Crushed glass Green , Blue, red, Chrome that shines thats what would sell . Just look back to the war days when Metal was hard to come buy , Drum Manufacturers made lugs , Rims, hoops, almost every thing of wood because there was a rashinning of metal for the war movement, I'm surprise I haven't seen that yet wooden made lugs although I guess you could impose Peaveys Radial Bridge design as such or Whittneys Penquinn set , anyway , you see were I'm comming from. So even the innovator Ivan Arbitor using his one screw hoop to tune drums has already been here before failed or was superimposed with something much better that with stands time and endures the fanticy or these inspired illusionist to endure once more another millionium and return to what works best , longest ,and has been vilified over and over . just to stay the same.....Sincerely serpico3