I’ve just been practicing Chapter 4, the first figures and tracks of The Everything Drums Book. Man, it is difficult. So far I’ve mastered quarter notes, quarter rests and eight notes. That’s about it. I tried to do the combination on figure 4-21 and it was a bit complicated. I wish I could feel like Animal, in the Muppet Show

He wasn’t that good a drummer in the first place. Well, I’m not as good as him! Imagine that.
Anyway, James says practice makes perfect, so for this week I’ll keep practicing my quarter notes, with my counting, my rests and the eighth notes.

A few weeks ago I was at Joyce’s house and everyone was playing Rock Band. Everyone was waiting to play the drums when I came to a realization: I have a set of electronic drums in my house, I should just learn to play them (OK, they’re James’s, they’re still there, though).
So I looked online for tutorials on how to play the drums. The results weren’t very good, all I could find were teachers or instructors advertising their services. There had to be another way to do it.
Of course, I thought, why not do it the old fashion way? Buy a book!
So I went to Indigo in Manulife Centre to look for a book about learning to play the drums. I found The Everything Drums Book, by Eric Starr. There were also some “For Dummies” and “Complete Idiot’s” books, which seemed fine but were more expensive.
I started reading the book, and in the first chapters it explains what drums are, what you need, how to buy them, etc. OK, I don’t need to pay much attention to that, since I already have a set.
Now I started with counting and tempo. I am excited to say I am doing fine but this is the absolute absolute beginning. My castanet classes helped, since it is a percussion instrument and I, at least, know how to count. I am starting with combinations now.
I’ll keep reporting.

Last night I dreamt of a big, bright red scorpion. The scorpion had an extra long tail, and it was scurrying around. I don’t remember where we were, and my sister was there, and someone else that I can’t remember. I saw the scorpion in a second bedroom when I was about to pack some stuff, I had to pack so I went to the second bedroom. I saw the scorpion and shouted at my sister, then I ran to the first bedroom, where she was, and the scorpion did too, except he then went inside a hole in the floor, and didn’t come back, so we couldn’t kill him. I screamed.
What could it have meant? ideas?