The Forgotten Foot lesson series part two

Here is the second foot pattern in The Forgotten Foot lesson series.  It is a three against four poly-rhythm foot pattern.  Feel free to ask questions.  Enjoy!

The Forgotten Foot on eBay

Just a quick post to say if you are interested in picking up a copy of The Forgotten Foot, get it on the Motor Rhythms eBay page for the lowest price around.

Drum kit of the Month!

Next time your at the local book store or music store pick up a copy of the newest issue of Modern Drummer, and flip to the last page. There you will see that Motor Rhythms is the Drum kit of the Month for January 2013, and the cover article is about Vinnie Coluita, so that alone is worth checking out.

I want to say a big thanks to all the guys at MD for the interest they have taken in Motor Rhythms, it has been very cool.

The Donating Drummer

I read about an awesome guy this week and wanted to pass his story along.  Mark Powers is a percussionist who has stepped out of the box and created an amazing idea called The Donating Drummer.  You can read all about it at his site, but the basic idea is that he donates his own income from a gig to help someone else create, solve, learn, build, teach, or anything else you can think of.
So click below and think up something to submit!

The Donating Drummer


You can find out more about Mark at his personal website.

Powers Percussion

The Forgotten Foot lesson series part one

This is the first of three posts which will feature short lessons from my drum book, The Forgotten Foot.  The book was published in 2011 by Hal Leonard Publishing.  The lessons will give a brief look at some of the material in the book.  All three parts of this series will cover a different foot pattern; a triplet foot pattern, a three against four foot pattern, and a Latin foot pattern.  The first lesson is the triplet foot pattern.  Enjoy.     

Clutch Diaphragms

Since I posted the MR video at the beginning of the year, I have had several questions about the four metal discs that are hanging on the right side of the set. I realized that I have not posted about them yet, so here it goes.

The flower like metal discs that are hanging on the right side of the MR drum set are pressure plate diaphragms.  When a clutch goes bad on a manual transmission car the clutch disc and the pressure plate need to be replaced.  I originally started saving pressure plates as possible hi-hats, but after disassembling one I found that the diaphragm had a very unique and cool sound. 




Front view of an intact pressure plate



Rear view

It takes some cutting and grinding to seperate the pressure plate.  Once it is apart there are three main peices.  The pressure plate housing, the disc, and the diaphragm.  The three parts are shown in the picture below.

The diaphragm or spring plate is the most melodic part of the three.  They have a very unique sound, and I have found many different pitches depending on the size of the diaphragms.  They are very sensitive to how they are suspended, and I have found a brass mallet produces the best tone quality.


Diaphragm



I have not found any use for the pressure plate housing (yet), so for now they go in the scrap metal bin.

Pressure plate housing

This piece of the pressure plate has surprised me the most.  The pressure plate disc sounds a lot like a muted anvil or metal plate.  Each of these pieces also have seperate pitches depending on the size and thickness of the metal.

Pressure plate disc

Here is a short video of different sounds from the parts of a clutch pressure plate. 

Build Your Own Octobans

It has been a little quite around the Motor Rhythms shop since the SoundWalk performance in September, but there is news about some magazine articles.

First off, in early October I had a photo session and interview with Hot Rod Magazine for a one page feature in an upcoming issue of the magazine.  It will be in the 'Hot Rod Anything' section, and it is due out early next year.

The Motor Rhythms drum set is also going to be featured as the "Drum Kit of the Month" early next year in Modern Drummer.

Currently, in the November 2012 issue of Modern Drummer I have an article on how to construct your own Octobans or tube toms using PVC pipes.  Here is the cover and the article from Modern Drummer.