Waywood Music July 2008 Newsletter

Welcome to the July 2008 edition of the Waywood Music Newsletter.

You’ve probably been thinking that things have gone rather quiet at this end ... and you’d be right. There have been a number of exciting things developing that have kept me occupied for the past few months. But more of that later.

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learnt this year isn’t something new to me, but it always comes as a hard reminder, often still as a surprise.

The thing in question?

The need for discipline and single minded commitment to overcome what seems an insurmountable problem. Read on ...

I recently decided to introduce a bit of four limb independence into my percussion playing with the band: a bit of hi-hat here; perhaps some cowbell there; an underlay of shaker whilst tying everything together rhythmically on the cajon. Seemed like a good idea at the time and the rest of the band were enthusiastic too, so that was a good start. But would my limbs do what I wanted them to? No! So, I worked and worked on getting the four limbs separate and then putting them together again ... yet still they wouldn’t obey!

I’d hit what we often think of as the ‘brick wall’ of practice; the place where no matter what you do, or how often or how carefully, it simply does not get any better.

I really had to dig deep, recalling previous similar experiences and trying to draw on success on those occasions to spur me on. And did that help? Yes, but only a bit. I had to choose that I was going to sort out the tentacles that were allegedly my arms and legs and just keep going. Most of the time it was plain hard work; at other times it was dispiriting; and at others it was a slog. No matter how I looked at it, there was little enjoyment, little reward but a great deal of determination. Last week, 2 months after starting this labour of love, I suddenly found in a live gig that everything suddenly came together. Next gig ... it was gone again.

I’m not trying to be depressing, just reminding myself that there are few things that come instantly, without effort. And if they do, we just don’t appreciate them. I get frustrated when I go to drum clinics (which isn’t that often) to be confronted by a night of awesome talent and unfathomable rhythms ... and no reality. Yeah! I know many of these guys are iconic in our eyes, but so few say, “I’d just like to play one of my trademark beats, and by the way, it took me 15 years to perfect.”

So, we shouldn’t be discouraged if things take longer we would like them to. And whilst we’re wrestling with these technical difficulties we should never lose sight that our role is to play the song, not just the beat. That may need us to play nothing more than one and three on the bass drum, and two and four on the snare.

And now to one of the exciting developments ... as part of my business I am now able to supply percussion instruments at well under their RRP. This may not seem like much, but those of you who know me will have caught a bit of my passion for sounds and most things rhythmic. Sure, I don’t know all the technicalities of playing pandiero or surdo or Djembe, but I love using these instruments to bring songs to life and add new textures. So when I got the opportunity to sell genuine Brasilian products by GOPE, Contemporânea, Bauer and RMV, African instruments by Kambala and Bucara, Middle Eastern and other world percussion, I took hold of the opportunity with both hands. I will also be making the instruments available for sale at the end of my creative percussion workshops and also at the end of live gigs (where the audience will have had opportunity to hear many of them played in our songs). I also run a service supplying percussion instruments to schools.

So if you’re interested, want to find out more or just have a chat, why not drop me a line at stuart@waywood.com.

The Waywood Music site is being continually updated so some pictures will be appearing there soon.

Finally, I would love to see your ideas and comments on the new Waywood Music Blog page, a page where what you write can make a real difference to someone else.

Take Care

Stuart

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