Was there shock?
Was there pushback?
Was it difficult to learn?

No, no, and no

Sounded awesome too. We were playing a straight 8th piece, I threw in a drum beat inspired by Drake. Now I'm pumped. What a breath of fresh air.

David

Goal setting is a great first step. Congruency is another.

Goals have to take into account your present reality. Reality cannot be ignored. Consider the following.

1. The current state of your health.
   
2. The current state of your relationships.
3. The current state of your of finances.
   
4. The current state of your of knowledge.
   
5. The current state of your of your social networks.
   
6. The current state of your schedule. 
   
7. The current state of your immediate society. 
   

Sometimes some preparation is the first step on goal achievement.  

best, 

David

A new blog: http://jazzdrumtranscriptions.blogspot.com/​

This blog hosts transcriptions, charts, and drumbeats that I'm learning. It is part of an autoethnographic experiment in learning: learning by ear verses learning from instruction books. The notation is a record of this process. I still work from Syncopation and Stick control. I still take lessons. But I'm working a lot less from "how to drum books".

My thesis is this: that which we struggle by ear to learn will "stick better" and be easier to recall in performance because it engages our auditory, kinetical, and visual senses differently. From ear to hands, not eyes to hands is a different cognitive path. The finer points of musical interpretation cannot be notated. How would you notate quarter notes as played by Tony Williams or Terry Clarke and capture all the nuances of execution? You can’t. I will spend the next year on this project and see what happens.

Best regards,

David​

I've reached the age where my cohort is retiring. Or, has been retired for awhile. There is tension. 

Retirees top topics of conversation:

1. grandchildren
2. endless personal medical updates
3. food
4. booze
5. holidays
6. listening and discussing music from 70 years ago (Miles) , or 50 (Beatles, Stones)
7. endless stories of "back when I was great" and it's variant, "the world is going to hell".
8. complaining about "young people"  (young people are now 50 and under)

Attitude to time: Accountable to few. Laidback with occasional flashes of anxiety. La de la...

Musicians who are still in the game topics of conversation:

1. who we are playing with
2. what we are creating
3. where we are playing
4. who is doing what, where
5. who we want to play with
6. what we are practicing and studying
7. new music we are exploring
8. how we stay in shape
9. new gear
10. endless stories of "back when I was great"  peppered with exciting discussions of projects left to do

Attitude to time: Accountable, pressured. Excited, fully alive with occasional flashes of anxiety. 

More on this later. 

Best, 

​David Story

1. Drummers resource: world class drummers spill the beans weekly. I've listened to nearly 500 shows. Go Nick!
2. Tim Ferris show: I have to carefully check the guests before listening. He some really crazy guests I avoid, but he has more than his share of winners. 
3. Jocko: always a lift when I need it.
4. Tom Ferry real estate podcast: he reminds me it's all about service, organization, and follow through. 

Best regards, 

1.  Get some sleep, stay sober, exercise, eat properly, go dancing with your spouse.

Some additional strategies I employ.

1.  I hang around positive successful people. This goes a long way.
2. I practice new things on my instruments. I haven't gotten stuck in some past decade.
3. I seek out new musical experiences.
4. I've learned a new instrument or two in my maturity. This made it all new again for me. My current passion is the bass Uke.  
5. I play with a wide range of age demographics. Jamming with 20 somethings to 80 somethings. This keeps me focused and humble. 
6. I monitor my mental inputs. I'll admit in the age of the internet this takes some real work. I do listen to positive podcasts regularly to be around winners and their energy as a drive around doing my business. 

best regards, 

David Story

“Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” ― Robert Herrick

Another truism reaffirmed in New Orleans last week. Live your life now. You may be dead, sick, or disabled tomorrow. 

As aging musicians with slowly deteriorating bodies, there is no time to lose to make the most of it. If there is someone you want to play with in your circle, call them. If there is a style of music you want to explore, start. If there is someone you want to study with, contact them. If there are unrecorded tracks in your head, track them. 







As always a few good habits will add life to your years. 

1. stay sober
2. eat well
3. sleep soundly
4. exercise regularly 
5. hang with your friends
6. go dancing with your wife/husband
7. practice daily
8. jam weekly
9. stay out of debt
10. avoid stupid moves

best regards, 
​
​David Story

I home from New Orleans and the New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp, I was drumming. What a great experience. I return with new insights on teaching jazz and maintaining a happy heart. 

• the key to becoming a musical stylist is imitation and playing with your superiors
• jazz fans who play are a force to behold: devoted, passionate, intense, friendly
• I had one major break through this week on the drums: keep is simple, keep it steady, don't dominate the stage and presto people respond in a very positive way. Learning this was worth the $3500 or so I paid to attend. More on this soon. 

The bad: New Orleans is a study in contrast, wealth/poverty, happiness/despair and the smell of stale beer, urine and vomit. 

The ugly: too much eating, drinking, and other nasty habits that lower life satisfaction and joy at every turn. I asked an instructor how he stays healthy to keep playing. He laughed bitterly, "don't do what I've done".  A large percentage of my fellow campers are overweight, some morbidly so. Too many have an unfortunate relationship with alcohol and food, and an aversion to the gym. I mean they really drink a lot. Bloody Mary's for breakfast! Six beers before the jam! And, most of them are seniors. 

What do I take away from this? A renewed determination to stay healthy through conscious living. And recount my blessings: my loving wife, sober friends, good health, stable self-employment, food on the table.

best, 

David

I'm back from the physiotherapist. I'll live, I've enflamed my rotary cuff. Duh, there is no fool like an old fool. Doubly embarrassing. Thank goodness I stopped before any permanent damage. What did it? Conditioning workouts at the boxing gym. What was I thinking. Apparently I wasn't thinking. 

So, to quote the Bible, "to everything there is a season". That season has passed. 

Cheers, 

David

Update: July 4 I've recovered. A week of playing in New Orleans didn't do me in. Stretching works.