Badassdrumming's blog

Now that we are seeing the holidays think of gifts that really give back.

I say to you, "Think of the gifts that give back." The gift of music. Get the young ones started into something that will expand their learning and give them more options to their futures. Music can offer more than just 'jammin'. It can help pay for college, offer a part-time or full-time income, can be understood by all and help with all social skills in both leasure and professional life styles.

Get the kids (and you older kids) into music and benefit from it's existance.

I have several links on http://badassdrumming.blogspot.com leading to some great deals from the biggest sellers in the business, Musician's Friend and Music123. Pick up the discount codes and enter them when prompted.

Merry Christmas to all.

From sub to member of the Frederick Symphony Orchestra

Well, it started with a call to sub in on a concert with the Frederick Symphony Orchestra this past weekend. I had 3 rehearsals before showtime. I now have been asked to be one of the principal percussionists now.

This adds to my schedule of performing with the Spires Brass Band and teaching at Music & Art Center in Frederick. In latter November I will be looking at joining the American Originals (Drum and Fife Corps) by invite. They do patriotic performances throughout the world, a lot for the President of the U.S.and members of government.

As you can see, my schedule has become quite busy. This is on top of running the educational website Badassdrumming.com for drums and percussion. Free membership.

Hope to see you at one of many shows to come.

Kenneth R Sword Jr

Kenneth Ray Sword Jr now teaches drums and percussion at Music & Arts

Kenneth 'Ray' Sword Jr has signed a contract with Music & Arts Center and now is Drum/Percussion Instructor at their Frederick, MD store. Sword already has gotten his first student in this town and has more spots available on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

The process to become a teacher for them is extensive. Credentials and background check all need to be validated before anyone can teach for them. This is a good thing for the students.

Sword's background covers over 30 yrs. in the music business, both performing and teaching. An alumni of UTEP, Sword was a music major with emphasis in music education. He studied under some of the best professors in the US.

Sword is currently a percussionist with the Spires Brass Band from Frederick, MD and drummer with the Blues Vultures, jamming out on classic rock from the day. Originals and covers are in their repetoire. Covers from bands like Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Beatles, CCR, Rolling Stones and many others.

For a drummer/percussionist to cover styles from rock to orchestral takes alot of work and study. But, Sword's students benefit from this well rounded amount of education. They will be able to use their talents and be able to earn decently from it if they pursue to do so.

If you are in the Frederick area look Kenneth up and say hi. Get to be one of his students and you become a student for life.

Sword will also teach privately in your home and prices will be based on travel time and time of lessons. Sword also does Masterclasses. Contact him for further details.

You can test your Marketing Knowledge easily

Some of you know me and some of you don't. I'm Kenneth R Sword Jr, the owner of Badassdrumming.com, an educational website in the art of drumming and percussion and we are now teamed up with other sources for higher learning.

One of the resources that is available has to do with Marketing. It's taught in colleges everywhere and is offered as a test by the College Level Examination Program, known as CLEP. Clep became available due to older enrollees of college having experience in certain fields that taking the class would have been a waste of the student's time and college tuition. So CLEP allows a person to test and get credit for the course if they pass.

How does this help you? Most people that start a business on the internet do not have the knowledge, experience and/or training to know how to market properly. This leads to alot of wasted time, resources, excess web traffic, wasted business cards and ads, flyers and whatever else used to market and less productive ways of earning money. Working smarter, not harder is the answer but, you need to know HOW to do it smarter.

There is an example exam for the CLEP Test on Marketing. It's free to try the test and see how you do. The questions in the test may lead you to other thoughts about marketing you never considered. Take the test here.

Badassdrumming.com has embedded in it's site an area for you to be able to take the example exam for free. If you do well with it you can enroll to take the actual exam and get the college credits if you pass the actual test. But, the only way to know for sure is to start with the example exam for free.

Badassdrumming.com is all about education and we are proud to bring more sources for your knowledge and growth, even outside the realm of music.

Badassdrumming.com is comprised of several endorsed drummers from different areas in the US bringing drum education to the masses. Jazz drummer Ricky Malichi, endorsed by SPAUN Drums, Art Avila and Frank Gonzalez, both endorsed educators by ProMark Drumsticks, Bill Powelson, owner of the HSID drum learning system on the web and Kenneth R Sword Jr, owner of Badassdrumming.com. We bring nearly 120 years of total drumming/teaching experience to the web for anyone that wants to learn drumming in virtually any percussion instrument available.

Badassdrumming.com Blog - Drumming via the internet

New Drumming Website based out of Frederick, MD

A new drumming educational site has made it's way onto the internet and it's based right here in Frederick, MD. The site, Badassdrumming.com is a free members site for drummers to see what's happening in the drumming world. The site offers tips, lessons, what's new and all from some of the best names in the business.

Ricky Malichi, a jazz drummer from El Paso,TX and is endorsed by SPAUN Drums, is one of the endorsed artists of the site. Two artists that are endorsed educators for ProMark Drumsticks, Art Avila and Frank Gonzalez, are also endorsed by Badassdrumming.com.

The site creator, Kenneth Ray Sword, Jr, is a percussion educator with Music & Arts in Frederick and majored in music education out in Texas. He is also a percussionist with the Spires Brass Band and drumming for the Blues Vultures at this time. Sword decided to take teaching to the next level. "The internet opens many more doors to those that are interested and with the right software new teaching methods can be developed." stated Sword.

Sword, at this time, has been looking into live video feeds to broadcast events across the internet. Similar to seeing a PPV Sports event, the same can be done with drum clinics and concerts. "We want to bring the artist to everyone that wants to be there but can't. So why not go to them via the web?" asked Ray.

Other things currently happening on the site is video clips from some of the best known drummers in the world. Training books written by Sword are available through the site. One in particular is The Big Book Of Scales for Mallets. One thing about this book is the number of scales it covers and the keyboard graphics. Book contains more than 340 pages, covers over 650 scales that are in all 12 keys of music. This book crosses between scales exercises and music theory the way it's designed. It is written easily for any beginner to understand yet detailed enough for any college music major.

Encore Mallets, Inc. has given their commitment to recognize and support this site as an educational drumming site. Ray Sword had written Dan Lidster of Encore Mallets and Dan offers his support. Encore Mallets has been in business now for 25 years making some of the best mallets for percussionists.

Ricky is in talks with Brian Spaun of Spaun Drums about Badassdrumming.com and Ricky sees good things to come very soon.

If you are interested in any of this feel free to join the site. It's Free.

Also come see Ray in Frederick when either the Spires Brass Band or Blues Vultures play. Spires will be at FCC soon and will be playing July 4th at Baker Park. Go to Bluesvultures.com to see where they play next.