Last month I went to “Fantasy Drum Camp” in Cleveland. A drummer’s dream. 14 hours a day of nothing but music and learning with the best guys in rock and jazz.
Chris Coleman, who’s played with Prince, Chaka Khan and New Kids on the Block, gave the most valuable piece of advice of all.
He says, “Let’s say there’s this really amazing song you want to play. You can spend 3 months practicing it, and at the end of 3 months you still sound lousy.”
He handed us a chart of very basic rhythms and patterns, where you mix and match them any way you want. He said, “Or you could spend the next 3 months playing every different combination of these very simple patterns. Then you can learn that hard song in 2 days and you’ll sound GREAT.”
CLICK. AHA. I GET IT! Master the simple stuff. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200, until you get this one sheet of paper right.
THEN you can travel ’round the Monopoly board as fast as you want, you can pass GO 100 times if you want and collect $200 as often as you want.
This is not complicated. It’s actually simple!
Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree complained that in the 21st century, musicians have too many inputs, too many things to listen to, too many YouTube videos, too many ideas, too many gurus. So they just bounce around from one thing to another and never get around to NAILING the fundamentals.
Does that, um, sound familiar???
This problem is precisely what Bobsled Run is designed to solve. Traffic+Conversion+Economics 101. Exclusive focus. Total mastery of the basics in 3 months. Which enables you to build profitable businesses AT WILL.
It’s why people take Bobsled 2, 3, 4 times and go on to create empires.
My advice to you:
Unsubscribe from 10 other email lists that bombard you with shiny metal objects and visions of sugar plums and bells and whistles and promises of easy riches. Pay the $100 app fee, sign up for Bobsled and get the IMPORTANT stuff under your belt for good.
http://www.bobsledrun.com
You’ll not regret it.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
7 Comments on “The less-traveled road to mastery”
Way to go, P Funk!
Perry, I love this. What fantastic insights from Chris Coleman. And this: “Exclusive focus. Total mastery of the basics in 3 months. Which enables you to build profitable businesses AT WILL.” Something to write on a post-it and keep near the computer. Thank you!
Perry,
I love you. The e-mails I get from you are always great. I haven’t bought much from you yet. But as soon as my business makes enough, I always come to your products to increase my education.
Appreciation is far too scarce in this world. So I’d like to let you know that I appreciate your work.
Much love mate,
Dante
Dante,
Thank you. Great to have you on board!
Thanks Perry, Such good business advice! And more:I am assembling a rather eclectic group of Christian singers and musicians for a one-time praise event and this email confronts the major issue we am having! I will share the “Perry sermon” at our next practice,“musically: less is better – camp between the notes!” * Fundamentals! Keep it coming, blessings, Travis
Perry,
This reminds me of an interview I once read with a martial arts master. The interviewer asked him what were some of the common things that students wanted to know. The master said that many students wanted him to show them some of his Advanced Techniques. His response was “There is no such thing as advanced techniques. There is only mastery of the fundamentals.”
That’s essentially the same lesson from the drum camp.
Glenn
Si Senor! Martial arts is NO different.