"Bill Powelson's Biography Page"

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Bill's Bio:

Bill Powelson hails from the deep south Texas border town of McAllen Texas. He has made his living behind a set of drums since the mid-1950s, playing and teaching every conceivable style of popular music.

His list of credits include many big name artists and thousands of great unknowns. Having played in more than one thousand different bands, his career has spanned nearly five decades of changing musical styles, from Swing, Dixieland Jazz, Pop, Rock, Top 40, Country and Jazz.

Bill now lives in the Daytona Beach Florida area, where he continues to teach drums by day and play drums by night.

This web site has been online since 1994 and the mailing address has been the same for 7 years. This is definitely NOT a fly-by-night operation. It is Bill's dream and retirement recreation. He truly loves everything about it and he's here to stay!

He began TEACHING the tricks of the drumming trade at the 'Musical Arts Conservatory' of Amarillo,Texas in 1964 and later opened his own drum-shop/studio in San Antonio, Texas, where he resided for seven years between 1966 and 1973. Over the years he has traveled extensively, playing and teaching mostly in the US. He has also enjoyed many limited engagements overseas as well.

Bill has always had a tendency to ignite the candle at both ends, loving his dual-careers of playing drums by night and teaching drums by day. It is that special DUALITY, that makes him such a unique and profoundly DIFFERENT KIND OF DRUM TEACHER.
EVERYTHING he teaches in the lessons of the course will also have its place onstage, behind the drum set . . . and in front of an audience.

Way back in 1967, Bill decided to develop THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND HOMESTUDY DRUMMING COURSE you are currently viewing online. Over the years , it has taken many forms.
It was once a book and audio tape, then it went on computer disks (for the Commodore 64s of the mid 1980s.) Later, he even tried doing all this, using 900 phone numbers, (Very bad idea/ it didn't work.)

Then the Internet came along in the 1990s . . . and the path has been clear cut ever since. He says the course will NEVER be finished . . . but his students are convinced it is already the BEST, LEAST CONFUSING, MOST PRACTICAL and MOST DIRECT method of teaching drums IN THE WORLD TODAY.

Just the same, Bill is never satisfied. There's rarely a day that goes by without at least a small improvement being made somewhere in the online lessons. That's the true beauty of the Internet.

He says, "Simplicity is a lifelong project! It's too easy to get complex and lose everyone. The trick is to constantly strive towards improved clarity and simplicity". The Internet is totally perfect in that way.

After teaching more than 1,700 different living-breathing-students, in the real World, the proof is in the pudding. All the complexities of musical rhythm fall into place and make total sense in this easy-to-comprehend course. Sound files and direct e-mail correspondence are used anytime they become necessary. Bill will personally reply to any and every question a paid student may ask. Yes! He is passionate about all this and he loves the e-mail. You should take a moment to see what his students have to say!

That's why all enrollment memberships are PERMANENT and all UPDATES to the course will always be FREE to paid students. The price may go up for NEW enrollments . . . but it'll always be a one-time-charge. Enrolling now . . . will mean more value, over the long haul.

Many marketing gurus have advised that this course should be selling at $200 or more. It may be worth more than that! The price is still only $49 at the current time. Don't wait too long to enroll!

Mr. Powelson prefers teaching methods that cut through the confusion in a practical but thorough way. He contends that the students SHOULD discover the joys of playing along with recorded music early-on, as ALL 'NATURAL DRUMMERS' DO. This makes the complexities of theory and technique development much easier. Technique and theory are easy and fun if we understand how to apply those complex concepts to the music we truly love.

He says, "The secret to learning, is hidden in the 'FUN' factor, and the 'FUN' is in learning to play YOUR music, (the music YOU most admire and enjoy.) The real trick to learning is in the very CDs and tapes you buy and listen to, daily".

He has come to believe that it's the 'Air-drumming' MUSIC LOVERS who tend to possess the most talent and potential. These are REALLY the people Bill is most interested in reaching, then teaching. He also is VERY good at helping old-timers. (The self-taught pro-drummers who want to improve their knowledge and skills.) He has a way of filling in the gaps that's unparalleled.

Then again, it's the 10 to 30 year-old beginners he's had the most experience with. He's very good with all age groups . . . he knows what they like, and what they want and need to learn. Bill can take virtually ANY drummer to new heights. The 'Permutation' and 'Time Signature' studies in this course are awesome, beyond words and unavailable anywhere else. Just those 'Ultra Advanced' lessons alone are worth the price of the entire course.

MAYBE YOU'VE ALREADY MET BILL!

The following list of US cities have been home to Bill at one time or another. He loves to receive E-mail from everyone, especially his old friends and students.