Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from theDrumDictionary!! Hope everyone had a wonderful year and an even better 2011. We're really excited here about what a year it's been for theDrumDictionary. After being released just before Christmas over a year ago, the app sold pretty steady for a few months. In February, it was a huge honor to be featured by Apple on the New and Noteworthy section of the US app store! It was an amazing chance to get the app into the hands of so many more drummers, and I was excited to continue working on updates. Unfortunately, it was a LONG time between February and when the. Next update actually came out. On top of trying to rethink and reprogram the interface to allow for many more beats, there was a whole slew of new things to plan for: first, came the announcement of the iPad, and I wanted to make theDrumDictionary universal. Then came the new iPhone 4 and the need to redo all the graphics for high resolution displays. On top of that came the iOS 4 announcement and release and the need to prepare the app for the new operating system. Needless to say, it was a big mistake to try to accommodate for all these different features in one update! Sorry to keep everybody waiting so long, but I'm really pleased with how version 2.0 turned out. Hope everyone loves the new features, and there should be plenty of new updates as we come out of the holidays. I also need to say a big welcome to so many new users in the UK, Canada and Ireland! We were so excited to see theDrumDictionary features on those app stores over Christmas! Thanks for all the great reviews and the feedback as well. Keep on drumming in 2011, and keep on eye out for some new beats and features.

Reviews

Just want to say "thank you" to all those who have been giving the Drum Dictionary great review on iTunes! It means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to those browsing for apps to see those 4.5 stars!! If you like the app, I'd be grateful for a review, and if you don't like it, let me know what would make it better. Email to support@theDrumDictionary.com
And once again, thanks for all the great support!

Future Updates

As I worked to put out this update to theDrumDictionary, I realized that I was running into some problems, the biggest of which is that there's simply too many beats out there!! Version 1.0 of this app was just focused on the very basics, providing the standard rudiments and enough drum beats in different styles to get a solid foundation. The problems come when deciding what to add next...how do I do justice to a genre like Funk or R&B when there's not necessarily any one basic beat that serves as a starting place for the whole genre? How do I choose from the literally thousands of options when it comes to any of the styles (and what to call them!? "Eighth-Note Rock #77, Eighth-Note Rock #78, etc.)? These are the kinds of questions I started asking myself as I chose the beats to add to the latest version.

Have no fear, theDrumDictionary users, I am not going to stop the updates! I plan on many, many more updates to come, with some new features as well as added beats and rudiments. I just need to put some thought and work into the interface and organization side of these, to be able to present so many different options in a way that makes sense and is still easy to use. If you've got suggestions/comments/requests, feel free to sound off in the comments or shoot an email to support@theDrumDictionary.com . Looking forward to hearing from you and to hearing how theDrumDictionary is helping you in your drum practice. Keep on learning and most importantly, keep on making music!

Version 1.1 is out!

The first update to theDrumDictionary is now out on iTunes! Here's a list of what's been added:

Entries:
     Slow Blues 2 - new variation with a different Ride pattern
     Train Beat added to Country Beats
     One each of Funk and R&B Grooves
     Uptempo Jazz - basically same rhythm, but the much faster speed makes the ride pattern "flatten out" a bit
     Cha-cha added to world beats
     4 traditional Clave patterns added: 3-2 Son and Rumba, 2-3 Son and Rumba (not full drum set beats, but important patterns to know)

Interface:
     Added a quick splash screen (don't worry, it's not really delaying the startup!) with some info.
     Info screen accessible from the detail view - shows a key/legend to the drum notation as well as contact info for support
     Slight tweaks to the overall look of the app.

Other:
     Disabled screen dim/lock while an entry is being viewed. If you've got your iPhone/iPod on a music stand while you're playing, I didn't want you to have to worry about the screen going dim. If this is causing problems and draining the battery too much, let me know at support@thedrumdictionary.com and I'll see about making that an optional setting.
     Fixed a few other minor bugs and audio issues.

That's it for this update! I plan on keeping the updates coming, so be on the lookout. Thanks for the great reviews, and don't forget to tell your drummer friends about theDrumDictionary!