June/July 2003

Good Jammin' News

SKATING TO THE BEAT Last month, a reader submitted a question regarding skate music and beats.  Bill's answer to that question, along with his response to RST's follow up questions is the subject of this month's column.   Q.  I have been skating for about twelve years and enjoy the sport a great deal.  I have always learned to skate to the music and find it very difficult to learn new techniques without music. Is there more than one correct beat to skate to? A.  Yes, there is more than one way to skate to different music...but when you get into that phase of it, you have to be dedicated because DJs may play a record that suits you once a month, and that's being real critical but I want to be critical because that's what happens. There are many different rhythms and approaches to rhythm.  Like the slogan on the back of my T-shirts, sp+bt=std or Space+the Beat=the Stride.  That lets you know that there must be different strides for different beats and you have to be aware enough to make the stride match the beat. That takes practice.  In The Technique, as per the beat, the stride is a certain length. The way I teach, you look for the space and you put a move in there, you make it fit.  You may not get that chance all night or you may get it a lot in one night, it depends on how good you can hunt, how good you can make it happen and how well you can skate in the first place. RST  In previous conversations, you talked about syncopation.  Can you address that? BB  - Syncopated rhythm, everybody is not going to get that. First of all, it requires very serious and quick movement of your feet and long spans of time. What is the average jam (which is not really played that long) in a rink?  Three minutes.   That’s a long time, most people can't keep that speed up for two minutes, one and a half minutes, let alone three.  You have to be serious when it comes to that kind of thing....you have to be able and physically fit to skate at that peak.  That’s why I say you have to be able to skate the breaks.  If you're able to skate the breaks that means your body can relax in between. RST  - The breaks being...? BB  - The way the music is written, the breaks are created within the way the music is composed. RST - You can find that in any type of music, rap, jazz, etc.? BB   - Yes.   I  found there was certain music I could play for [one of my students] and he was just too serious, then I could turn right around and play something else and he'd be lost, he couldn't find the beat if it was wrapped around his neck. You have to understand music at that point, what we're talking about now, the syncopation.  You have to be able to understand what's going on and once you can do that, then you are good to go. RST - So you have to know a little about music composition? BB   - Exactly. Most people don't even think about that, they come to the rink,  pay their admission and they leave not even knowing why they went skating.  All they know is that they went skating but they don't know the reason.  That’s what I want to get across to people, I want them to know the reason that they went.  You can always go, but you don't always have a reason. When I go skating, I have a reason.  I'm working on stuff, I'm acquiring information.  Sometimes I might add 2-3 things to my repertoire, I might add one, but I'm going to come out of there with something - I'm not coming out empty handed.  That’s the only difference between me and anybody else.  Everybody can acquire it, there's no secret, there's no magic, no hokey-pokey going on, it's just work and study, like anything else.  I just happen to be skating, but it's no different from anything else one wants to learn in life.  If you want to be better than everybody else, you've got to hustle and get on it. ...Let [the reader] know that she can accomplish the mission if she uses that attitude.  She's got to separate herself from everybody else and really study music, hear the beat and find a comfortable place for her to function because a lot of people hear the beat different.  Some people deal with the down beat, some with the up beat, I deal with both.  Everybody hears both, but they don't deal with both.... Back to Top

JAMMIN The Book The following is an excerpt from Bill's book, Jammin, Bill Butler's Complete Guide to Roller Disco, (published 1979) DISCO AND KEEPING THE BEAT Some people start out with more talent than others.  But everybody can learn to respond to music with their minds and bodies.  It's easy to get into music, letting it inspire your every move.  Forget about what you look like; don't watch other people watching you.  The only thing that counts is how you feel.  You cannot imagine the magic when you're out there on wheels, answering sound with action.  It's like you're not really you. The secret to keeping the beat is skating the breaks.  A break is when the music changes speed, rhythm, direction, mood.  All music changes, but the music which is best for jamming changes most dramatically, creating more of a challenge for your imagination.  I like jamming to the music of Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder because it's so intricate and involving.  The sound has a lot of meaning in itself, apart from the lyrics.  You can skate what the artist feels.  He talks to you; you respond, especially when you learn the song and know when each break is coming. On nights when the action never stops, when nobody wants to leave the floor for a minute, you know the [DJ] is doing his job, playing only the most hypnotic cuts, mixing them to create breaks, so that the music projects power, then calmness, going from sharp to mellow.  On nights like this, the DJ has the whole rink in his grip.  And the people out there want to be driven by him.  They're ready for that charge, they're expecting it.  The abrupt changes, the breaks, are what builds up the adrenaline, compelling people to skate hard. The only difference between dancing music and jamming music is the degree and depth of the breaks.  Somehow, jamming requires more high-voltage sounds.  A song could be level, the same beat and pretty much the same mood straight through, and I'd still dance to it but I wouldn't jam to it.  The only difference between a roller DJ and a regular one, therefore, is that the roller DJ has to know a skating cut from all the other cuts.  To do this, he has to be a skater. Sometimes, only parts of songs, certain breaks, are skateable.  So I wait for those breaks.  When the music doesn't tell me anything, I just drift along or practice.