Percussion Tech Notebook
Percussion Tech Notebook
Sticking Use alternate sticking Alternate between left and right hands EX:
Flam Like a grace note in percussion Closed Flam (tight flam) marching band Open Flam (farther apart) concert band Flat Flam (not good) both sticks strike at the same time Tiny grace note with a strong accent (good!) Both flams start to match timing or height (bad!) EX:
Grips Stevens Grip -Sticks and independent -Marimba players -2/3 Burtons Grip -crossed -Jazz vibraphonist -2/4 -Sturdier, mallet dampening -Fluidity/internal changes
Timpani----plural Timpani Biggest drum is 1 Smallest is 4 or 5 Generally 4 or 5 timpani set up American Style- Largest drum on the left German Style- Largest Drum on the right The pitch of each drum goes up a 5th
Drum 1 DA Drum 2 FC Drum 3 BbF Drum 4 DA *Store timpani with pedal in the middle or all the way up, to keep things in place. Gauge- helps to know where the pitch is Tuning-tuning fork, pitch pipe Always tune up if possible Sticks There are a lot of timpani sticks Ball stick Cartwheel stick Specialty malletswooden stick, roller etc. General mallet Articulate mallets(staccato): smaller version of ball and cartwheel Soft Mallet-larger version of ball and cartwheel
Grips German-similar to snare drum grip, palm down, fingers on stick French-thumbs is up, fingers off the stick American- thumbs up, fingers on the stick *Sticks start and end up Where to strike the timpani Strike the timpani 1/3 from the edge *Change the head once a year with active use, every 3-5 years with sporadic use. Sticking Do natural sticking unless moving doesnt facilitate it Avoid cross sticking Choose a sticking, write it down and do it the same way every time. Rolls Play even 16th notes
Diddle=double EX:
Marimba
Xylophone
Composition tips Marimba-double stops sound good, should be rolled for sustain Vibraphone-double stops are good Glockenspiel/bells- Good accents. Metal instruments sound good with metal instruments Wood instruments sound good with wood instruments Check pattern-when you take out the rolls or the diddles
Cleaning a Snare Drum Lugs, lugnuts Rim, hoop Know how to clean and prep a lug casing Lugs should be finger tight, have equal tension on the head Hoop pulls the head over the shell stretching the plastic and pushes against the hoop and the glue.
Crash Cymbals Grab strap like a drum stick Off alignment, dont bring them together, hold one still. A choke is not a hi hat Care and Maintenance-metal on metal is bad.
How to Write Better Pieces Find a bass line Low marimba Chords o Xylophone o Vibraphone o Marimba o Bells Melody o Bells o Xylophone o Marimba o Vibraphone Snare rollsBe Careful! Cross voicingUse if necessary Rhythm Tempo and Style Malletsbetween 4ths, 5ths and 6ths Non-melodic notation o Just make an x Dont repeat a lot of notes. Make them slower if you have to Stems Tutti rhythms, good. Dont use ties on boom, boom instruments Good writing is one or two constants, then add your accents Paradiddle diddle More fun to play EX:
Marching Snare Free floating concept o Head rests on metal hoop The shells are off limits on Tenor Drums
Kevlar Drum head o Has a lot of tension Play the center of the drum Play towards the edge Do a roll zoning it out Ping shots *Teach match grip *Traditional grip=left hand Why traditional grip? -Drum core, indoor and college marching band uses it Notation Stems are always up EX: =shots = pings shots Tenor Drums (Quads, Quints, and Sexes) Heads are Double Ply Should all match and be in tune T it up, Drums 3 and 4 EX:
Notation Sweeps or Scrapes Split rhythms on drums to make it funky Dont hit the rims
Bass Drums Rotate Play as a snare drum Hit drum in the center Muffling the drum with one hand, 4 fingers Rim guards, shreds and breaks without one Heads are muffled on inside
5 is preferred, 6 is fine, and 4 is not so good. Drum line Heights 3innothing 6instaccato 9in 12in Full Out
Marching Band Percussion Burtons grip better for younger students Easier to control
Flam Accents
Cheese-
Flam Fives
Triangle A good triangle is going to cover a lot of overtones Take a triangle clip and clip it onto a high stand The beater should ring in your hand Sizes o 4in (more delicate) o 6in o 8in o 10in o 12in Fingers are used to muffle Tambourine Tambour means drum Thumb roll needs wax on the head Hit on the rim, towards the center Rolls can have a definite start or stop Can be hit with drum sticks Jingles made from silver or bronze Can be reheaded