Front Ensemble Packet 2022

Director: John Dunlap

Contact: st.martin.independent@gmail.com

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 Thank you for your interest in auditioning for SM Percussion.
We hope you are excited for a great season!

There are lots of talented people that talk about going to auditions but never do because they
are afraid of not making the ensemble. Our team is growing and there will be a lot of
opportunities for you to learn and perform at the highest level. Please take every opportunity
to ask questions and learn more about playing the instrument of your choice. EVERY spot in the
ensemble is open and available each year to the people who audition. Absolutely no spot in the
ensemble will be guaranteed to an individual until they have earned it.

Exercises / Audition Process

Included in this packet are several exercises we will be going over during the audition process.
Please come to the audition days prepared to play each scale-based exercise in every major key
and variety of tempos. We will not have time to “spoon-feed” notes throughout the audition
weekends or rehearsal weekends, so, BE PREPARED. You should strive to have these exercises
memorized. Please also prepare a short solo to play that will highlight your skills. Overall, the
purpose of the audition process is for you to show off what you are capable of and how well
you respond to feedback - we want to see if you will be a good fit for the ensemble. Although
we highly value humility, the auditions are your opportunity to show us what you’ve got.

The technique that we use is broken down in this packet and each person should be familiar
with the terms used to describe the certain techniques (i.e., perch, rolling intervals, extended
octave grip). This packet will go through the basics of setting the grip and striking the
instrument with some of the different techniques that will be used.

Above all, have a positive attitude and have fun. Come to auditions eager to learn and get
better. Ultimately, YOUR efforts will decide how great this ensemble will be this year.

Mallets

Be prepared to play on all keyboard instruments throughout the audition process (Marimba,
Vibraphone, Xylo, Glock).

Synth/Electronics

Piano experience will be beneficial as you support the mallets, as well as an understanding of
rhythmic accuracy and being able to adapt to the ensemble.

Percussion (Rack, Drum set)

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Keyboard Guidelines
Approach

When approaching a mallet instrument, make sure the instrument is at the appropriate
height before setting your hands. The top of the keys should be at the same height as your
waist or belt. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and at an appropriate distance from
the keyboard (one foot should be slightly in front of the other, so, you can move back and
forth between manuals). This distance is determined by the length of your arm in
relationship to the type/size of the instrument. When you put your mallets in the center of
the bar on the natural keys, your forearm should be slightly below level. If your forearm is
completely level, then you need to lower the instrument.

When playing vibraphone, the right foot will be on the pedal and the left will be
comfortably behind the pedal. The balance point will be between the heel of the right foot
and the ball of the left foot. When playing in the highest register it is suggested that the left
foot go behind the right, to make sure the keys are played in the correct playing zone.

Playing Zones

The correct playing zones for all keyboards are in the center of the bar directly over the
resonators. For the accidentals it is best to aim for the top of the resonator tube to ensure
that you play directly in the center of the bar. When playing on the edges of the marimba
(not applicable to vibes, xylo, or bells), you must make sure that you are playing on the very
EDGE of the key, so that you can produce a good full sound. Do Not Play on the NODES!

Yes Yes No

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Two-Mallet Technique
Grip

We use the “rear fulcrum” 2-mallet grip. The mallet is held on to by the middle, ring, and
pinky fingers with around 1 ½ inches from the back of the hand to the end of the mallet
shaft. The thumb and index finger then wrap around the mallet as seen in figure 2, these
two fingers should not place any pressure on the mallet. The hand should not be flat but
turned in at a slight angle. The wrist and arms should form a natural angle that puts no
stress on the wrist joint.

Stroke

From the set position of about a half-inch above the bar, the stroke begins with the head of
the mallet and then is continued through the wrist and arm in a fluid motion.
The mallet should come directly up and not away or towards the body or move from side to
side. At a moderate tempo the stroke will be mostly wrist and less arm. As the tempo
increases the stroke will become all wrist, while as the tempo decreases you will
incorporate of the arm to connect the strokes. The speed of the mallet coming down to
make contact with the board should never change, but the speed of the upstroke will be
determined by how slow or fast you are playing. When playing slow connected strokes the
mallet should feel like there is a rubber band attached to the keys, so when you move the
mallet up it will be as if you are trying to stretch the band and when you initiate the
downward motion, the mallet will shoot downward, as if you gave in to the pull of the
rubber band.

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Four-Mallet Technique
Grip

We use the cross grip and Steven’s technique when playing with four mallets. When
beginning to learn Steven’s technique, we highly recommend purchasing “Method of
Movement” by Leigh Howard Stevens. This method book has everything you could
possibly need to fully understand the grip and different ways you can strike the instrument.

1. Turn your hand sideways in a “Handshaking” position. For the inside mallet,
put the “butt” of the mallet in the center of the palm, slightly above the “life-
line” that goes around the thumb pad.
2. Curve out your pointer finger as if you were creating a perch for a small bird.
The mallet will rest on the third joint of the pointer finger, directly above the
fingernail.

3. The outside mallet will be placed in between the middle finger and the ring
finger directly under the first joint (knuckle). The pinky and ring finger will
then wrap around the bottom of the shaft.
4. The thumb will rest on the top of the mallet creating a fulcrum for the inside
mallet. The middle finger will then create stability by resting on the bottom of
the shaft. (Your middle finger will either be on top of the shaft or slightly
wrapped around it, depending on your hand size.)

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Interval Changes

When changing intervals your goal should be to always keep your thumb on top of
the mallet and facing towards the ceiling. You should also make sure to keep your
e ch and ne e c l finge in alm. In e al change a e en h
h ld al a be d ne b inning lling he malle haf in be een he in e
finger and thumb. As you roll to a larger interval you will see that your pointer finger
begins to straighten as your thumb remains on top of the mallet.

When using extended octave grip for long use of octaves or octaves at the bottom of
the keyboard, your mallet will roll up your palm towards the base of your fingers. The
in ide malle ill l ck in i i n a he ba e f he middle finge and a he f
the palm. This can be found on pg. 12-14 in M.O.M.

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Finger Use: The use of finger is one aspect of drumming that is sometimes overstated. We
should never release the stick from our fingers. Instead, the fingers move fluidly with the stick
and the wrist and can sometimes be used to add extra volume or speed. The fingers will almost
always be used in addition to and never in the place of the wrist motion. They act as a way of
keeping the stick in the pocket created by your hand, allowing us to more easily manipulate the
motion of the stick as it rebounds off of the drum. Many times, the conscious effort of students
using their fingers causes tension and increases the amount of energy we have to expend. This
should not be the case. Instead, the fingers only add to our ability to efficiently and effectively
manipulate the stick through difficult passages, a way of letting the stick breathe in our hand.
This concept will be detailed during the audition events.

Musicality: The purpose of good technique is to service producing good sounds. Tone quality is
an essential consideration for every musician. In percussion playing tone quality is a factor of
several factors, the most important of these factors being velocity of stroke and playing zone.
While these are not the only factors, they will help us to begin our discussion of what constitutes
a good sound. The bass drummer should strive to move the stick as quickly as possible without
tension. Tension kills sound, and that is true of most musicianship. Our primary playing zone will
be in the center of the drum. This produces the fundamental pitch and gives our sound a firmer
attack. Great care should be taken to play in the exact center. Practice in front of a mirror can
help you solidify your muscle memory of this zone but listening to your sound can be very
helpful as well. As you move out from the center the attack becomes less pronounced, we
excite more overtones from the head, and the sustain of the drum lengthens. Always listen to
your sound.

Two of the most important ensemble sound concepts are those of balance and blend. Balance
is essentially playing the same volume as the people you are playing with. An unbalanced
sound is an immature sound. When your staff is making corrections to your volume, take care to
remember the correction as this affects the overall sound of the ensemble. Blend comes from
everyone in a section playing with the same tone quality at the same dynamic level. Always
listen to your sound.

The concept of phrasing in an ensemble activity is quite different than phrasing in solo playing,
although one informs the other. If the student does not have a solid concept of musicality, it will
be very difficult to match this phrasing to other players and maintain a balanced sound. As a
member of the bassline you should focus on developing a confident and consistent sound at
each dynamic level and be able to perform crescendos and decrescendos of varying lengths.
Once you are able to do that consistently as an individual, you should have the control to apply
the levels of listening. The other challenge for the bass drummer is knowing where your
particular volume will fit into the overall shape of a phrase. Playing musically as an individual will
inform your choices in the ensemble setting. Always listen to your sound.

As a performer you will be called upon to elicit different emotions through your sound. These
different emotions will be conveyed through the style and interpretation of the music. In the
drum corps world style is much narrower than in other areas of performance, but it is no less
important. If you try to play the ballad with the same approach as the closer it will lack
authenticity, and it will fail to connect to your audience. The use of touch in your playing will
facilitate the communication of intent to your audience. Keeping in mind that tension kills sound,
we may ask you to firm up or lighten up your grip/touch to achieve a desired effect. Solo playing
can help you to understand these concepts. Always listen to your sound.

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Legato/Full Stroke:
T 8 a a d
S c a a d a e a e , e e c b ce bac a a
Goal is to allow the rebound d e . T e c d , DON T f
Reb d d be e a e eed a e a e e (d !)
G e ab a f eb d de a da e e

Marcato/Down Strokes:
T a accent
Should sound the same as full strokes, and feel the same prior to hitting the drum
Once contact is made with the drum, the difference between full and down strokes is the
stopping of the wrist motion, which prevents the stick from rebounding to the initial height
Ha d d fee e dead e af e bead e e ead. Hea e f e a d e
stop the stick in a warm manner
Avoid squeezing the fingers to stop the motion

Taps:
Taps will be played primarily with a wrist stroke, albeit smaller than full strokes
Ta a e e e a f d e. T e eb d, a d e a f e, e
will be played by only initiating downward and not pulling back up. The rebound, however, will
a e e a e e c a a full stroke . T e a f d, a d a ea ad a e a
the top of our strokes, taps will be played slightly e ed
T e e c ed a e e e fe a e e f f
strokes. The hand must stay relaxed and heavy without being tense to ensure a controlled
rebound and quality sound
Dynamics

We use a dynamic system that correlates to specific heights---this makes it easier to define, as
well as balance and blend our sounds
We strive to have a consistent approach to the drum regardless of heights/dynamics
In general, consistency of heights dictate volume, however the music is the ultimate factor
in defining volume (there will be situations in which players are asked to play a
phrase stronger or lighter than normal for musical expression)
Add a a added ab e 15
The sticks will never travel past vertical but will be higher in the air because of
ea e e ab e 15

Approximate Heights:
1 (F c ed b f a a e , a ed f om resting playing position)
3 (Ta a d ace e, c aa e e d)
6 (Bac f a d ab aa e e d, c 22.5 )
f 9 (S c 45 f d)
f 12 (A fa a ca c f ab a , c 67.5°)
ff 15 (S c e ca , a e a )
fff H e (S c e ca , add add a a f a effec )

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*DRUM SET: Utilize the given meters/parts/information for each exercise to create
both basic and more intricate grooves.

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Full Ensemble Unison

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