There are so many practice pads available for the percussion student! Why? No one knows… I guess you could ask that about any musical accessory. Think how many reeds, mouthpieces, drumsticks, drumheads (etc…) that are available. There is something for everyone. But, how does a student percussionist or percussion methods student know which pad to purchase? Not to worry, I can help. I have split this topic into two videos. Today’s video covers rubber practice pads.
In the previous videos, I have been talking about the bounced stroke and in today’s episode, I introduce the double stroke roll. When executing bounced strokes, make sure you are letting the stick do all of the work. If you have a good fulcrum, a relaxed grip and you allow the stick to bounce, over time you will develop a good sounding roll. Be patient and work hard. Remember, in this episode you need to make sure you use “one arm stroke and two bounces.” Please feel free to leave comments and/or questions below.
A couple of months ago, I introduced a new Snare Drum Roll Exercise. I hope this has helped develop your roll technique.
In the past couple of episodes of my videos, I have begun to talk about the bounced stroke. For most students, this is the most difficult rudiment on the snare drum. If you don’t believe me, go to a high school band concert. I find most students push too hard and don’t allow the stick to do most of the work.
In this exercise sheet, I have created an additive process exercise that starts with one bounce on a note and adds one bounced stroke per line. In the first measure, the foundation is introduced followed by the bounced stroke in the second measure. One of the goals was to make sure to that both hands were working on the bounced strokes.
In the last episode, I introduced the ruff and the bounce stroke. It is very important to review that episode before continuing with this episode. The roll/bounced stroke is one of the most difficult rudiment we have on the snare drum. That is not to say that the other rudiments don’t have their own specific difficulties, but to achieve a great sounding roll takes a while. Remember, be patient. With consistent practice, your bounced strokes will sound great in no time.
So far, we have covered paradiddles, flams, and single stroke rolls. In this episode, I introduce the bounced stroke and the ruff (drag). For a complete list of rudiments, please visit episode 5.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have be exploring the flam rudiments. In this episode, I introduce our first roll rudiment: The Single Stroke Roll. For a complete list of rudiments, please visit episode 5.
