How many times have you stepped up to the marimba to work on a passage and it seems like you have never seen the music before even though you spent hours practicing the day before? Well guess what? This happens to everyone including me. It is frustrating and makes you want to throw your mallets across the room. If this sounds familiar, I want you to start incorporating block chords into your practice routine. (more…)
Have you ever started working on a new etude or piece and found that there were a couple of measures that we more difficult and needed some extra attention? I know I have (especially in Delecluse #9)! (more…)
For the snare drummer, stickings are analogous to bowings for string players. There are two main systems for stickings: 1) Free Alternating System and 2) Right Hand Lead System. Each systems has their advantages and disadvantages. Check out the video for an explanation of each system. (more…)
On Friday, I posted three tambourine videos by Christopher Deane, Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of North Texas. (If you missed them, stop reading and go watch them. It will be the best 10 minute investment that will improve your tambourine technique forever.)
Periodically, I plan to post tips and tricks that I have learned and used over my experiences playing percussion. Since I posted the tambourine videos on Friday, I wanted to start with a tambourine tip. If you watch the first Christopher Deane video, you will notice that he is playing an incredible finger roll (sometimes called the thumb roll) in the Britten excerpt. I call it a finger roll because he is using his second finger. (BTW, I prefer that way for soft rolls, but I will talk more about it when I post my tambourine technique videos.) If you are not familiar with soft roll technique on a tambourine, you may wonder how he is able to do this. There are many ways to execute the soft roll and they all require putting something on the tambourine head. This leads to today’s tip: (more…)
Christopher Deane, Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of North Texas, discusses some specialized tambourine techniques in three masterclass videos that feature the Black Swamp Percussion Tambourine. There is a lot of great information in these videos and I would highly recommend checking these out over the long weekend.
Masterclass 1: Delicate Roll and Articulation Techniques
Masterclass 2: One Handed Triplets
Masterclass 3: “Opposable Thumb” Technique
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt4yLHTxXAw
In today’s episode we take the next step in our double stroke rolls and talk about 5, 7, 9 stroke rolls. 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. Remember: One Arm Stroke, Two Bounces.
Please feel free to leave comments and/or questions below.
Level: Beginning/Intermediate
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