Odds and Ends

Here is all the random stuff about percussion that is floating around in our heads right now!

When using a marimba/mallet instrument in your marching band pit, make sure to beware the weather.  Don't leave your marimba outside overnight if it is going to freeze or even be kind of near that ungodly temperature.  It is bad!  I makes cracks in your wood and then ruins your instrument.  DON'T DO IT!

There are two major cymbal companies owned by brothers who didn't get along.  Zildjan and Sabien are located in New York and Canada respectively and have links back to the first cymbal makers in Persia.  They use a special alloy that makes cymbals sound like cymbals.

We didn't mention it earlier... cause we think it is silly... cause we don't play the jazz... but there is another snare hold often used by marching and jazz players called matched hold...  Basically you hold one stick the right way... and the other basically the same but with the stick going on top of the hand rather than under it.  It is basically a pencil hold (if you hold a pencil the right way) and then flipping your palm up.

There is other stuff... but you will have to follow us to see when we post it in the Spring!

Also...

Bass drum goes boom.

Playing for Punks

Now for the demonstrations!

THE SNARE DRUM!

Use the aforementioned stick hold for snare drum sticks!

Hit the drum slightly off center!

Make sure to rebound!

Stay relaxed!

Learn your rudiments!

So you wanna play mallets?

Can you make a snare drum stick hold with your mallets?

Can you rebound off of the keys even though they aren't bouncy?

Can you hit the keys in the middle?

Can you alternate your sticks?

The four mallet technique...

Pick a stick hold... (we like Stevens)

Strike the keys together...

Roll the inside mallet to create different intervals...

Cymbals.

One cymbal is held mostly flat.

One cymbal moves from up to down.

Drop the cymbal down so there are two hits (very close together).

Swoop out.

Muffle on your chest.

Not seen here: suspended cymbal--use felt mallets--roll on opposite sides.

Bass Drum Goes BOOM

(Hit off Center/Muffle with Hand/Roll on Opposite Sides)

The Day the Marimba DIED!

A long, long time ago....

I really can still remember...

The day...

The Marimba....

Came apart...

The moral of this story is that marimbas come apart.  This is the safest way to transport a marimba and can help you make basic repairs.  This is a general guideline for how  to take it apart.

• Take off the keys!
• Loosen the end ropes first!
• Take of the chromatic keys followed by the other keys.
• Work from the outside in!
• There are outside rails first
• Followed by the interlocking metal piece in the middle (allows you to keep going)
• Then the pipes (these break apart in sections)
• Finally the middle piece (this and end rails usually fold)
• Lastly you can take apart the stand (usually breaking into two pieces)

Here is a video of Dr. Lynn Vartan putting together and taking apart a marimba with her students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31JcUPjFYnM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6GaP_bir_U

And here are some pictures of our adventure!

Stick Hold... PERCUSSION Stick Hold

In this post we will talk about your stick hold... the basic stick holds for all your basic percussion needs... basically...

DRUM STICK:

• Find the balance point of the stick.  
• A good marker on the Vick Firth SD1 Generals is the small American Flag. 
• Place your thumb on the Flag and wrap your index finger around the other side.  
• This will be your main fulcrum/grip on the stick.  
• Curl the rest of your fingers loosely around the edge of the stick.

BASS DRUM

• Just grab the thing near the end!

CYMBALS:

• DO NOT: Put your hands through the leather loops
• Tightly grab the leather handle between your thumb and index finger
• Grip the leather handles
• Some of the metal will be resting on your first two fingers

KEYBOARD MALLETS

• Use a traditional drum stick hold when holding one pair of mallets
• Four Mallets Grips:
• Stevens:
• Hold the inside mallets like normal drum sticks (at the fulcrum) then add the outside mallets, held between your middle and ring fingers (using the ring and pinky fingers to hold it).  The ends of the outside mallets should be securely pulled into the butt of your hand.  The inside sticks have more flexibility with this grip so the palms do not face the floor.
• Burton
• Hold the inside mallet with your thumb and index finger (like a normal drum stick) and the outside mallet between your index and middle fingers.  The sticks cross in your palm and the inside mallet is closest to the palm of your hand.  The strike will then be like a drum stick strike, palms down.  
• Traditional
• Hold the inside mallet with your thumb and index finger (like a normal drum stick) and the outside mallet between your index and middle fingers.  The sticks cross in your palm and the outside mallet is closest to the palm of your hand.  The strike will then be like a drum stick strike, palms down.  

Percussion Props

Stuff for Snare Drum

Hopefully your school or other place of practice will have a good snare drum and stand for you to use.  As a beginner, it is not practical to purchase your own stand and snare drum, but you should invest in a practice pad.  You can probably get one at your local music store. They tend to be $20-30.  

STIX! STYX!  STICKS!

For classical/concert playing:

Vic Firth SD1 Generals

NO EXCEPTIONS!  DO IT!  

http://www.vicfirth.com/products/stick-selection-guide.php

Don't pick a stick that is too thick!

Marching sticks are too thick for concert playing. 

The SD1 Junior is smaller and has the same characteristics of the SD1 Generals, but it is made for smaller hands.  

A good book for snare drum technique is Stone's Stick Control.  All drummers should have this book, regardless if classical, jazz, or marching focuses.

NOTE: As with Snare Drums, it makes little sense to purchase a pair of cymbals, a bass drum, or a mallet instrument until you are at a professional level.  Most likely your practice area/school will have these things and you will be able to use them for practice and performance.

Buying Bass Drum Mallets

There are a wide variety of bass drum mallets but the major ones are:

1) The longer, skinny mallets with lots of felt on them produce a longer sound

2) A mallet with a round head (very standard)

• This mallet comes in a variety of sizes, the smaller and with more leather, the more articulate the sound

3) A pair of "rollers."  These usually come in packs of 2 and are medium sized and used for rolls.

They can be found and purchased at www.vicfirth.com/products/soundpower.html

Keyboard Mallets

For keyboard instruments, you must choose wisely your mallets (word order indicates Yoda) depending on each instrument.  Detailed here is a guide to choosing the appropriate mallet.  However, the general rule is to not hit a keyboard instrument with anything harder than the keys.

Vibraphone--The vibraphone (made of soft aluminum) uses the softest yarn mallets of the three instruments

Marimba--A marimba uses a variety of sizes based on octave (a bass marimba will use a large mallet), but these mallets are also made of yarn, slightly harder than those for a vibraphone though

Xylophone--The hardest of the mallets, usually made of rubber

This website provides an easy way to shop by type of instrument:

http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Sticks-Mallets/Keyboard-Mallets/

And this is the Vic Firth website for mallets:

http://www.vicfirth.com/products/multi-application-series.php

The Rudiments of Our Project

Just as rudiments are the fundamentals of percussion playing, this blog will detail the fundamentals of our goals and objectives in creating this blog.  We hope for this to be a resource for future music educators so our blog will include:

1. Descriptions of appropriate materials for percussion
2. Instructions for stick hold, rudiments, and other beginning percussion techniques
3. Instructional videos to accompany posts
4. Information of a variety of topics ranging from Snare Drum to Marimba
5. A brief anecdote about the time we dismantled a marimba

We hope that this blog is helpful for anyone looking to learn more about the most basic percussion techniques.  As beginners ourselves we understand how daunting the task of learning percussion is and we will explore this instrumental area in the simplest way we can.  Thanks for reading!

Playing Percussion: A Poor Man's Guide to Percussion Basics

From the makers of The Reed Room Diaries

Comes a new Blog!

Of EPIC PROPORTIONS!!!!!!

RUDIMENTS!

MALLETS!

PLAYING PERCUSSION:

A new blog for learning percussion techniques

By Students!  For Students!

COMING DECEMBER 2013

http://playingpercussion.blogspot.com/
http://thereedroomdiaries.blogspot.com/