Professional Documents
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Dynamics
Each
dynamic
in
the
music
will
have
a
corresponding
height
to
go
with
it.
Approach
to
the
drum
should
be
the
same
regardless
of
the
height
being
played.
Velocity
will
not
change
because
of
a
change
in
heights
(most
of
the
time)
The
forearm
should
stay
relaxed
at
all
heights
and
will
react
to
the
motion
created
by
the
wrist.
It
is
okay
for
the
forearm
to
move
at
all
heights
3
20
The
sticks
will
NEVER
travel
past
vertical.
15
is
the
vertical
height.
The
20
height
will
be
used
for
fortissimo
volumes
needing
a
little
extra
power.
This
involves
a
15
full
extension
plus
a
bit
of
extra
forearm
movement.
Heights
past
20
will
be
reffered
to
as
visual
height.
Motion
starts
with
a
12"
wrist
stroke
followed
by
a
rotation
of
the
arm
at
the
elbow.
The
stick
will
end
completely
vertical
and
further
away
from
the
body.
Timing
This
is
a
percussion
program
and
timing
is
a
very
important
part
of
what
we
do.
Our
role
in
the
whole
musical
ensemble
and
the
integrity
of
our
rhythms
rely
very
much
on
timing.
Whether
it
be
a
buzz
roll,
open
roll,
or
swiss
flam
drag,
they
are
all
rudiments
with
a
specific
rhythmic
integrity.
Learning
your
rudiments
and
learning
them
CORRECTLY
is
very
important;
always
paying
attention
to
correct
rhythms,
stickings,
and
accent
placements.
Slower
is
always
better
than
faster
when
it
comes
to
practicing.
Never
move
onto
a
faster
tempo
until
you
can
play
everything
with
the
proper
relaxed
technique
at
slower
tempos.
Practice
with
a
metronome
to
focus
on
your
timing
and
the
accuracy
of
your
rhythms.
Also,
another
option
would
be
to
play
exercises
along
with
your
favorite
songs.
Its
like
playing
with
a
metronome
but
a
little
more
comfortable
and
appealing
than
listening
to
a
constant
beep.
It
even
creates
a
musical
context
for
you
to
relate
your
parts
to.
This
is
exactly
what
we
do
when
we
play
together
as
an
ensemble.
Dont
be
afraid
to
groove
and
have
fun
with
the
music.
Then,
you
can
apply
that
to
your
show
music/exercises.
You
should
find
a
groove
to
the
music
even
when
the
music
is
abstract.
All
music
has
checkpoints
you
can
use
to
find
a
pocket
for
you
to
play
in.
Goals
Bass Drum
There are two main aspects that a bass drum line must be aware of: Individual Accountability (being accountable for yourself, your parts, your equipment, etc) and Full Bass Line Interdependence (relying on each other to create full musical passages and being a unit). These aspects apply to both on and off the field. You must be responsible enough to learn and know your parts and supplement that at home by practicing. As a unit, the line must cooperate with each other and must get along. The better you get along as a line, the better you will play as a line. If all goes well, the bass line will function as a single voice in the ensemble performed by a group three to five musicians.
Playing
The
basis
of
our
playing
technique
is
to
be
relaxed.
Just
as
a
wind
player
can
over-blow
a
horn,
it
is
possible
to
over-play
a
drum
because
of
tension.
This
tension
can
cause
a
distortion
of
sound
quality
especially
from
person
to
person.
Make
it
your
goal
to
stay
completely
relaxed
from
the
neck,
to
the
shoulders,
down
your
arms
and
into
your
fingers.
Grip
The
grip
is
a
slight
variation
to
the
standard
matched
grip.
The
only
difference
is
that
it
is
held
vertically
rather
than
horizontally
to
play
the
drum.
To
create
the
proper
grip,
start
with
your
arms
hanging
from
your
sides.
Then,
pick
up
your
forearms
until
they
are
relatively
parallel
to
the
ground
with
your
hand
vertical
like
you
are
going
to
shake
someones
hand.
The
mallet
should
be
placed
between
the
pad
of
your
thumb
and
the
second
segment
of
your
first
finger.
There
should
be
no
open
space
or
daylight
between
your
fingers
or
any
tension.
Then, place the other three fingers on the mallet remembering to stay relaxed and to not create tension. When you are at a drum, your mallets should slightly angle in toward the center of the head. Once the drum is adjusted, have someone help you find the center. Once you have done that, feel where your hand or arm touches the rim and memorize this position so that you will always be in the center.
Stroke
All
strokes,
regardless
of
height,
should
initiate
from
the
head
of
the
mallet.
The
primary
motion
to
create
this
movement
will
be
the
breaking
of
the
wrist.
From
there,
let
the
weight
of
the
mallet
help
with
the
rotation.
The
technique
should
feel
very
similar
to
playing
on
a
horizontal
practice
pad.
As
shown,
the
path
of
the
mallet
should
be
a
straight
line
and
should
match
relatively
to
the
angle
of
the
mallet.
Try
practicing
this
motion
slowly
at
first
in
a
mirror
to
see
if
your
doing
it
correct.
The
more
you
do
it,
the
more
natural
it
will
feel
and
the
easier
it
will
be
to
transfer
to
your
playing.
Each
stroke,
no
matter
the
height,
should
always
move
from
the
starting
height
to
the
head
very
quickly.
This
allows
your
playing
to
be
very
consistent
whether
you
are
playing
3
inches
or
20
inches.
The
heights
defined
for
bass
drum
are
a
little
different
than
playing
on
a
horizontal
drum.
First,
at
set
position,
your
mallet
is
at
a
1
height.
To
get
a
good
3
or
piano
as
shown
below
in
Figure
1,
a
slight
wrist
turn
is
all
that
is
necessary.
From
there,
move
your
mallet
until
it
creates
a
90
degree
angle
with
the
drum
or
parallel
to
the
ground.
This
would
be
15
or
fortissimo
shown
in
Figure
2.
Divide
that
space
in
half
and
that
position
and
that
will
give
you
9
or
mezzo
forte.
Half
way
between
9
and
3
would
be
your
6
or
mezzo
piano
and
half
way
between
9
and
15
is
your
12
or
forte.
If
the
music
asks
for
anything
more
than
fortissimo,
for
example
ffff,
you
will
still
go
to
15
and
from
there
go
straight
out
with
the
arm.
Your
mallet
should
not
go
past
horizontal.
Key Points:
Figure 1
Figure 2
QUALITY OF SOUND IS EVERYTHING, no matter what stroke is being played you must strive for a big, open, and uniform sound quality.
We will use four stroke types: Legato/Full Stroke, Down Stroke, Taps, and a modified Up Stroke. The stroke will ALWAYS start from the head of the mallet. In order to move the head of the mallet first, we will use the wrist to initiate the stroke. While the main focus is the wrist rotation, allow the wrist, fingers, and arms to work together to create the most relaxed/full sound possible. Minimize the amount of human interference, allow each stroke to be as efficient as possible.
Legato/Full
Stroke:
Mallet
starts
and
stops
at
the
same
point,
letting
the
mallet
rebound
back
naturally
The
goal
is
to
allow
the
rebound
to
do
the
work
Rebound
should
occur
at
the
same
speed
as
the
initial
movement
Down
Stroke:
Should
sound
the
same
as
a
full
stroke
and
feel
the
same
prior
to
hitting
the
drum.
Once
the
drum
is
struck
with
the
mallet,
stop
the
wrist
motion
in
order
to
stop
the
mallet
at
the
original
tacet
position.
Avoid
squeezing
the
fingers
to
stop
the
motion
of
the
implement.
Simply
stopping
the
wrist
rotation
with
the
fingers
closed
around
the
mallet
will
be
enough
to
stop
the
mallet
in
a
relaxed
manner.
This
stroke
will
be
used
in
any
exercise
that
involves
more
than
one
height
or
a
hand
needing
to
stay
at
rest
Taps:
This
refers
to
all
of
the
lower
inner
beats
between
accents.
Most
of
the
time
these
will
be
a
3
stroke.
This
stroke
is
essentially
a
3
legato
stroke.
It
is
important
while
playing
taps
that
the
stroke
be
relaxed
and
wrist
only
turn
to
3
inches.
Although
we
will
play
very
relaxedthat
DOES
NOT
mean
we
will
play
loose
with
a
lack
of
control.
Up
Strokes
(modified):
When
playing
something
that
involves
accents
and
taps
in
the
same
passage
it
will
be
necessary
for
us
to
use
a
modified
Up
Stroke.
After
playing
a
regular
3
wrist
stroke,
the
wrist
will
rotate
to
the
height
of
the
following
accented
note.
Any
tap
that
comes
directly
before
an
accent
will
become
an
upstroke
in
order
to
prepare
the
stick
for
the
proper
accent
height.
The
upstroke
makes
it
much
easier
to
achieve
clarity
in
passages
that
have
accents
following
taps.
Muffling
Muffling
or
hand
dampening
the
drum
is
relatively
simple.
More
commonly
done
with
the
left
hand,
all
that
is
required
is
to
apply
pressure
on
the
head
of
the
drum
with
your
last
three
fingers
and
the
edge
of
your
palm.
Always
keep
the
fulcrum
intact.
This
allows
you
to
easily
move
back
and
forth
from
playing
to
muffling.
Timing
Good
timing
starts
from
your
feet.
The
feet
are
your
most
important
tool
in
the
marching
activity.
It
is
important
that
your
feet
drive
the
pulse
through
you.
Then,
you
must
play
to
the
pulse
your
feet
are
creating.
As
a
Bass
Drummer,
you
must
understand
how
your
own
individual
part
relates
to
your
feet
and
how
it
relates
to
other
parts.
You
must
also
make
sure,
as
a
bass
line,
that
your
interpretation
of
space
between
notes
is
the
same.
On
bass
drum,
all
of
your
split
parts
can
be
simplified
to
some
sort
of
check
pattern.
Before
you
can
play
2s,
3s,
or
4s,
you
must
be
able
to
play
the
chech
pattern
in
time,
with
your
feet.
From
there,
we
can
add
notes
making
sure
you
are
playing
evenly
spaced
rhythms.
Confidence
Performance
must
be
genuine.
It
is
important
to
always
play
with
a
lot
of
confidence.
Whether
you
are
playing
a
cadence,
warmup,
show
music,
or
a
small
music
change,
your
confidence
level
should
never
decrease.
This
doesnt
mean
you
should
make
an
intense
face
and
look
tough.
Playing
with
confidence
should
look
like
the
exact
opposite.
You
should
play
with
a
high
level
of
relaxation
and
calmness
that
in
turn
makes
playing
more
enjoyable
for
you
and
the
listening
experience
more
enjoyable
for
the
audience.
Rehearsal
In
Marching
Band,
rehearsal
time
is
VERY
limited.
It
is
imperative
that
we
maximize
this
time
as
much
as
possible
by
being
prepared
for
rehearsal
100%
of
the
time.
We
will
work
hard
but
we
will
also
work
smart
in
order
to
put
out
the
most
consistently
excellent
product
that
we
possibly
can
every
performance.
*The
first
part
of
being
prepared
for
rehearsal
is
personal
preparation
at
home.
You
WILL
be
expected
to
show
up
every
rehearsal
prepared
with
what
is
asked
of
you.
*The
second
part
of
being
prepared
for
rehearsals
is
coming
with
a
good
attitude
and
ready
to
drum
from
the
first
minute
of
rehearsal
to
the
last.
Part
of
this
is
arriving
to
all
rehearsals
ON
TIME.
*Lastly,
make
sure
you
have
everything
you
need
for
rehearsals
with
you
at
all
times.
Some
of
the
items
necessary
for
all
music
rehearsals
are:
-Pencil
-Highlighter
-Sneakers
-Water
bottle
-3-ring
binder
w/all
music
and
exercises
-Sticks
and/or
mallets
Notation
Some
notations
may
seem
new
or
familiar
notations
may
mean
something
different
for
bass
drum.
Below
is
a
list
of
common
notations
for
bass
drum:
Unison
Everyone
plays
together.
This
doesnt
mean
to
play
louder.
Unisons
will
automatically
be
louder
because
everyone
is
playing.
Rim
Click
Rim
clicks
are
for
you,
not
for
them!
We
use
rim
clicks
for
timing
and
they
should
not
be
played
as
if
to
be
loud.
From
a
certain
distance,
rim
clicks
arent
even
audible.
They
should
be
played
at
about
a
6
height
and
no
more.
Drum
Note
Assignment
Note
placement
for
each
drum
all
depends
on
the
arranger.
Most
of
the
time,
the
first
example
is
used
in
printed
parts
where
the
second
example
is
used
for
hand
written
parts.
Muffled
2nd
is
most
often
used.
Refer
to
the
muffling
section
on
pg.
6.
Accents
The
first
example
would
be
just
a
normal
accent.
The
second
example
calls
for
something
a
little
more
articulate.
The
third
and
forth
are
just
examples
one
a
two
but
muffled.
Exercises
8
On
a
Hand
Triplet Diddle
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