From: dci@cs.washington.edu (Donald Chinn)
Subject: Percussion Techniques, Jay Kennedy
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 92 22:58:40 GMT


Well, all this talk about percussion has got me extremely interested
in the subject.  So I went back and dug up the articles I referred
to, plus some other articles in TME.

Here are some excerpts:

The Concert Snare Drum Roll, Lance Haas, The Instrumentalist, August 1990:

   "Most young drummers do not know how to play a concert roll correctly.
Using the same stick motion as a military or rudimental roll, they press
the sticks into the drum head, rather than let them bounce, producing
a buzz roll.  When students attempt to play these rolls they adjust their
hand speed to the tempo of the piece, which is the same thing they would
do with a military roll.  For example, in 4/4 time at a tempo of Q=120
[the notion here is arbitrary: Q = quarter note, H = half note, QR = quarter
rest], the following roll played in military style would result in a
17-stroke roll.

    H   Q  QR      [the half and quarter are tied and there are three
    -----           slash marks through the half note; what kind of
		    notation is there for music on the Net?!  Maybe
		    the FAQ for rec.music.classical has something ...]

The wrist and arm make a total of nine movements, creating a subrhythm to
produce the roll.

    S S S S  S S S S  Q  QR   [S = sixteenth note]
    R L R L  R L R L  R

Beginning drummers ofter perform this concert roll with nine accented
pulse beats, the same amount of arm movement they would use in a rudimental
roll.  Concert rolls have no audible pulse and should flow evenly from
beginning to end, the same as a held note on a wind instrument.  ...

   "Students often play a concert roll fortissimo by buzzing a military
roll as loudly as possible.  It is physically impossible to play a fortissimo
concert roll.
   "Drummers often do not understand piano and pianissimo playing, and
use the edge of the drum for soft concert rolls, moving the sticks in to
the center to increase volume.  Discourage this kind of playing because it
produces an obvious change in tone color.  Although a conductor may request
it, the composer who wants it will probably notate it. (See "Even
Percussionists Can Be Musicians," The Instrumentalist, September, 1984.)
   "A well-tuned snare drum will create a beautifully resonant roll even at
the softest volume when the player uses the proper area of the drum head's
playing surface.  As band directors we often criticize wind players because
their tone thin at the lower dynamic levels, yet many of us teach snare
drummers to create a thin tone on soft volume rolls.  If you teach military
and concert rolls together and with the correct grip, and explain the
subrhythm in a concert roll and how to count strokes in a military roll,
there will be no buzz of misunderstanding among your players."


Teaching the Seven Fundamental Rudiments, Bruce Roberts, The Instr., March 1991:

   "Rudiments are to percussionists what scales are to wind players, yet
often teachers neglect to emphasize rudimental techniques.  The 7 essential
rudiments provide a foundation for the remaining 33.  Single-stroke rolls,
multiple-bounce rolls, and double-stroke open rolls, ranked one, two and
three, comprise the three stroke types; all other rudiments are an extension
or combination of these three basics. ..."

The Rudimental Percussionist, David Vose, TME, December 1991:

   "The rudiments of drumming are a topic that all music educators have heard
about and generally have had an opinion about at one time or another.  The
term `rudimental percussionist' is not as commonly used, with the possible
exception of being heard at marching band or drum corps rehearsals and then
it only means that one is playing in one of the latter organizations.
   "To date, situations that utilize the performance of rudiments tend to
exist in the following settings: educational situation, marching units,
outdoor playing and competition.  There is certainly nothing wrong with
these, but at times some professional musicians and college percussion teachers
believe that the student is not aware of other areas of music and that the
rudimental drumming experience is not valid.
   "Additionally, although students have excellent playing facility in
handling the sticks, the drummer/percussionist often is not knowledgeable
enough about the many aspects of rudimental percussion outside of who won
`best drums' at this years' Drum Corps International Championships.  It
seems to me that a clarification of what a rudimental percussionist does
and, more importantly, what a rudimental percussionist can aspire to do is
in order.
   "Part of what may cause confusion is the list of 26 rudiments first
organized by the National Association of Rudimental Drummers in 1933 and
revised to 40 rudiments in 1980 by the Percussive Arts Society.  Often
educators ask what the list is for and if it is helpful to the performer.
For most performance situations, a percussionist would better use time
practicing material more directly related to the piece they are performing.
Knowing the entire list of rudiments has its merits, but not necessarily
for all musical situations. ... "


The December TME issue is an issue mostly devoted to percussion, full
of great info on percussion techniques, arrangements, etc.  The last
article in the issue is an interview between Rosalie Sward and Jay
Kennedy (DCI judge administrator).  Here is a small excerpt from that
(very long) interview:

"RS: Here are the major impressions I have gotten from the kids over the
years.  For one thing, many of the kids in the corps think the judges
are their enemies, and secondly, they seem to perceive DCI as an activity
ruled by political considerations.  That is a very strong belief among
the members and staffs of some of the drum corps and even among some of the
spectators.
JK: Political in what sense?
RS: Well, that this corps won because ... this director did something or paid
off the judges ... or something like that.  Here is a more concrete example
that has become legend.  `Madison won in 1988 because they took a trip to
Europe.  But Santa Clara should have won, so Santa Clara was paid off in
1989 when Phantom really deserved to win'
JK: Oh well, they are always going to think that, regardless.  We can't
control what they think.  All the judges can do is go out and do the best
job they can and let it go.  I think that is always going to exist because
there are those who always want someone else to win.  There is only one
winner.  Therefore, by definition, there are a lot more losers, so they've
got to figure out a way to justify their losing.  What they don't understand
is that any time an instructor or manager tries to come in and manipulate
the judge -- whether it is through intimidation or cajoling or begging or
humor or `you're my buddy' -- it's fairly insulting.  Judges back away from
that.  The defenses go up, the dialogue stops and almost like you are
accusing the judges of being able to be manipulated by whatever means,
which is simply not true.
RS: I think the idea of politics doesn't necessarily mean they are blaming
the judges, but rather, that they think it goes higher -- even into the
DCI administration; that the powers that be make the decision that `this
year Madison is going to win because they went to Europe or Santa Clara is
going to win this year because they should have won last year, etc.'
    We are dealing with a very educated and intellectual body of people
here.  Most members of the top drum corps are college students and many
of the staff members are college professors.  It is also an insult to
them, not to mention depressing, if they think that their hard work comes
down to a political decision at the end of the summer.
JK: You would be surprised how the lack of intellect comes into play in the
critique.  It doesn't matter how smart you are then.  They all want to know,
`How can I get that extra tenth!' "

Other topics that were discussed include: judging and creativity (in
design), electronics, how judges are selected and trained, and the
numbers game.


Here's a short bibliography on percussion and marching in general:

How Willingly We March, The Instrumentalist, December 1990
Teaching the Seven Fundamental Rudiments, Bruce Roberts, The Instr., March 1991
The Concert Snare Drum, Lance Haas, The Instrumentalist, August 1991
The 12-minute Season, The Instrumentalist, September 1991
Percussion on the March, Marty Province, The Instrumentalist, Sept 1991
Substance, Not Style, William Guegold, The Instrumentalist, January, 1992
Teaching Snare Techniques, Barry Bridwell, The Instrumentalist, June 1992

December, 1991 issue of TME, which includes the following articles:
Creating a Basic Percussion Arrangement
Teaching Rolls to Beginning Drummers
The Rudimental Percussionist
The 1991 DCI Drum Lines
On Tuning
Why Can't My Percussionists Read Keyboard Music


Hope this was as intriguing to you as it was to me ...

-- Donald