Marching bass drum technique pdf

The marching drumline including snare drum, tenor drums, bass drums, and cymbals. Through changes in technique, stroke, and where we strike the head. Bass drum slide technique for double strokes youtube. Youll learn how to play a blast beat, 16th note triplet and 32nd note double bass drum beats, and a. Tenor and bass drum performers can use a standard snare drum practice pad. Corcoran high school drumline drumline panther pride. Start by double checking your matched snare drum grip with these steps, sticks, and a practice pad. Drumline handbook 2017 western illinois university. Much like the snare drum independence exercises, i recommend that beginners focus on just two voices on the drum set bass drum and hihat before adding the third snare drum. Technique is not something that can be learned overnight it is a long process. How to have effective bass drum technique the new drummer. Marching bass drums, pearl, yamaha, tama lone star. The next technique is heelup, where the players heel is lifted off of the pedal and.

In order to produce a full, resonant tone from the drum, it is important that your hands maintain a relaxed grip around the stick at all times and allow the stick to resonate in your hand. Bass drum this series of video lessons will provide students and instructors alike with a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental techniques. Writing and arranging for marching percussion in the 21st. Traditional grip is almost exclusively used on snare drum, and concert bass. The playing technique used for multitenors is somewhat different from that of a. The bass drum makes a low, boom sound when the mallet hits the drumhead. Properly adjusting the angle of the bass drum pedal beater is important to playing comfortably. Okay, so who doesnt have 5 minutes to practice everyone can sit down and practice for at least 5 minutes every day. This manual is a one stop shop for technique and approach for those interested in being a marching member of ppe pride percussion ensemble. Mallet choice for general playing, you will need a mallet with a moderately large head and with a fair amount of head weight. This warmup packet contains seven fundamental exercises for the marching percussion section. The flat foot technique is a hybrid between the heelup and the heeldown technique. But more and more, hbcu band technique is evolving as groups.

Championship technique for marching percussion is a method book by james campbell designed to provide the essential skills for developing a championship drum line. Its especially useful for playing fast single strokes with your feet. If you are a new drummer, the best tip i can provide is to just keep practicing. In this free drum lesson, dave atkinson teaches eight drum beats that incorporate double bass patterns. Think of your drum as the american flag, it can never touch the ground. Tenors, play each exercise on drum 2, focusing on sound quality, technique, and execution. So for all you drummers who are wondering what to do, or just want to improve. Placement of noteswhen drum part for a full kit part is placed on a 5line. The band directors guide to fall marching percussion. So be open to suggestions and seek a teacher to help guide you through the fundamentals.

There also seems to be a popularity issue associated with playing snare drum and tenors, and a lack of appreciation. Tuning your marching percussion snare tenor bass drums part 3. Because of this, younger players tend to breeze past them without. The chippewa marching band snare line is an essential part of our musical and visual. Bass drum technique is very similar to snare drum technique, only striking a vertical rather than a horizontal surface. Technique exercises and ensemble drills these exercises are used to develop technique after a basic working knowledge of forward and backward march has been taught. Marching percussion instruments are specially designed to be played while moving. Bass drummers should also play the full exercise on their drum before splitting parts.

The curriculum for this series was compiled by members of vic firths collegiate educator program which includes some of the most influential university instructors in. Marching percussion information and technique manual introduction thank you for your interest in the pride of msu marching percussion ensemble. It is a common misunderstanding that the haynes company only produced drums during the civil war. Thanks largely to fred and his interest in making the marching percussion idiom more symphonic, the process of broadening the scope and range. It also comes from a skewed perception that the more technically challenging the instrument, the greater its level of credibility. Haynes became involved with oliver ditson as early as 1852 and by 1861 was manager of j. In general, angling the beater around the 2 oclock position is a good place to start. From instrument setup to maintenance to performance techniques, vic firths percussion 101 will cover the essential skills necessary for todays allaround percussionist. Oregon crusaders cymbal technique packet 2015 from 14 plates, all the way up to 26 plates. The snare drum is an example of one type of drum used by the military starting. I tune the audienceside head lower than the playing side. The pitched bass drum, generally used in marching bands and drum corps.

A panel discussion on writing and arranging for marching percussion, specifically for the battery instruments, was held at the 2012. The main fulcrum for our bass drum technique is at the elbow, with the. Bass drum should always be wrapped with a cover except for performances. In this drum lesson you will learn all the important bassdrum techniques. For extremely articulate passages, a pair of hard felt beaters i. As marching percussion continues to evolve into an. Play in the center of the drum on snare drum and bass drum.

Traditional grip bass drum technique back to basics handout natural sticking chops. Then when you are able to practice on a marching bass drum which you should. Once the exercises are perfect on drum 2, then move around the drums without compromising anything from the drum 2 version of the exercise. Bass marching bass drum grip how to hold a bass mallet youtube cymbals orchestral crash. You push the drumhead with your stickmallet, and the drumhead pushes back. The bass line consists of four sometimes 5 individuals with exact. In corpsstyle bands, each bass drummer only plays one segment of the.

All may carriers ship with respective drum mounting hardware. The bass drum is played with the bass drum pedal by the right foot. Marching snare drums are deeper in size than snares normally used for. In this drum lesson, i provide an overview of my technique for playing quick bass drum doubles with one foot.

Drumline handbook 2019 western illinois university. The following information is intended to help you prepare for the season. Traditional grip is also primarily used in drum corps style marching environments, such as drum corps international. Bass drum grip follows many of the standards of a good matched snare drum grip. All postocarriers feature the may patented articulating back support system abs with autorelease, contour hinge, and multiaxis shoulder adjustments to conform to all body types, creating the ultimate in comfort, stability, and control. Snaretenors same as above, but can be set down with the bottom of the drum touching the ground. Each marching technique is discussed and demonstrated. If a second snare is called for, it will be notated in a position used for one of the toms and this will be defined in the legend. Bass drum players must have impeccable time, must always watch the conductor, and must always listen to the ensemble. In this free drum lesson, sean lang goes over the flat foot technique with an indepth analysis of its mechanics. Marching percussion method books method books steve. Flow is an integral factor for any percussionist who can make it look easy. Snare technique is the technique used to play a snare drum. Bass drum independence refers to the ability to play bass drum rhythms that are separate from the patterns performed by the rest of your limbs.

The following techniques will be utilized initially. Marching percussion, snare drum, tenors quads, and bass drum, and front ensemble pit method books for all levels. If a second kick drum is required, it will be notated on the lowest line of the staff. The blue devils ditty is one of the most well known drum corps drumline solos. We discuss heel up technique, and i explain how to utilize the slide technique. The pitched bass drum, generally used in marching bands and drum corps, is tuned to a specific pitch and is usually played in a set of three to six drums. Marching percussion techniques for prospective band directors. The width of the performers shoulders and the depth of the bass drum may require the elbows to be slightly extended outwards. Enjoy this little compilation of ditty, ditty and the ftuning sequence, and the sheet music for the snare solo of scott johnson featured march 19. These double bass drum beats range from stock to more advanced and challenging patterns. In this post, ill address this technique in two ways, 1 describing the mechanics of the technique i recommend, and 2 providing you with a written exercise sheet as a pdf 9 exercises to build bass drum double strokes, that you can download and print out and use to give some structure to how you practice developing the technique. In many forms of music, the bass drum is used to mark or keep time.

Building bass drum technique digital waudio modern. Dont contort wrist or allow thumb to move above pointer finger on mallet. He also teaches some cool ways of practicing the flat foot technique when. Marching snare drums marching tenor drums marching bass blue devils ditty. Nichols associate professor of music, percussion drumline coordinator.

Double bass drum beats free double bass drum lessons. Rebound in order to flow on a drum, it is necessary to harness the drums energy. An issue that i hear a lot is how to properly use your bass drum pedal for effective bass drum technique. Marching bass drum technique guide and exercise packet the role of the bass line the role of the bass drummer is one that requires many levels of accountability in the following areas. Tenor drum playing zones youtube marching tenor crossover technique youtube bass marching bass drum grip how to hold a bass mallet youtube cymbals these videos are approximations of the technique we utilize at south carolina. In contrast to the highimpact, multitonal, and complex patterns of american bass drum lines, the lone scottish bass drum requires constant smooth and fluid arm motions that aim to graze the lowtension heads to variable degrees. You cant have the bass drums running up and down like in a drum corps. For bass drum, a good analogy of this motion is turning a door knob.

The bass drum pedal beater should rebound off of the bass drum head like a bouncing ball. Bass drums, learn each warm up in unison rhythm and then focus on one part that you might want to play. Rebound in order to flow on a drum, it is necessary to harness the drum s energy. Marching percussion information and technique manual. Essential drumline warmups university of west georgia. Marching snare technique guide and exercise packet implement grip a great quality of sound and approach to the drum begins with the grip of the stick. In addition, the percussionist on bass drum needs a large palette of sound colors to use in various situations. Bass drum your bass drum is like a big tom laid on its side, therefore the above tuning techniques also apply. To isolate the back edge of the heel as the part of the foot that touches on the beat when marching forward. Individual performance, percussion ensemble and full ensemble responsibilities.

Haynes continued to operate for ditson under the j. Teaching, developing, maintaining solid marching frank. However, unlike toms, bass drums usually require muffling andor holes cut into the front head to achieve good sound. Marching bass stands, stadium stands lone star percussion. I have always loved rudimental drumming and still do. Basic snare drum technique by thom hannum there are a number of effective methods for learning basic snare drum technique. Ksumgf drumline technique overview marching golden.