Erie

All-City Marching Band Percussion

Battery: Snare Drum
In this packet you will find the exercises and techniques used in our battery. This packet belongs to:
E r i e A l l - C i t y M a r c h i n g B a n d w w w . e a c m b . o r g O f f i c e : 8 1 4 - 8 7 4 - 6 4 1 8 R o n u e l : 8 1 4 - 6 0 2 - 0 4 2 1 T e r r y : 8 1 4 - 3 9 7 - 4 7 2 4

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Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

Foundations of This Program

Music & Performance
Music is what ultimately gave us our beginning, our passion, and our drive to join this activity. Just as it is important to practice our music and learn to play drums, it is also beneficial to be a good music listener. Broadening your musical horizon to include many genres will in turn help you play in those styles and maybe even relate your parts better with others. So whether you have played Snare Drum your whole life or this is your first time ever holding a stick, we hope to teach you to be a better drummer but first and foremost, a better musician.

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.

Ex. Definition of Stick Heights & Dynamics would be:

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.

How you feel while drumming

Confident Relaxed Strong Let the sticks feel heavy in your hands---Let the weight do the work The stronger of an individual player you are and the more chops you possess, the more efficient you will become, and the more relaxed you will be while drumming. Make sure to always breath while drumming. This will cut down on tension and result in a healthier/more relaxed approach to the instrument. When in doubt, listen to what you are playing in order to correct issues.

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

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.

GRIP
Matched Grip

Snare Drum

* The fulcrum point is approximately 1/3 from the

bottom of the stick. This is where the pad of the thumb and the index finger meet. * Thumb should be directly on the side of the stick, NEVER above or below the stick. * Middle, ring, and pinky fingers will all wrap naturally around the stick. These fingers will rarely ever leave the stick while in motion. * There should be no daylight showing between any of the fingers at any point.

Attention Position (Sticks In)

Both sticks should be parallel with the ground. Hold both sticks as you normally hold one. Resting position for your hands can easily be checked by extending the index finger of your right hand, and touching the top edge of the rim with the tip of your finger. Arms are relaxed at your sides, with elbows being only a couple inches from your sides. The sticks should meet in the center of the playing surface and form a 90 degree angle, or the letter V. The beads should rest roughly inch above the playing surface, and apart.

Playing Position

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

The bead of the stick will rest slightly below the wrist, following the natural downward angle of the forearm.

Strokes
Key Points:
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 bead of the stick. In order to move the bead of the stick first, we will use the wrist to initiate the stroke. While the main focus is the wrist turn, allow the wrist, fingers, and arms to work together to create the most relaxed/full sound possible. Stick must move straight up and down in all strokes! When playing, the weight of the stick is should sit in the middle of the hand (between the middle and ring fingers). o Having the weight sit further back in the hand will allow us to achieve a fuller sound while focusing on the proper wrist turn Minimize the amount of human interference, allow each stroke to be as efficient as possible. DO NOT hold the stick with too tight of a grip.

Legato/Full Stroke:
Stick starts and stops at the same point, letting the stick rebound back up naturally The goal is to allow the rebound to do the work Rebound should occur at the same speed as the initial movement Avoid letting the stick hit the back of the hand which can stop the motion created. Fingers will stay touching the stick at all times.

Down Strokes:
Should sound the same as a full stroke and feel the same prior to hitting the drum. Once the drum is struck with the stick, stop the wrist motion in order to stop the stick at the original tacit position. Avoid squeezing the fingers to stop the motion of the stick. Simply stopping the wrist turn with the fingers closed around the stick will be enough to stop the stick 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.

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

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 as 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 turn upward lifting the bead of the stick 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.

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

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

Notes/Resources
This technique packet should be plenty of information to get you started on the right path towards success. Once you feel comfortable with all of these concepts it may be helpful to search the internet for more information. The same can be done if you are struggling with a concept. There is no substitute for watching people do things at a world class level and emulating what you see in your own practice time. Below are some resources to help:

Websites
www.youtube.com -- Search for Blue Devils Drumline, Bluecoats Drumline, Rhythm X, and Riverside Community College for examples of some of the best drumlines in the world. -- Search Arcadia Drumline 2011, Dartmouth Drumline, and Chino Hills High School Drumline 2010 for examples of some of the best High School drumlines in the world. -- Bluecoats Drum Break Finals Night....GO THERE NOW!!! -- DCI 2009 - Bluecoats Drumline in the lot @ San Antonio....GO HERE NOW TOO!!!

www.vicfirth.com -- TONS of information including articles about playing, videos demonstrating the skills, rudiments with play along tracks, and much more. www.steveweissmusic.com -- If you ever need equipment, music, or anything percussion related this is the place to go. They are cheap, have fast delivery, and are very reputable. My percussion friends, most schools I work with, and myself personally all get our products through them. -- Rudimental Logic by Bill Bachman

Books

-- The Next Level by Jeff queen -- Stick Control for the Snare Drummer by George Lawrence Stone -- Accents and Rebounds by George Lawrence Stone -- Dr. Throwdown's Rudimental Remedies by Dr. John Wooton -- A fresh Approach to Snare Drum by Mark Wessels -- The Snare Drummers Toolbox by Chris Crockarell and Chris Brooks Questions? -- Contact me by email anytime at: tenorguy33@yahoo.com -- If interested in private lesson inquire at the above email address.

Erie All-City Marching Band Percussion

General Information
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