Rudiments: Basic & Beyond | Part 2

Rudiments: Basic and Beyond | Part 2

by Mark Shelton

Good ideas and good hands! A percussionist needs creativity coupled with the ability to bring the cool stuff from the brain onto the drums. Studying rudiments will assist you in developing both the creative and technical areas of percussion. Part One presented a few key moments in the history of rudiments along with suggestions for learning.   Part Two will provide tips to sharpen your rudimental chops and stimulate your creativity.   

Pianissimo Practice

Sure, you can knock out a ratamacue at medium volume, but what happens when a low dynamic is required? Challenge yourself to practice rudiments at super-soft levels while maintaining the same clarity as with higher volumes. 

Bare Hands

Many rudiments can be adapted to hand percussion such as congas, bongos, and cajon. (Buzz strokes are a notable exception.) Transferring rudiments onto hand drums will expand your technical skills and serve as a creative catalyst.

Sub Buzz 

The measured roll rudiments such as the five, seven, and thirteen stroke rolls are played with double strokes (two consecutive strikes per hand). Change things up by substituting a buzz (multiple bounce) stroke instead of the double stroke. (You will still use the same primary hand motions.) The measured grace notes in the drag-based rudiments (e.g., triple ratamacue & double drag tap) can also be exchanged for buzz strokes.

Soup Up Your Sweep

Playing drums with brushes consists of striking along with the sweeping technique. Years ago, I attended a clinic by renowned drummer Ed Soph. A master of brushes, Ed recommended playing exercises from Stick Control by George L. Stone using the sweeping technique. Duly inspired, I dug out my copy of the classic drum method book and began putting the advice into practice. Applying sweeping motions to the permutations in the opening section of  Stick Control will not only improve your brush technique, but it will also inspire ideas to create grooves and fills.

Try The Combo Platter

Mix two or more elements and the result is a hybrid. If multiple rudiments are combined, you get a hybrid rudiment. Drummers have developed hundreds of these composite licks. After you have the basic rudiments secured in your brain and hands, add some hybrids to your drumming vocabulary. There are several websites with notation of various hybrids. You can find a large listing that includes the parabuzzle, chatachichi, and inverted cheese flam tap at www.drumminaround.com. A collection of hybrids are included in Bill Bachman’s book Rudimental Logic 3.0. 

Pillow Practice  

Deepen your control of double stroke rudiments (e.g., nine stroke roll & paradiddle) by practicing on a surface that will provide little to no rebound such as a feather pillow or a folded towel on top of a drum or practice pad. This will assist in improving your ability to control the second note of the double stroke without relying on the rebound.

Switch Hitting

Are you a  percussionist (like me) who plays both traditional and matched grips?  Check yourself periodically to maintain your rudimental prowess with both grips.

Rudimental Improv 

Allow rudiments to spark creativity. Start playing a rudiment and improvise freely. After some exploration, add a second rudiment into the mix. If something interesting and potentially useful bursts forth, STOP and record your gem.  

Solo Time

If all the rudimental snare solos were played one after another, it would be a very long (and loud) concert. Hundreds upon hundreds have been written over the last few centuries and people keep composing more. Solos place a variety of rudiments into the context of an actual piece of music—plus it’s fun to play rudimental solos! 

These classic books contain multiple solos:  

Haskell W. Harr Drum Method Book 2  by Haskell Harr 

America's N.A.R.D. Drum Solos (The Green Book)  by various composers 

Fourteen Modern Contest Solos for Snare Drum by John S. Pratt

Whether playing with sticks, mallets, brushes, or bare hands, rudiments should have a place in your percussion life. Keep the basic rudiments stored in your brain and hands always at the ready. I recommend a weekly run-through of the Percussive Arts Society’s Forty International Drum Rudiments.  

My rudiment day is Tuesday.  

(c) Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship   This article previously appeared in Worship Musician magazine.

Rudiments: Basics and Beyond | Part 1

Rudiments:  Basics and Beyond | Part 1

Back in the day, a poster with The Thirteen Essential Rudiments published by Ludwig Drum Company hung on the back wall of my high school band hall. An LP album with rudiment demonstrations resided among my band director’s reference materials. 

A multitude of school-age percussionists honed their skills as they chopped through the baker’s dozen of drumming licks on that poster.  

Although rudiments are often associated with marching percussion, the rudiments are not exclusive to drum lines. Whether your principal percussion outlet is hand drumming or you prefer drum set, a working knowledge of basic rudiments will enhance your drumming skills and add to your creative arsenal. My rudimental training serves as the foundation for all of my drumming technique, and certain aspects of those fundamentals influence my approach to keyboard percussion. 

If you are getting started on the rudimental journey, you will find tips and resources in this two-article series, while percussionists who are farther along will find methods for sharpening their rudimental prowess.

A search of the web will provide a variety of definitions for drum rudiments. I might as well add my description to the pile: a drum rudiment contains one or more of the basic striking methods along with a specific sticking permutation—with or without accent(s). 

The Super-Brief History Highlights

Drummers have been concocting catchy little snatches of rhythms and passing them along to their fellow percussionists from time immemorial. Pinpointing the actual start of rudiments is impossible. However, evidence of notated drum rudiments appears around the late sixteenth century.

Over time, collections of rudiments were presented in various drumming manuals, but two significant events in the evolution of rudiments happened within the last one hundred years. 

• The National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD) was formed in 1933 by a group of thirteen prominent American percussionists. The members collaborated to assemble a grouping of rudiments that were termed The Thirteen Essential Rudiments.

1. Long Roll

2. Five Stroke Roll

3. Seven Stroke Roll

4. Flam

5. Flam Accent

6. Flam Paradiddle

7. Flamacue

8. Ruff

9. Single Drag

10. Double Drag

11. Double Paradiddle

12. Single Ratamacue

13. Triple Ratamacue

• Fast forward about a half-century when the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) adopted a new listing of rudiments. The 1984 collection of Forty International Drum Rudiments drew from marching, orchestral, and international influences. 

Get Started

• Begin learning common basic rudiments by downloading a free copy of the Percussive Arts Society’s Forty International Drum Rudiments at www.pas.org. Go to Menu and click on Resources and find Rudiments. Along with the notation, you can listen to recordings of all forty rudiments. 

• Private lessons from a qualified teacher will aid in learning the fundamentals and tutorial videos are available online.

• A range of method books devoted to rudiments are available. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Haskell W. Harr Drum Method Book 2   Haskell Harr 

Written by PAS Hall of Fame member Haskell Harr, this manual contains instruction on twenty-six rudiments along with exercises. Several rudimental solos are included along with access to audio files. While writing this article, I dug out my copy of Mr. Harr’s venerable book and knocked out the classic solo “Downfall of Paris” on a practice pad. Good stuff.

Rudimental Logic 3.0  by Bill Bachman

Drummers of all levels will find learning strategies and wisdom in this book from rudimental authority Bill Bachman. Topics include standard rudiments, grips, stroke techniques, and hybrid rudiments along with over 150 exercises.  

Old-School Open-Close-Open

One of the time-honored methods for developing control of a rudiment is called playing open to close to open. The term simply means slow to fast to slow. Begin the process by playing a rudiment at a very slow, deliberate tempo, paying careful attention to each note. Gradually increase the speed until you are at your maximum and still have control. Hold that speed for a moment before beginning to gradually decrease the tempo, eventually returning to your original tempo. The exercise should take about 60 to 90 seconds to complete. At the aforementioned PAS website, the rudiment recordings are presented in open-close-open format. 

Running a rudiment through this process will advance your ability to play a rudiment at a wide variety of tempos. The exercise is especially useful for the development of rolls.  

Be sure to check back next month for the second installment of this two-part series.  Various methods for improving and deepening your rudimental skills will be presented along with ideas for using rudiments to boost your creativity.

This article was previously published in Worship Musician magazine.

Tweak. Adjust. Edit. Manipulate

Tweak. Adjust. Edit. Manipulate.

by Mark Shelton

Although you are playing the exact rhythms and pitches, a percussion part might need some fine-tuning before it conforms properly. Whether a part comes from a carefully notated score or a rhythm pattern sung by the director, it is your responsibility to endeavor to weave assigned parts correctly into the entire musical fabric.

Correct Instrument 

Tambourine, tamborim, tambour, tam-tam. Although the spellings are similar, each of those ‘tam’ words refers to a different percussion instrument. Your seemingly out-of-place part might not be fitting because you have chosen the wrong instrument. Percussion names can be confusing. For example: timbales is the French term for timpani, while timbales also refers to the single-headed, shallow-shell drums commonly played in salsa music. A quick search of the web or consulting a dictionary of percussion terms will steer you to the appropriate instrument.

Proper Tone 

German silver or beryllium copper jingles? Wooden shell or metal? Wire brushes or nylon? Percussionists are blessed with the ability to change tones to better fit our sound into a musical passage. It can be as easy as striking a snare drum in a different area of the head or using a harder timpani mallet to produce the appropriate timbre. Allow your ear and musical instincts to guide you as you search for that 'just right' tone color. I will often 'audition' different timbres during a rehearsal to determine which one works best for a particular musical moment.

Ideal Dynamic

Finding the appropriate volume level so that your part fits into the overall balance of instruments requires a critical ear along with dynamic control of your instrument. Listen to the total sound of the ensemble and imagine the ideal volume for your part BEFORE you enter. Try to play at that level and evaluate if your dynamic is blending correctly into the mix.  

Accurate Note Lengths

Notated percussion parts are sometimes written with imprecise note lengths. If your part was conceived to double rhythmically with another instrument, the parts might not be matching due to inaccurate notation. This problem is most obvious with percussion instruments that are capable of long sustain such as concert bass drum, crash cymbals, timpani, and triangle.

If you suspect this problem, you can either figure out the proper note lengths by listening or by taking a look at the correctly notated score.

Octave Placement

A number of the definite-pitched percussion instruments transpose to a different octave than what is notated. This practice is done to avoid excessive use of ledger lines. Timpani sound an octave lower than written, while the xylophone soars an octave higher than notated, and the glockenspiel rings two octaves above the written notes. It is possible for a composer or arranger to unknowingly score these instruments in the wrong octave. Experiment with adjusting octaves to place a part in a characteristic register.

Effects

A big dose of elevator-shaft reverb on a single woodblock shot can be super tasty, but the same instrument without the effect can sound awkward in the same musical passage. Acoustic sounds can be transformed significantly with audio signal processing. Without the proper effect, an acoustic instrument might seem out-of-place. If your 'dry' acoustic instrument tone isn't making it in the mix, consider playing an appropriate digital sample.

The Last Resort

On rare occasions, you will encounter percussion parts that seemed like a good concept in the head of the writer or producer, but the idea just doesn’t work when played in context. Such a part will defy your best efforts to make fit. Consider rewriting or deleting.  

Whether you are assigned a lead line or a simple background rhythm, use your critical listening skills to evaluate your part and apply the treatments that will best serve the music.  

(c) 2020  Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship

This article previously appeared in Worship Musician magazine www.worshipmusician.com

Get Creative!

 Get Creative!

by Mark Shelton

The Creator of the universe placed creativity within mankind and God expects us to use this amazing gift. Are you exercising your creative musical skills? Do you have a growth plan? The following music creation projects are designed to challenge and sharpen your improvisation and composition prowess.

Generate

If you are new to creating personal music, you might wonder how to get the initial material that you can develop further. One method is to simply improvise. If you've allowed yourself to make up music in the moment, you are an improviser. 

Take the freedom and fun of improvisation into your practice session. Experiment with different time signatures, make up melodies built on exotic scales, create a polyrhythmic pattern, play outside of metric restrictions, or you can improvise within your comfort zone. Just get your autoschediasm going!

Pay attention to your noodling and when one of your spontaneous snippets of sound strikes you favorably, STOP!  Try to recreate it immediately. When the musical tidbit can be played to your liking, capture the brilliant fragment by notation or on an audio recording. As you continue to collect musical gems from your improvisations, you will accumulate a lick library with material for potential development.

Now that you're generating original musical ideas, it's time to move further with these next creative exercises.

Create A Groove

As a percussionist, you’re probably experienced with weaving your parts into the rhythmic ideas of your groove colleagues. Armed with that background, try creating a multi-part groove. If all the parts suddenly pop into your brain at the same time, that’s a blessing and a time-saver. If that doesn’t always happen, here’s  an exercise to guide you:

1. Decide on the number of parts for your groove. (You can add or delete during the process.) My example contains four parts.

2. Compose or choose a main skeletal rhythm—maybe one from your lick library. 

My example main skeletal rhythm is notated in Figure 1. The skeletal rhythm is split between two parts in Figure 2.

3. Experiment to add other parts to complement the skeletal rhythm. See Figure 3.  

If you have access to a sequencer, you can enter the parts to hear how the rhythms interact. Keezy Drummer is a simple sequencer app that I use. 

4. Once you are satisfied with how the rhythms interact, assign the parts to various timbres. Consider spreading the parts across a broad spectrum of frequencies and/or contrasting timbres. Check out Figure 4 to see my example. My groove is orchestrated for one person playing cajon, maraca, and foot tambourine.

Re-orchestrate  

Continue your creative fun by re-orchestrating your groove. Reassign timbres within a single instrument or assign the parts to a completely different set of instruments.  

In my first re-orchestration example, I have reassigned parts by simply flipping the cajon bass and corner slap rhythms. See Figure 5. The switch makes a big difference.

The cajon-based groove is orchestrated for drum set in Figure 6.

A Little Variety

Develop your ability to create variations on rhythmic themes.  Start with a short rhythm pattern as your theme and create variations around the theme. The ideas below will get you started:

• The main rhythm of a song’s melody or a rhythm pattern from your lick library can be used as your theme.

• Merely changing dynamics can create a variation.

• Shift your theme suddenly (or subtly) to a different time signature. Using my cajon groove as my theme, I created a variation in 12/8 in Figure 7.

• If your theme contains multiple parts, consider dropping some notes to create a linear variation. See example in Figure 8.

• Spice up the theme with ornaments and stroke types such as flams, drags, and buzz strokes.

• Add ghost notes to fill in empty spaces in your theme. 

• Inserting accents might transform your theme into a double-time or half-time feel.

You get the idea. Along with being a creative exercise, sharpening your ability to add variations is a powerful tool when called upon to improvise a solo or to respond to the worship leader's request to "do something to change up the groove."

Use your musical creativity to create something musical.  Frequently.  And have fun.  

Sing skillfully to Him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy.   Psalms 33:3 WEB

Catch a weekly minute of percussion education from Mark's ‘Percussion Tip Tuesday’ on Instagram  www.instagram.com/marksheltonperc

Suspended Cymbal

Suspended  Cymbal  Advice 

A Superb Cymbal Roll

Composers, arrangers, and producers have long understood the power of a suspended cymbal roll.  A cymbal roll is equally at home swelling to a climax in Percy Grainger's "Irish Tune from County Derry" or  smoothing a transition in a Chris Tomlin song. 

The Right Gear

A superb cymbal roll starts with the right gear—especially the cymbal itself. For suspended cymbal work, choose a plate that is relatively thin so that the instrument can easily vibrate and ‘speak’ at a very soft volume level. Some manufacturers produce cymbals that are specifically designed for suspended cymbal performance. (Those are easy to identify because the word 'suspended' is stamped on the plate.) A thin crash cymbal designed for use with a drum set will also function as a suspended cymbal. For general performance, I recommend plates between 16-19 inches in diameter.  

You may observe orchestral percussionists hanging a cymbal with a leather strap from a ‘gooseneck’ stand. I prefer the stability and convenience of a conventional center-post stand. Prevent buzzes and extraneous noises by equipping the post with a plastic sleeve and felt washer. 

Drum sticks, wire brushes, and bundled rods may be used for cymbal rolls, but the more common implement is a soft-headed mallet. Specially designed mallets for suspended cymbal performance are available for purchase, or yarn-wrapped marimba mallets (my go-to) are another option. 

Technique Tips

• Double stroke and buzz rolls on a cymbal are possible using drum sticks, but the single stroke roll is the standard performance practice.

• Roll with one mallet positioned at 3:00 and the other at 9:00 on the cymbal.

• Both mallets should be near the cymbal’s edge for general playing.

• Practice your single stroke roll on a low-sustaining surface to check for evenness between the hands.

• Monitor your roll speed for a smooth sonority. Let your ear guide your hands for the correct rate of motion.    

• Explore each cymbal to learn its response and volume peak. 

• Practice rolls that begin very softly and crescendo, as well as rolls that start at a loud dynamic level followed by a decrescendo.

• The sound of a cymbal roll is often allowed to naturally dissipate, but sometimes the sound must be stopped suddenly. The ‘choke’ can be accomplished by grabbing the plate between the thumb and fingers to stop vibrations or by gently leaning your abdomen into the edge of the cymbal.  

Applications

In notated scores, the placement of cymbal rolls is determined by the composer or arranger. When the performer is expected to create a percussion part, the decision to insert rolls is part of the assignment. Transition points such as meter changes, modulations, or changes between song sections are worthy candidates for a cymbal roll.  A crescendo roll can lead up to a climax while a decrescendo roll can assist in reducing the energy level in a song. When creating ambient or ethereal textures, consider a well-placed roll. With all the possibilities, resist the urge to overuse the effect.  

Countless examples of cymbal rolls are heard in musical styles ranging from classical to rock to modern worship. Along with investing in proper gear and developing a beautiful-sounding roll, study a variety of music to develop concepts for applying this important percussion effect. 

(c) 2019  Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship

This article was previously published in Worship Musician magazine.  www.worshipmusician.com

Click Advice

 The click is here to stay.  

               Here's some advice about practicing with a click.

Bonus Uses of Four-mallet Technique #percussiontiptuesday

In addition to performing 3 and 4-mallet keyboard percussion music, a four-mallet grip is useful in other situations.

Worship Musician article July 2020

Check out my percussion article in Worship Musician! 

July 2020 issue

Click the link below and read the article:

https://joom.ag/9LTC/p112

Smooth The Buzz #percussiontiptuesday

Shekere: Alternate Technique

In addition to traditional shekere technique, there are alternate methods.  Mark Shelton demonstrates an easy one in this short video.  

Triangle Tip: Holding Hand

The triangle holding hand does more than just support the triangle holder.  Learn more in this one-minute tutorial with Mark Shelton.

Precise Landing

Learn how to land a note precisely when playing 

shake tambourine

A Weekly Dose of Rudiments

A little advice about rudiments in this short video!

Download a free copy of the Percussive Arts Society Drum Rudiments at www.pas.org

One-hand Cymbal Roll

No need to grow another arm when you need to throw in cymbal roll while playing another instrument.  Check out this simple solution.

Cookin' With The Cabasa

Percussion instruments produce sounds by striking, scraping, and/or shaking.

The small, but versatile cabasa can function in all three areas of tone creation.

The sound producing elements of the cabasa include a ridged metal sheet wrapped around a cylinder that is encircled by strands of metal beads. A handle is attached to one of the flat surfaces of the cylinder and caps at the ends of the cylinder prevent the strands of beads from sliding off the cylinder. The tonal possibilities of the cabasa include sounds reminiscent of guiro, maracas, and shekere.   

Adjustment Tips 

If your beads of your cabasa do not slide easily over the ridged surface, try these conditioning pointers:

 Place the end of a thin rod (such as a triangle beater) under a strand wire and apply pressure to expand the strand slightly. Repeat for all the strands.

 Insert the sharpened end of a pencil under the beads and scrape the pencil along the ridged surface to lay down a coating of graphite that will act as a lubricant.

Grip and Playing Position

The handle of the cabasa can be held with either hand. I prefer to grip the handle with my dominant hand. The rotation technique feels more comfortable with my stronger and more agile hand. 

The main playing position situates the instrument slightly in front of the player's chest near the bottom of the sternum with the handle parallel to the floor. The non-holding hand remains near the cabasa for the striking and scraping techniques.

Tone production

 Striking

Use the four fingers of the free hand to strike the beads. You can tap on the beads closest to the floor or strike the upper area. This is a delicate timbre, but certainly useful.

 Shaking 

Experiment with controlling the beads as you shake the cabasa with a side-to-side motion. With practice, you can control the beads as they slap against the cylinder. This sound is similar to a shaker, but with a tighter articulation.

 Scraping 

Place your free hand palm and fingers on a portion of the beads. You can position your hand under the cylinder or at the upper area. (Check out the video.)

                         

Exert slight pressure against the beads with your free hand and rotate the cabasa cylinder slightly using the handle. You will hear the beads scrape against the ridged metal surface. Rotate the cylinder in the opposite direction to produce another scrape. 

Practice the back-and-forth motion to produce steady streams of eighth and sixteenth notes.

Check out my short video tutorial (on the Worship Training website) to view a demonstration of striking, scraping, and shaking methods for the cabasa.

With experimentation and practice, you will be able to produce scrapes of various lengths. Controlling the note durations is one of the major means of musical phrasing with the cabasa.

As you develop your technique on the cabasa, experiment with creating rhythm patterns in different time signatures and musical styles. Try improvising along with recordings. Build up your repertoire of cabasa licks and be ready to drop some striking, scraping, and shaking into a groove.

2019 Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship

This article was previously published in Worship Musician magazine.  
www.worshipmusician.com

Rock Cowbell Tone #percussiontiptuesday

Get a solid ROCK tone on the cowbell !!

Thumb Roll Made Easy

If you've ever tried to play a thumb roll on the headed tambourine, you know it can be dangerous.  Your thumb might slide around without producing a roll. Yikes!!

Check out the Roll Ring from Grover Pro Percussion!

Get one of these and never fear the thumb roll.

Natural Acoustics Lab Shaker Demo

Lots of shakers in my collection--different shapes and sizes

Check out this demo of a shaker from Natural Acoustics Lab

                 www.naturalacousticslab.com

Cowbell and Tambourine

Short tutorial on playing cowbell and tambourine at the same time.

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