marching rudiment help

[BerlingtonC]

I've recently been trying to improve on marching stuff so i can be section leader next year, and i was wondering what sort of rudiments should i practice?

also, im trying to do flam drags, but they just wont increase in speed, so i was wondering if i should focus on more basic elemets of that particular rudiment (like, the flam and the diddle) or should i just play them constantly until i get it?

Ok, last question, what are cheeses?

[maddrummr]

Hmmm cheeses? no idea.

For marching THE best thing to do is get a teacher. There is soo much stuff out there and so much tecnique that makes it hard to do even some by yourself. By yourself the best thing to do is the basics because once things get hard...they get hard!

[Flamacue]

Well, a little bit more about you would help. How long have you been playing, how big is the drumline. Are you on your own program, or do you have a dedicated instructor, or is the band director one of those percussion wanna-bees...?

Anyway, it's been a really long time since I did marching...but as I remember it was a difficult blend of tight grip vs fulcrum grip activities. As I remember it best a lot of it relied in the tighter grip, every finger was on the stick (lightly of course), and was a lot of wrist. We used to practice all the rudiments on Pillows, with the biggest sticks we could get; really works in the muscle tone. Once we were on the drums, it was a lot about the stick heights, and consistencies from player to player. It definitely was nothing like the drumming I do now. We had fun, but it was quite rigid.

I wish I could offer some help, all I can say is, remember section leader isn’t always about talent, it’s also about initiative and leadership. It wouldn’t surprise me if auditions have already begun for you some time this year. Keep in mind, a good leader is assertive and logical…you can never get personal, or take things personally if you want to be successful at it. Most of all, you have to be fair and balanced…sometimes the hardest thing to do is pick a side when one or more friends are involved. You’ll have to exude fine leadership traits and earn the respect of those you lead…it ain’t easy in High School…Good Luck!

[maddrummr]

Well, a little bit more about you would help. How long have you been playing, how big is the drumline. Are you on your own program, or do you have a dedicated instructor, or is the band director one of those percussion wanna-bees...?

Anyway, it's been a really long time since I did marching...but as I remember it was a difficult blend of tight grip vs fulcrum grip activities. As I remember it best a lot of it relied in the tighter grip, every finger was on the stick (lightly of course), and was a lot of wrist. We used to practice all the rudiments on Pillows, with the biggest sticks we could get; really works in the muscle tone. Once we were on the drums, it was a lot about the stick heights, and consistencies from player to player. It definitely was nothing like the drumming I do now. We had fun, but it was quite rigid.



Actually, right now my tenor instructor is having me play with a more legato stroke. He says it lessens the muscle tension and lets your whole arm move better from drum to drum.
All the other stuff is right what you said about stick heights and such. Man, my staff members are so pickey

[martianmambo]

You should focus on paradiddle-diddles, doubles, triples, and flammed rudiments (including drag and cheese variations). Also, focus a lot on clarity, stick heights, form, and timing. What was said above about initiative is also very important as well; section leaders aren't chosen specifically for their skill.

With flam-drags, you want to isolate each hand and work from there. Figure out the pattern that each hand is playing and work up your strength and speed from there. Also, build up strength with your doubles, especially in triplet-meter, by playing single-strokes at a comfortable tempo and then going through each individual note and doubling it. Another thing about flam drags: you need to be fast with flam-accents in order to start getting your speed up with flam drags.

Cheeses are a diddled-flam. You can cheese a flam accent by placing a diddle on the first note. They come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from your basic cheese flam accent to your inverted cheese (cheesed inverted flam taps) to your flam-five fubars (better shown than explained). Here's a few good sites with some great exercizes and rudiments:

http://www.tapspace.com/store/home.php?cat=258
http://teachers.edenpr.org/~benanderson/EPHS%20Drumline/Hybrid%20Rudiments.pdf
http://members.aol.com/gaiajan/hybrid.htm
http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/9356/hybrid.html

Those are all great sites with a lot of the really crazy "hybrid" marching rudiments. Plus, one of those sites covers "the grid," something absolutely necessary to mastering a lot of the rudiments.

If you want to really get a good grip on rudiments and their inner-workings and good practice methods, I suggest you check out Bill Bachman's book "Rudimental Logic." He covers a lot.

Also! Don't strictly rely on rudiments!! Try to have groove! It's all about execution of the music! That's why I included Tapspace, a good resource for checking out Santa Clara Vanguard's music with Murray Gusseck; their music is filled with groove and doesn't rely on rudiments too much (which isn't to say you should bust your butt practicing them until you cry).

Good luck!

[Sar]

*Ahem*
That's Cheezes
Not cheeses

*Hey sar! let's play a cheese"
*You wanna play a piece of cheese?*

[tsortoreyamaha]

I've recently been trying to improve on marching stuff so i can be section leader next year, and i was wondering what sort of rudiments should i practice?

also, im trying to do flam drags, but they just wont increase in speed, so i was wondering if i should focus on more basic elemets of that particular rudiment (like, the flam and the diddle) or should i just play them constantly until i get it?

Ok, last question, what are cheeses?

i'de start a little more basic..if u feel solid with those..work up their speed. When u are better at them, flam drags will seem much more natural

[BerlingtonC]

thanks for all your guys' help.

To answer your questions, Right now im a freshman in highschool and play snare drummer. The snare section has 5 people (none are really that good) and im about even with most of them, so i think that if i work hard this summer ill be in good shape.

[BerlingtonC]

*Ahem*
That's Cheezes
Not cheeses

*Hey sar! let's play a cheese"
*You wanna play a piece of cheese?*

ok, but wouldnt it be pronounced the same?

sorry for double post.

[maddrummr]

Oh yea...dont size yourself up to people you see on the internet and stuff.
I'm trying out for tenors and my director was on the Cavaliers.

dude he is a beast, a TOTAL beast.

You guys playin matched or trad?

[Flamacue]

thanks for all your guys' help.

To answer your questions, Right now im a freshman in highschool and play snare drummer. The snare section has 5 people (none are really that good) and im about even with most of them, so i think that if i work hard this summer ill be in good shape.

A sophomore section leader...that was unheard of in my school...they were always seniors, and of course the year I was a senior a new kid showed up as a Junior and smoked my a$$...I gave up the spot graciously, since I knew it was better for the line that he lead it. It sucked, but you live with a little disappointment and grow stronger because of it.

Anyway good luck, and Practice OFTEN!

[hauk]

definitely break it down. also, i would suggest against practicing on pillows - they teach you to create rebound & pull the stick up. on an ultra high tension marching snare, you want to let the rebound do all the work and only push down, not pull up on the stick. pillows are better for things like practicing getting fast on a loose floor tom

[skippy]

i suggest you pick up jeff queens playing with sticks video and his book. snarescience.com is rad too. you tube has some lessons i you look hard enough there are some good ones. and cheezes are flams with the accent diddled.

[Flamacue]

definitely break it down. also, i would suggest against practicing on pillows - they teach you to create rebound & pull the stick up. on an ultra high tension marching snare, you want to let the rebound do all the work and only push down, not pull up on the stick. pillows are better for things like practicing getting fast on a loose floor tom

That's actually some pretty logical advice...wish we'd have thought of that when I was in HS...

[mr_hayward_99]

get the book "savage rudimental workout"

it has all the 40 rudiments in it.

for each rudiment it has about 8-15 exercises getting you used to playing that particular rudiment then the rudiment has a page of redaing for you to play incorporating that rudiment.

i play drum setr and it is really useful so if you play just snare drum its going to be right up your street