| From Zero to Drummer in 3 Easy Lessons- Lesson 1 | ||
| Never played hand drums before? No worries, you'll be jamming in minutes! Lesson 1 introduces the beginner to GUN & DUN 'bass' strokes. |
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| Added on the 07/02/2006 |  |
188 Hits |
| Author Mark Powers | ||
| From Zero to Drummer in 3 Easy Lessons- Lesson 2 | ||
| Having mastered the GUN & DUN 'bass' strokes in Lesson 1, it's time to add the GO & DO 'open' strokes! | ||
| Added on the 09/02/2006 | Not Rated | 163 Hits |
| Author Mark Powers | ||
| From Zero to Drummer in 3 Easy Lessons- Lesson 3 | ||
| Rockin' on GUN & DUN 'bass' strokes (Lesson 1) and GO & DO 'open' strokes (Lesson 2)? Time to add the PA & TA 'slap' tones! | ||
| Added on the 09/02/2006 | Not Rated | 248 Hits |
| Author Mark Powers | ||
| PERCUSSION TOUCH; The Lenny Castro Style | ||
| The following excerpt showcases Lenny Castro’s exquisite use of percussion instruments in a song. This transcription is from a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” by Randy Crawford which was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. This is available as part of “Casino Lights” (WB 23718-2) a release which also features performances by Al Jarreau, David Sanborn, Mike Mainieri and the YellowJackets at the festival. This performance is a testament of the skillful way he incorporates percussion, in this case three woodblocks, a high pitched cowbell and a caxixi, in rhythmically accurate patterns and colourful punctuations which do wonders for the song. Apart from those instruments the rest of the song also incorporates triangles and tambourine. In discussing this with Lenny he commented that “the hard thing with this type of playing style is that you need the help of a percussion friendly engineer who is going to mic you up well and who is also going to really understands the placement of the percussion instruments in the song. This is because it can be a very thin line between being too much up front, or too far back where you cannot hear it enough of it. It really needs that special place in the mix”. Find the recording and have a good listen to his performance, a wonderful display of his first rate musical style |
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| Added on the 15/11/2004 | |
254 Hits |
| Author Alex Expertout | ||
| SMALL PERCUSSION; A Methodical Approach | ||
| In my travels I am often asked to demonstrate some of the fundamentals involved in playing small percussion instruments such as tambourine, shaker, cabasa, triangle, güiro, reco reco, maracas, caxixi, etc. Before showcasing the various rhythms from the vast traditional repertoire available I often discuss a methodical approach to the various instruments which involves among other things developing a good sound and technique and a strong rhythmic approach. Playing along to records further enhances this gradual development. You have to be patient in terms of its development as you are aiming for accuracy, finesse and overall musicality when playing the patterns. As the patterns are actually quite easy to sight read the important part is to go beyond the written part and get to a place where you experience the rhythmic qualities of the various patterns. As you develop them make sure you also spend some time recording yourself as you play along to records and critically analyse the outcomes. As someone who has spent considerable time in the recording studio I cannot stress this area enough. Here is the first step which involves the development of a strong and steady eighth note rhythm as shown in example 1. For a play along track try a slow ballad and/or a bossa nova. |
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| Added on the 15/11/2004 | |
222 Hits |
| Author Alex Expertout | ||
| Taiko | ||
| "Taiko refers to both the modern art of taiko drumming (kumi-daiko), and to the taiko drums themselves. Taiko in the Japanese classical arts have a history spanning close to two thousand years, and modern taiko drumming (kumi-daiko) is quickly taking the world by storm. The Rolling Thunder Taiko Resource is dedicated to gathering and sharing information about taiko. Do you have taiko questions? This is the place to come for answers!" | ||
| Added on the 15/11/2004 | Not Rated | 132 Hits |
| Author Taiko.com | ||
| Tambourine Quicktips | ||
| "The tambourine you use for concert band or orchestra should be a good quality wooden instrument usually 10" in diameter with 2 rows of jingles, and DEFINITELY a head! Headless tambourines are almost never appropriate in general playing. They are sometimes more desirable in rock or pop music situations" |
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| Added on the 15/11/2004 | Not Rated | 144 Hits |
| Author Total Percussion | ||
| Triangle Quicktips | ||
| The triangle should be an exceptional quality instrument. Few other percussion instruments get used as much, so make a good investment in one. My favorites are the Abel 6" Symphonic or Grover 6". The triangle should have a lot of overtones. One prominent overtone could be mistaken for a definite pitch, disrupting the intonation of the group. For instance, imagine your band playing this beautiful B flat major chord, and there is the triangle sounding B natural! Try to make sure the instrument has no one distinct tone. |
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| Added on the 15/11/2004 | |
169 Hits |
| Author Total Percussion | ||
