FIU Percussion Day - 2021 Edition!!

I am thrilled to be able to host this year’s FIU Percussion Day (the 4th annual!) virtually via Zoom this year on Monday, February 15, from 3:00-6:00pm EST. It’ll be great to bring percussionists from different schools and areas together to share and learn together!

This year’s event will include a clinic on warm-ups (Why, How, and How Much?), a masterclass on Solo and Ensemble repertoire, a virtual presentation on FIU Indoor Percussion, performances by myself and FIU Percussion Studio members, and an opportunity to speak with a representative from the FIU School of Music Admissions.

For more information, and to pre-register, please follow the links below:

More information here.

Register here.

And, here is a sneak preview to some of the handouts and exercises that will be referenced during the clinic!

All are welcome - percussion students of all ages, teachers, band directors, and percussion enthusiasts! Hope to see you there :)

Rudiment Challenge

As my students hear all of the time, rudiments are SO important to our development as percussionists, because they help us develop control over so many different combinations of stickings and types of strokes (full, up, down, and tap), and we use these skills not just in rudimental and concert snare drumming, but really in all areas of percussion.

With this in mind, and knowing that many students are stuck at home right now with sticks and a pad, I’m happy to share with you all the Rudiment Challenge that I have designed and use in lessons and group classes with students of all levels. This challenge includes all Diddle Rudiments, Flam Rudiments, and Drag Rudiments.

I won’t try to reinvent the wheel, so please head over to the Percussive Arts Society’s International Drum Rudiments page for a listing of all of the rudiments, as well as high-quality recordings of each one.

Instructions and Tips for using the Rudiment Challenge:

• There are 4 columns on the Rudiment Challenge that correspond with 4 Levels: 1, 2, 3, and 4. The challenge is designed so that beginners and students with less rudimental experience will be able to achieve Level 1 tempos, and Level 4 tempos are what I expect from advanced high school and college students. (Levels 2 and 3 are evenly distributed in between, and intermediate students typically achieve these tempos). The numbers that correspond with each level are the tempos on your metronome. (Correct stickings, strokes, and stick heights must be maintained at every level!)

• All rudiments should be played at the same rhythmic value as notated on the PAS Rudiment page (i.e. Single Paradiddles are notated as 16th notes, so the tempo markings are written assuming the paradiddles are played as 16th notes). (For simplicity’s sake, I kept the tempos for Double Paradiddles and Paradiddle-Diddles the same as Single Paradiddles, even though they are in groups of 6 rather than 4 - the 16th note stays the same speed!)

• While some of the rudiments are listed in order, many are not - this is on purpose!! What I’ve done is group rudiments together based on similarities between rudiments, so I think it’s easier to work in the order of the rudiment challenge, rather than in the numerical order of the rudiments. For example, Flam Taps (#22), Swiss Army Triplets (#28), and Single Flammed Mill (#25) all start with a flam followed by a single stroke on the same hand as the flam, so it makes sense to me to work on this 3 rudiments consecutively.

I usually use this Rudiment Challenge in conjunction with private or group instruction, paying a great deal of attention to each student’s technique, strokes, and stick heights. While in-person private or group instruction is not feasible at the present, I hope that this resource is useful to percussion students and instructors! Please send me an email at karlyn.vina@gmail.com with any questions or feedback!

An Analytical Approach to Rudiments: Part One, Types of Strokes and Stickings

As my students hear on a regular basis, the study of rudiments is crucial for developing a solid technical foundation as a percussionist.  I think of rudiments as a percussionists' basics and essentials, but not because they are easy or meant only for beginners.  The 40 Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments encompass a huge variety of combinations of different types of strokes and stickings that, when mastered at a variety of tempi and dynamics, leave the player well-prepared to tackle most technical challenges in music.

Let me explain more of what I mean by types of strokes and stickings. 

I conceptualize all snare drumming (excluding only multiple-bounce and double-stroke rolls) to be made up of four basic types of strokes:

• Full stroke: the stick starts high, rebounds, and ends in the starting position. (Full stroke can occur at any dynamic, with starting stick height to be adjusted to create desired dynamic.)
• Down stroke: the stick starts high, the rebound is controlled, and the stick ends low (very close to the drum head).
• Up stroke: the stick starts low, the rebound is assisted by the player's wrist and arm, and the stick ends high.
• Tap: the stick starts low, and ends low, in starting position.

The type of stroke for any note depends on two factors: the volume of the note in context of the rudiment or musical passage, and the height of the note that follows.  In other words, every stroke consists of two parts: the "pre-stroke" prepares to strike the drum and create the sound of the note on the page, and the "post-stroke" serves to set up the proper stick height for the following note. 

The term "stickings" simply refers to playing each note with either the Right or Left hand.  Many players, especially beginners, have a strong predisposed preference for one hand, and the ideal is to become equally competent and comfortable with both hands, and with any combination of stickings that the music may demand.  To tackle this skill, I recommend starting with the four Diddle Rudiments in group II. of the PAS International Drum Rudiments and the Single Beat Combinations that begin on page 5 of G. L. Stone's Stick Control. 

As an educator, one of my primary goals is always to equip students with the basic musical and technical skills they'll need for a variety of musical situations and challenges that may exist in their futures.  For percussion students, this means studying and mastering the basics, including types of strokes, stickings, and rudiments. 

For more on the four basic types of strokes and their application to specific rudiments, keep reading to see my next post, Part Two: Application of the Strokes.

An Analytical Approach to Rudiments: Part Two, Application of the Strokes

As a performer and instructor, I often find it enormously helpful to diagnose technical or musical problems by isolating what one hand must play from the other hand.  In the following examples, I will break down several rudiments to show the strokes and rhythm that each individual hand must perform to play the rudiments cleanly and accurately.

The Flam Rudiments, part III. of the Percussive Arts Society International Rudiments, can serve as a prime example of application of the Four Basic Types of Strokes to rudimental snare drumming.   (For a review of the Four Basic Types of Strokes, see Part One of this series.)

Let's first apply the four basic types of strokes to the flam.  A flam, for any non-percussionists, is a note with a single grace note.  A flam serves an ornamental purpose, fattening the attack of a note to create variety in articulation.  To play a flam, a percussionist sets up with one stick low (perhaps 1-2 inches from the head) and the other stick high (specific height depends on dynamic) and brings the sticks down at the same time.  Since the low stick, or grace note, is set up closer to the drum head, it attacks just before the high stick, or main note.  The effect should be a slightly widened attack; I often tell students to consider the two strokes of the flam to be one event: a "flam" rather than a "fa - lam."  If the left stick is set up low and right stick high, we refer to this as a right flam, since the right stick is the main note.  Conversely, a left flam is set up with the left stick high and right stick low. 

In the following examples, I use the following abbreviations to denote stroke types:

• F = full stroke
• T = tap
• D = down stroke
• U = up stroke

The stem lengths in the following examples are meant to represent three different stick heights:

• The longest stem represents an accented high stick height.
• The medium stem represents an unaccented high height.
• The shortest stem represents a low stick height.

A series of flams can be played as repeated right or left flams, or alternating flams.

To play repeated right flams, the right hand plays only full strokes, while the left hand plays only taps, placed just before the right hand attack.  Each hand separately would look like this:

For repeated left flams, the reverse is true: full strokes in the left hand, and taps in the right.

To play alternating flams, the right and left hands utilize alternating up and down strokes to set up for the opposite flam.  For example, after playing a right flam, the right stick must be set low to prepare to be the grace note in the upcoming left flam.  After playing the grace note, the right stick must be raised to prepare for the upcoming right flam.  When playing alternating flams, each hand individually plays the following pattern: up-down-up-down-etc.

The flam tap is slightly more complicated.  Since flam taps alternate in succession, each hand repeats the same stroke pattern of full-down-up, with an accent on the full stroke:

The flam accent pattern is similar to the flam tap, but follows a different rhythmic pattern and a full stroke is added after the up stroke.  Each hand will play full-down-up-full, with an accent on the first full stroke:

Isolating each hand can make it much easier to diagnose and correct issues in rudiments (and really, in any musical passage).  I find that if each hand can perform the rhythms and strokes demanded by the rudiments cleanly and accurately, success in performing the composite rudiment is much more likely.  This strategy can also help students begin to develop a detail-orientated approach to practicing, which will certainly be useful in their continued musical studies. 

Please be contact me with questions or feedback!

7 Things Band Directors Should Know about Timpani

Over the years, I've found that many non-percussionist middle school and high school band directors feel like they just don't know enough about timpani.  I know that in the whirlwind semester of percussion methods, a lot of details can be lost between triple paradiddles and which mallets to use on glockenspiel.  This list isn't meant to be all-inclusive, but is a good start for those who want to know more!

1.  Sizes

The sizes of the drums are important to know, not just when ordering replacement heads (although this is important too!), but because individual timpani are often referred to by their size, of diameter in inches (i.e. "for the concert, we'll only need the 29 and 26," or "tune an 'A' on the 29").

Most middle school and high school band programs have 4 timpani, sized at 32", 29", 26", and 23" (less common sizes in school programs are 30", 28", 25", 22").  Advanced programs and colleges will typically have 5 timpani, adding a 20".

2.  Ranges

Band directors should know the ranges of the drums so they can help students with tuning schemes (knowing on which drum to tune each required pitch in a piece), and also so they can check to make sure that the drums stay in the correct ranges so that all necessary pitches can be reached.  All of the ranges that I teach students span a perfect 5th of notes that you should always be able to count on sounding good on each timpano.  Each drum should also reach a little higher and a little lower than the given range - maybe even up to an octave - but these are the pitches that you should always be able to tune on each drum.

32": D2 - A2

29": F2 - C3

26": B-flat2 - F3

23": D3 - A3

20": F3 - C4

*If you are a non-percussionist band director and you discover that one or more of your school's timpani are out of range, this is an example of a time I'd recommend calling a professional percussionist to work on the drums. 

3.  Grip and Stroke

Two of the most common timpani grips are French grip (thumbs facing up, palms facing in) and German grip (backs of hands facing up, palms facing down).  As a performer, I use both, depending on the musical situation, but as a private teacher, I always start students on timpani with French grip.  This is because one of the most important characteristics of a general timpani stroke is lift, or returning the mallet to the starting position immediately after attacking the head.  The immediate lift results in a less "thwacky" sound and more pleasant and characteristic timpani tone.  I introduce students to French grip on timpani first because I conceptualize that with less flesh on top of the stick (thumbs only), lifting comes more naturally.  Ultimately, I find that developing and reinforcing good habits in grip and stroke is best achieved with consistent, mindful practice and the guidance of a private teacher.

4.  Beating Spots

As a general rule for beating spots, I tell students to play in from the rim about 1/3 of the radius of the drum.  This means that the beating spot is relative to the drum size.  In practice, timpanists adjust their beating spots based on desired sound - moving a bit closer to the center will darken the tone, while moving closer to the rim will create a brighter tone.  In the beginning, students tend to have inconsistent beating spots, and especially tend to play too far towards the center on the 23" drum, so it's important to correct and reinforce good beating spots in students' playing.  Certain contemporary pieces do call for other beating spots, such as the center of the drum, as an effect.

5. Protecting the Timpani

Just like most of the rest of the percussion instruments in a band room, the timpani should always be covered by half or full drop covers when not in use.  The covers can protect the instruments from accidental damage, but just as importantly, keeping the instruments covered shows that they are cared for and not to be played or touched by anyone walking by!

It's also best to attach a sign on top of the timpani covers that says nothing should be placed on top of the timpani, ever.  Having others treat the instruments as a table is a pet peeve for many percussionists.  It's just best, especially in an educational setting, to insist that nothing is placed on top of the timpani.

6.  How to Move Timpani

First, the pedals should always be set in the highest position before moving the timpani.  This increases the tension on the head, which decreases the chance of misaligning the head during moving.

Second, the drums should always be moved (pushed or pulled) by the struts, NOT the counterhoop.  Again, this will keep the tuning and alignment of the head more intact.  Many school timpani have only two wheels, with no wheel under the pedal.  On these timpani, either an attachable wheel should be placed under the pedal if one is available, or the pedal must be lifted while rolling the drum.  This is a bit awkward whether you walk forwards or backwards, and whichever way the timpani are tilted (sometimes I call this the "duck walk" with students), but lifting the pedal by the struts is necessary.  Timpani should always be handled with care and lifted whenever possible over cracks, bumps, or door thresholds.

7.  Protecting Timpani Mallets (and Bass Drum Beaters, too!)

Whether a school band program provides sticks and mallets, or requires students to purchase their own, it's important that students know how to care for felt mallets (in many programs, felt timpani and bass drum mallets are destroyed annually!).  First, felt mallet heads should be touched as little as possible.  I find that idle percussion students holding mallets during rehearsal tend to touch, rub, and pull at felt mallets to no end!  This gets dirt and oil on the mallet and causes the mallet to wear out faster.  Felt timpani mallet heads and bass drum beaters shouldn't be touched except when absolutely necessary.  Mallets should also always be stored in a plastic bag, either in the original bag, or in a small sandwich bag that is twisted between the mallet heads.

I hope these timpani basics are helpful to my band director colleagues and music education majors!  Questions and feedback are welcome.

DMA Essay!

I'm so happy to announce that my doctoral essay has been published both on University of Miami's Open Access Dissertations and ProQuest.  You can access my paper, titled "The Synthesis of Artistic Elements in Works for Theatrical Percussion," through the University's database here. 

During my doctoral studies at the University of Miami, I had the opportunity to delve deeper into the realm of theatrical percussion, studying and performing works such as ?Corporel by Vinko Globokar, Songs I-IX by Stuart Saunders Smith, and the epic theatrical trio, Dressur by Mauricio Kagel.  Each of these pieces stretches the performer(s) in a number of ways; the most challenging, and perhaps most important, may be in the heightened physical and emotional awareness that an effective performance demands.

Each of the aforementioned pieces incorporates extra-musical artistic elements such as vocalizations, movement, and dramatic effect to create a multi-sensory artistic product.  The three composers, Vinko Globokar, Stuart Saunders Smith, and Mauricio Kagel, utilize these elements in different ways and to varying degrees.  Click here to read more!