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Concert Band / Symphonic Band Percussionist Required Materials:
Percussion Equipment (Required for ALL percussionists): All items below are required for percussionists:
7th grade Concert Band: Habits of Successful Beginning Band for Percussion 8th grade Symphonic Band: Sound Innovations for Band Book 2: Combined Percussion Percussion stick packs Recommended: http://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/30205/stick-mallet-pack#full-description https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/stick-pack/stick-mallet-pack https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/salyers-intermediate-student-pack/stick-mallet-pack#full-description Educational Percussion Kits: Through Steve Weiss Music for percussionists, any of these bell kits are acceptable for class. Warm Up: At Home Step-by-StepStretch/Warm-Up: Before playing1. 8 on a hand2. 8 on a hand (again)3. Stick warm up- 16ths4. Warm-Up Intermediate5. How to build speed / dynamicsSet #1: Mallets (Concert Band)Set #3: Mallets (Symphonic Band)Being a percussionist in the Frost band program: *please read first!!!
Percussionists that played in the sixth grade level have first priority of being in the percussion section. Many students get excited telling me that they play "drums" and want to be a percussionist. These students will be disappointing finding out that there is not any drum set playing. We do have drum set players in our Jazz Band, which is an audition based only ensemble. To be a member of the Frost Jazz Band, students must be in Concert Band 7th grade year, and audition at the end of 7th grade year, and must be a member of the Symphonic Band 8th grade year. Being a percussionist is a very important role to the band. It requires a lot of patience. (Winds/Brass have more playing time than percussion) Many students want to become a percussionists in 7th or 8th grade. If a student is an instrumentalist such as a brass or woodwind student, it is better to continue on an instrument in that family. These students must also be self independent and self motivators. Percussion students learn the skills to play Concert Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Timpani, Xylophone, Bells, Marimba, Crash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbals, Tambourine, Triangle, Concert Toms, and various Auxiliary Percussion. Students also must take care of the instruments in the classroom, clean and put away the instruments daily at the end of class. Percussion students must also have drum pads daily to warm up and practice on. Students will focus on learning rudiments, stick control and techniques that are used to perform the music in class. Percussion students will receive anywhere from four to nine + parts for each piece that we perform. These students are responsible for learning all parts. An example of one piece of music would include a March style piece (snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbals, timpani, and bells). The band director will assign percussionists the parts that they will be assign for each concert. Depending on how many percussionists are in the ensemble and the need of percussion for each piece, it is very likely that percussionists will only play 2 pieces if the band plays 4 pieces for a concert. Notice: As a Frost percussionist, please understand that this is NOT just learning to play “drums”. You will be learning Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Timpani, Xylophone, Marimba, Bells, Chimes, Toms, Crash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, Auxiliary percussion: Wind Chimes, Claves, Wood Blocks, and many others. Students need to spend time at home practicing mallets. One piece of music can contain over 5+ parts that you must learn. You are responsible for counting rhythms, providing steady tempo/pulse, and knowing your parts. Percussionists must develop strong music notation reading and rhythmic skills. Percussionists are also very independent, playing one instrument per player without doubling. It is also very likely that in a concert setting, you may not be on a part for a piece due to the nature of how many percussion parts are written. However, you are still required to learn the parts. Percussionists are required to practice 20+ min a day at home to stay on top of material. Classroom procedures: - Before class starts, students may ONLY warm up on drum pad or mallet instruments (xlyophone, bells, marimba). - Percussionists need to clean, maintain all percussion instruments in the percussion section. Instruments must be put away at the end of class each day. |
Vic Firth Education Videos:Click on the instrument to watch the video how to play the instrument.
These videos are from Vic Firth website. Used for educational purposes only. Battery Percussion: http://vicfirth.com/percussion-101/ Bass Drum Crash Cymbals Suspended Cymbal Triangle Tambourine Gong Keyboard Percussion
Timpani
Concert Snare Drum
Rhythm Studies Rudiment check off list: |
