New Beats!

We have just completed uploading the first of the "Essential Skills" series of exercises.  These exercise packets will each focus on a variety of skill sets that should be mastered by every rudimental percussionist.  Essential Skills for Battery Percussion: Volume 1 can be found under the new Beats section of the site.  This is also the new home of the Transcription Library.

Please download and share Volume 1 with your friends and look for more material in the near future!

Gearing up for the 2012 Indoor season

Auditions are either underway or quickly approaching for the Minnesota drumlines. I've had about 2 solid months off of drumline and while it was nice to have some weekends and nights to pursue other hobbies and relax but I cannot wait to get back to it! There's nothing quite like seeing someone master a new rudiment, nail a drill move, or hear the music come to life.

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How to accept failure and grow as a musician (and a person)

I haven't posted on here for weeks due to the overwhelming volume of work that comes with running a drumline, working a 9-5, auditioning for a DCA corps and working towards a music education degree simultaneously but today I had a series of events occur that compelled me to get back behind the keyboard and share.

I knew over nine months before enrolling at my local university that I would need to begin preparations for the music scholarship auditions the following year.  One of the great features of this institution is that there are numerous music-specific scholarships available, however the size of the percussion studio (and music program in general) has swelled over the last few years, and the competition for these scholarships has grown quite intense.

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The Line is Set: Now what?

All those hours of your work have paid off. You are now in the drumline! Once the elation of the event has passed you may have some of the following questions: * What do I practice? * How do I keep my spot? * When should I practice? Basically: "What do I do now?" There are a few basic rules that everyone should follow to maximize your potential and help push the line in the quest for excellence.

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Preparation=Productivity (for the Drumline Member)

prep·a·ra·tion: the action or process of making something ready for use or service or of getting ready for some occasion, test, or duty.

pro·duc·tivity: yielding results, benefits, or profits

As a member of any performing organization, one of the first things you learn is that how you prepare for a performance will directly relate to how precise, powerful and, (above all else) entertaining that performance will be.  For the performer this seems to be a fairly obvious path to success:

• Repetition leads to consistancy.
• Consistancy provides comfort and confidence in your performance.
• Confidence makes the act of performing appear effortless to the audience.

Yet repetition without structure or analysis can cause performers to learn bad habits and improper techniques that can lead to poor performance(s) and possible injury.  During rehearsal that responsibility falls on the instructional staff/director/coach/etc... but what can you do as a performer to set yourself up for success?

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Get a head start on the season

There are many band organizations around the US that compete year-round; summer parades bleed into fall field shows and finally move indoors for winter drumline. At Sauk Rapids-Rice-Sartell Drumline (henceforth referred to as SRRS) the members only compete for two seasons a year (parade band and indoor drumline), but for the staff, the season never ends...

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