Two Drummers

Percussion Drummer

How to Make Percussion in the Beginner Band More Fun!

Dealing with the percussion section can be the biggest challenge for a band director, particularly in the elementary band situation. It can be very tough to get them all engaged and enjoying the rehearsals, particulary if the director themselves is not a percussion specialist.

Don't let them be "drummers" only - be "percussionists" instead

This is the most important thing to realize - that band students are often attracted to percussion so that they can play the Drum Set. The drum set (or Drum Kit) is often used in the school band, and often is very important, so students feel that if they are not playing it they have to sit there and wait.

The band director has to find a way around this situation - if you only have one drummer, then great! They can play the drum kit and away you go.

The issue can happen when you have multiple drummers in the band, sometimes two, four, eight or ten! One way that works very effectively and has been used for many years is to have one player playing Snare Drum, one playing Bass Drum, and one cymbal player, even if you have a "drum kit" part written out. If you have this type of band I recommend having this setup at all times, and making the students stand up to play the snare drum. You then have the cymbals and concert bass drum, and its designed to be played by three players all the time.

Have an Auxilliary Percussion Table - and make them stand up to play at all times

There is nothing worse than vaguely hearing a shaker or tambourine in a school band, and struggling to see the person sitting on a chair behind the drummer!

When playing tambourine, triangle or shaker - these instruments are often more critical to the sound of the band than the snare drum or drum set, so therefore they must be taken really seriously.. by the band director as well as by the players.

So always have a "traps" table with everything in easy reach. Its not expensive to set one up or buy one of the available professional models.

The players must always stand up to play, and have their music stand set up so that they can look immediately over it at the band conductor.

Warming up - please don't ignore us!

I've been a percussionist in a school band... there is nothing more frustrating that spending your time sitting in the school band room while you wait for the wind players to tune up and warm up. Often the band director will spend up to half an hour warming the players up - and expect the percussionists to remain quiet during that time.

How to deal with it?

- If youre going to warm up for half an hour.... Tell the percussion section to arrive later than the rest! - it makes no difference to you and its better than them being a distraction!

- Why not send them into a different room for their own section rehearsal during this time? Get a specialist teacher or assistant to work with them on their parts

- Use predefined warm-up routines that go along with what you are doing with the wind players. (doesn't always work, but can do depending on the materials you have)

Be prepared to supplement the band book

When I helped out with beginner bands I found it necessary to supplement the band books that the students were using with additional materials - often the materials are not interesting or they don't have enough variety to keep the students engaged in the materials.

They'll need lots of work on basic rudiments and rolls - often the band books don't address those things early enough. So therefore you may be able to supplement it with other material which is available online and in books.

Everyone playing mallets?

I'm going to leave this up to you - it depends on the different personalities in each of the bands you have. One popular series of band books the "standard of excellence" has snare drum/bass drum on the left hand pages of the book, and mallet percussion on the right. Another type the "essential elements" has one snare drum and one mallet percussion book.

I think that percussionists should rotate and do as much as possible, and if that means that they each need two books, whereas every other member of the band needs only one.. then that's the way it should be!

There are no quick fixes to make percussion better in the beginner band, but hopefully this article can give you one or two ideas that will help!

About the Author

Kevin Tuck has worked as a private music teacher (a percussion specialist) and as a classroom music teacher. Kevin has run his own very successful music school, and now runs The Fun Music Company, an internet publishing company helping music teachers and authors publish music and educational materials on the internet. There are heaps more articles available for percussion at his blog percussion education online

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Independent Artist Website - Sound Decisions About Studio Recording

Now that you have had a general introduction to recording, specifically for tracking a live show, this Independent Artist Website will give you an overview of studio recording, from the usual rent-a-pro approach to setting up Your Own project studio.

First things first: You have to decide who is going to be the producer, even before deciding on the engineer. None of the later decisions about tracking instruments, recording vocals, doing overdubs, processing signals, or getting a final mix will mean Bo Diddley, to coin a phrase, if your bands three or five or eight members are arguing all the time about who sounds the loudest and what so-and-so’s girlfriend is doing in the vocal booth. Someone has to run the show.

This is even true for a solo act in independent artist, since in a studio leadership vacuum most seasoned (or semi-seasoned, or even just salty) engineers will step right up and make the decisions for you. If the band does not present a united front behind its leader, the whole process will be at risk. So, before anything else, decide

•    Who will be the producer?
•    What arrangements of what songs will be recorded?
•    How much debate and democracy will be involved in the process,
•    When the various deadlines are going to be set, and
•    Why things are going to be run them way they are.

Now is the time for clarity, group cohesion, and common goals. Larger-than-life egos and delusional daydreams have to be left at the door (better yet, down the street) so that a workable, affordable, efficient, and effective plan can be developed — and pursued to a successful conclusion. Everybody needs to get on the same page (or play the same tune, or whatever metaphor you prefer). Now you are as ready as you are going to be, so what is next?

Well, as usual, it is about money, mostly, and time, too. What is the working budget? Can you afford (and do you want to afford) to go into a project-level studio at $30 an hour with engineer included? A pro studio at $50-100 an hour with engineer maybe included? To make these calculations, you need to have your songs down pat, know how you are going to record them (rhythm section together or dubbed) and how long all of it will take. If you are doing a three-song played that is one thing; if you are doing your debut CD with 11 tracks that is a whole other thing. For simplicity is sake, and to keep consistent examples from here forward, let’s go with your demo for now.

The whole decision process can take a U-turn if one of the band members, or a good (really good) friend, has a decent project studio set up — meaning pro and semi-pro equipment, a decent recording room, good microphones (and cables!), and so on. So, this is the second big decision, after choosing the producer, but it is not one that the newly christened producer should make alone. Once again, unanimity is vital.

Wherever you do the sonic deeds, if you are recording your drummer and bassist (and maybe a guitar or keyboard too) as a unit, which imparts an organic feel to the tunes, then you will need baffles, sound deflectors, etc., to minimize bleed. You will have to have headphones for everyone, good mics that are properly placed, quality cabling to minimize hum and pops, and so forth. If this is all starting to sound awfully complicated, opt for the best mid-level project studio in town, the one with good equipment and a decent studio, if not state-of-the-art. We were doing your demo, remember? Not your platinum-worthy debut.

Most likely, the studio will have a computer-based recording system, with a Mac or PC running one of the major Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software applications — Apple’s Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer (Mac only), Sonar (PC only), or some other. You probably don’t want to do your demo with entry-level programs like Apple Garage band or Cakewalk’s Home Studio unless you have to; they are competent in the tracking arena, but fall way short in terms of plug-ins and quality of effects (like reverb) that are essential to the project.

If you do not see a number of different kinds of microphones, you will at least want to see the trusty Shure SM-57s and 58s for miking guitar amps (and using as drum overheads) and at least one good condenser mic for vocals. There should be a decent outboard mixer available, if not always used with the DAW, a sufficient number of cans (headphones) for everyone, Monster or other quality cables, perhaps a piece or two of vintage rack gear, and pro-level monitors (for Pete sake, no living room stereo speakers). If the producer is not a gearhead or audio pro, well, he or she will need to study up on the subject, or find a good (low-paid) consultant.

If you have your plan together; if your parts are practiced and tight; if your excitement level stays high despite the ups and downs of getting your demo project together — well, you are in about the best shape you can be, considering the importance of what you are doing. You will need the help of a good, flexible, communicative engineer, so do not make a hasty decision about where to do your demo recording. Talk to different people, get referrals, interview studio owners, ask tough questions, and keep your priorities straight. If you get too off into the equipment and the process, well, maybe you should be in the recording music business, and that is okay, too. But never lose sight of what is really important, and the reason you got into all this in the first place: the music.

It is about the music, folks. If you need reminding, put a big sign on the refrigerator.

About the Author

Greg Joes – We provide marketing and promotional services to clients seeking exposure in the music business. We provide Independent Artist and labels with the means to service their records to industry insiders and potential new fans.

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The Importance of a Drummer

Because of the fact that the drummer is the backbone of most bands other musicians rely very heavily on him or her to
provide a strong beat that will keep a song together. A drummer who is off beat, or off tempo, will lead the entire band
astray. Therefore, if the drummer is weak the whole band will be weak.

Since the drummer provides the foundation for the other musicians to follow, the drummer is the anchor of the band.
Being the anchor of the band, the drummer must have confidence.

Confidence is what makes a good drummer a great drummer. When you have confidence in your ability to play and confidence
in your instrument, success for the band is much more likely to occur.

If you are a drummer in a band, then you are the anchor of the band. The other musicians are relying heavily on you to
provide a strong beat that will keep everything together. Other musicians may be able to cover their flaws when playing
their instruments as a group, but not you. Everything you do behind your set will not only be heard, but felt. There is
simply no way to hide or cover up poor drumming skills!

The drummer is vital to a band, and a great drummer can make up somewhat for other musicians who may not be at the same
level of expertise. The reason is because your listeners will notice more of what is in your band's music than what is
NOT in it.

For instance, let's say your guitarist is not real creative. He may play well enough to keep up with the pace of the
song, but as far as adding anything flashy, he's just not able at his current skill level. But, there you are, with your
solid sense of rhythm and timing. That's what people are going to notice! They simply will not notice something that the
guitarist does NOT do.

People who are not musically inclined just want to be moved by the music. They do not evaluate it like musicians do.
Now, if the guitarist seriously flubs something up, then that's a different story all together. Not being creative and
not adding to the music is one thing, but making critical mistakes is another. Musician, or not, people know what is, or
is not, pleasing to the ear.

So, as a drummer, the anchor of the band, be solid, strong and confident. Continue to practice regularly and never be
satisfied with your level of progress.

About the Author

Dan Brown has been drumming since 1976. Get his FREE report

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Can Backing Tracks Help Your Band?

Are you in a band and wonder what it's going to take to get your performances to the next level? Well, backing tracks are the answer to that question. Backing tracks give you the ability to add extra instruments or voices to your show, giving you a much bigger sound, without the bother of hiring extra musicians on a full time basis. Suddenly you may find you have a want or need for a keyboard part or some horn shots in the songs you perform. Why not put them on backing tracks and have them at the push of a button?

You can approach it several different ways. If you have a song that requires a piano part for example you could rent yourself some studio time, hire a pianist, have him play the required parts along to a click track (ensuring that the click track is being recorded as well), and mix it down to a usable MP3 file with the click track on one side (usually the left) and the music on the other side. Simply load the MP3 file onto an MP3 player of some sort, separate the signals so that only the drummer (or other band members) hear the click track via a set of head phones and send the music to the mains. This is accomplished by separating the left and right channels from the MP3 player and running them into a small mixing board. It's sent to the headphones or the mains from there.

Option number two would be to purchase a music editing program that is MIDI compatible and purchase some VST (Virtual Studio Technology) instruments. Go on the internet, download the MIDI file, import it into your editing software, assign instruments to each channel and mix down to MP3. The problems with this method are the cost of the software, the time it takes to figure out how to run the software, and finding MIDI files that are programmed accurately. When they're not programmed properly and the song is missing parts then you need to be able to write a MIDI file to fix it. This all takes time to learn.

Option number three would be to download MP3 backing tracks from the internet. There are some real high quality ones available out there for not a lot of money. They come in different formats, MP3 being my personal favorite, and add that extra "something" to your show. Simply find them , download them and put them on your MP3 player. Easy...

When you use backing tracks on stage the possibilities are endless as to what type of songs you may perform. I've used tracks that have had vocals added to give a choir effect, keyboards, piano, violins etc. There's no end to what you can do with them. When you perform with them you give a more accurate representation of the song you're playing and they aid in making your band sound "bigger."

About the Author

Ian Kurz is a singer guitarist and is the owner of the website www.backing-tracks-for-bands.com where you can find all kinds of information about backing tacks and how to use them. Be sure to check out his pages on downloadable backing tracks as well when you visit.

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