Pipe band Drummer

For any of you that follow this blog on a regular basis, you will know that I am an avid NBA basketball fan--specifically the Toronto Raptors. I have been watching the Raptors since the inception of the franchise and have…

Extended roll sequences can add a bunch of musical possibilities to any drum score. When composing a new score, it is always important to include some extended rolls to add dynamics, texture and some interesting syncopation to your pipe band's…

When you go to see a rock band play, a common conversation after the show involves how "tight" the band played. If you see a "tight" band it's a good bet that all their count ins, stops, shots, endings and…

When composing a drum score, the composer has many important choices to make during the process that will determine the musicality of the drum score. The examples below show two sets of musical choices and the differences between those choices…

Now you know where to find the beats, backbeats and offbeats in simple time and compound time, let's begin the process of putting this knowledge to use when writing a drum score. This week we'll be looking at the march…

Compared to offbeats in simple time, offbeats in compound time are much simpler. Compound time uses beat groupings of three notes and the offbeat is located on the second note of these three note groupings. There are only three rhythmic…

We've already discussed beats and backbeats in simple time. Today we'll be looking at the part of the beat that, if emphasized, provides the most effective way to get "lift" into your drum scores: the offbeat. The offbeat is…

Last time we discussed the differences between the beat and backbeat in simple time. This week we'll be discussing those differences in the context of compound time (sometimes referred to as "triple" time). Whereas simple time uses subdivisions of…

The word "lift" has been appearing on pipe band score sheets for decades. It is a mysterious and confusing word! What is lift? How can a drum corps achieve it? In the next several weeks I'll be discussing the issue…

The word "reps" is thrown around a lot in every pipe band. Every practice we hear...

"Get some reps in"

"We need to rep that some more"

"Don't forget to rep the second part"

What Does this Word Mean?

The…

The word "focus" is thrown around a lot. I hear often hear it in rehearsal and even more often on competition days. What does it mean? Is it possible to practice focusing? If so, what does that look like?

Check…

This week I'd like to discuss the subject of #hashtags. Hashtags are commonly used on Twitter to categorize posts so that others can follow those hashtags and comment, share and otherwise interact. They are incredibly useful! I use them all…