"Is this an accent or a tap?"

If you are a lead drummer you have answered this question hundreds of times. If you are a corps drummer you have asked this question hundreds of times. These questions are asked whenever…

The Three RRRs are the elements every drummer needs to fully understand pipe band drumming: Reading, Rolls and Rudiments. To help drummers with these three elements I've created three books:

The Bare Bones introduces applicable music…

There are two mysterious words used over and over by experienced pipers and drummers: pointed and round. Each of the five styles we play are either pointed or round--some are really pointed, others are more round depending on the…

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…

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…

Welcome to the final blog post of "Roll Call"! This week we'll be looking at the execution and use of rhythm syllables for rolls in a strathspey. As I've discussed in previous blog posts the strathspey is the least understood…

In part IX of "Roll Call" we will be learning to identify rolls within the most musically complex style we play: the strathspey. A typical strathspey contains the following rolls types:

• Four stroke rolls
• Five stroke rolls
• Six stroke…

The rolls in a 6/8 march are the most complex you'll find in any style. Whereas the rolls of a 2/4 march contain mostly triplet sixteenth subdivisions, rolls in the 6/8 march contain three distinct subdivisions:

• Triplet eighth notes…

As discussed in Part V, jigs are written in 6/8, a compound time signature based on groups of three. Today we will discuss the rhythmic breakdown of rolls found in the jig style and the use of rhythm syllables…

Welcome to Part V of Roll Call! In this ten part series I'll be focusing on the identification and execution of rolls in the five styles of music we play. Today we'll be concentrating on the jig style. The jig…

In "Roll Call" Part IV I'll be discussing the breakdown and use of rhythm syllables for rolls commonly found in the round reel. This has been a very challenging section to write and has been very "eye-opening" as the exact…

This week, in part three of "Roll Call", we'll be discussing how rolls appear in the round reel. In the pipe band drumming idiom there are two types of reels: those that are played with swing (using dot and…

To add to last week's post, it is possible to use rhythm syllables (as found in The Bare Bones Reading System) to help you figure out the timing of your buzz strokes. In an effort to streamline the post I…

Last week we learned how to identify every type of roll used in a march or reel. Now that we know what the different rolls look like it's time to move on to how they are played. Before we begin…

In an earlier blog post (Know Your Roll), I attempted to help drummers identify a five stroke roll across the five styles of music we play. After some reflection, I realized a change in approach was needed. Instead…

"What kind of roll is this??" Every pipe band drummer has uttered these words at least once during their education. Anyone who has ever taught pipe band drumming hears this question multiple times every lesson. The reason it is so…

Pipe band drumming music is almost impossible to read. In fact, it is not only hard to read but, to anyone unfamiliar with the style, it is completely inaccessible. I have been trying to figure it out for the last…

In order to compose scores for the mid-section you should know a thing or two about the pipes--it is a pipe band after all. Everything starts with the notes of the pipe scale.  Bagpipes play a simple scale of nine…