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Demystifying "Pointed" vs "Round"

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…

10 Extended Roll Sequences to Spice Up Your Drum Scores

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…

Backyard FAQ: How Do I Get My Rolls Faster?

Today marks the start of a new video series on PipeBandDrummer.com: Backyard FAQ. My plan is to answer frequently asked questions I receive from subscribers to PipeBandDrummer in video form and then post them on the YouTube channel for everyone's…

Five Long Minutes of Drags

This week: Five Long Minutes of Drags! For most pipe band drummers drags are one of the most difficult rudiments to execute properly. Drags are composed of a principal note (big note) and a two smaller notes (two 32nd grace…

Five Long Minutes of Flams

Continuing with the "Five Long Minutes" video series, this week: Five Long Minutes of Flams! Flams consist of only two notes. They look innocent enough but they are actually fairly difficult to explain and even more difficult to execute. Flams…