August 1st, 2009 by James Voss Grumish
The DCI scores from this past weekend in Allentown start to show a top four group of Blue Devils, Cadets, Cavaliers, and Crown. You can look at the DCI rankings to see where things might end up, or just take your own guess. In any case, DCI Finals should be very interesting.
[photo by Justin Van Rheenen is shared]
It’s been fun meeting new people via Twitter over the past month and we’ve met a lot of bass drummers. For all of you who are marching bass, this month’s free pdf drumline exercise is for you.
Here’s a simple marching bass drum exercise. The focus of the exercises is to develop subdivision quality of 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s either as a solo player or in tandem with a friend. Simple exercises for simple improvements.
Simple Bass Drum Subdivision Exercises
Print out a few copies for your bass line.
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July 16th, 2009 by James Voss Grumish
[photos by Luke Wisley, Amanda Spak, Björn Láczay, and Michael Coté are shared]
If you are a music major or would someday like to be, you should invest in a copy of Majoring in Music: All the Stuff You Need to Know.
More than just tips, this book has survival skills to help you succeed as a music major in a college, university, or conservatory. Learn to be ready to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities thrown at you during this important, stressful, and exhilarating period of your life.
Just how good is the advice? Majoring in Music is written by Rich Holly. Holly is the Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University and has been an advisor to college students for almost 30 years.
Rich Holly knows so much about guiding students to be great musicians that he wrote the book on it… literally.
We asked Holly about the book and a few other music major related questions. The answers are amazing. Enjoy the interview.
FreeDrum.Info: Who is Majoring in Music written for - current music majors or prospective/potential music majors?
Rich Holly: It’s actually written for both of those populations. Without a doubt, the people who will benefit the most from the book are high school seniors who have decided to major in music – by reading the book during the summer before they begin their college experience, they’ll start their first semester armed with a great deal of important knowledge relative to succeeding as a college music major.
But there are also a considerable number of topics covered in the book from which all music majors will benefit, from freshman to senior year. I’ve had students who have already completed a year or two of school as a music major comment to me that several of the topics covered in the book helped to clear up some things for them, and that’s what the book is intended to do – smooth the way for all music majors.
FD.I: What compelled you to write the book?
Holly: Virtually every day I meet with at least one student who hasn’t yet figured out all the responsibilities they have as a music major in college. Some of these responsibilities are the same as for any college students, and some are particular to being a music major. Most importantly, I’ve found that there’s a sizeable population of students who don’t ask questions until something becomes a problem.
FD.I: Majoring in Music has three areas of focus - Academic, Musical, and Life. Which area do students have the most difficulty adjusting? Which has the most misconceptions?
>> THERE’S MORE!!! Continue reading the Rich Holly interview >>
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July 1st, 2009 by James Voss Grumish
It’s already July and the drum corps season is in full swing. Have you checked the DCI scores recently to see Carolina Crown ahead of Cavaliers and Phantom and Cadets?
Well since it’s mid-season and mid-summer, FreeDrum.Info would like to continue our series of full-ensemble drumline exercises.
This month is Paradiddle Flow. It’s somewhat similar to the Cavaliers’ Dee Jay Diddles - a.k.a. that Cavaliers’ paradiddle exercise, although this version was originally written for a university drumline back in 2004.
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June 15th, 2009 by James Voss Grumish
My sticks arrived today!
I got a coupon in my email from the Woodwind & Brasswind
. Their online Drums and Percussion
catalog is one of the best.
- Copy this coupon code: FREESHIP4
- It’s good for FREE SHIPPING with NO MINIMUM PURCHASE at wwbw.com
- The coupon is expires June 30th so don’t wait too long
I used the coupon to order a few pairs of drumsticks and considered one of the pairs as free since I wasn’t paying the shipping cost. I might go back later this month and grab a few pairs of mallets. Enjoy the coupon!
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June 4th, 2009 by James Voss Grumish
School is finished for the year so use the extra time and sign-up for some private drum lessons. Need to find a private drum instructor? Already have a private drum teacher? Well here’s a couple resources to get your summer lessons started.
FreeDrum.Info thinks lessons are a good thing and it’s a bad idea miss out.
Read our 3 reasons why you need lessons.
TakeLessons offers fun & affordable music and voice lessons for everyone.
Click here to find a lesson near you!
There’s a sweet practice routine generator available for a limited time!
Get the free pdf from the Drumming System!
That’s it. Have a great summer!
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June 1st, 2009 by James Voss Grumish
Usually you see flam-fives broken down to the component rhythm. This new exercise is only slightly different, but much better.
Flam-Fives Sectional puts the flam-fives component rhythm in context which will allow you to work on the nuances like grace-notes and diddle spacing. The end result is simply a combination of flam-drags and cheeses where one hand is responsible for all the diddles.
If that doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry. Just know that this exercise is the most efficient way to develop and clean flam-fives across an ensemble.
Print a couple of copies of Flam-Fives Sectional for you and your friends. If your line isn’t quite ready for flam-fives yet, try the Flam Accent Sectional.
The winter drumline season has ended and the results - and videos - are in from the 2009 Winter Guard International World Championships.
The 2009 WGI scores ended up reflecting the 2008 WGI results. Half of the champions were repeats - Rhythm X (PIW), Dartmouth (PSW), and Pacifica (PSO). As usual, here’s the collection of WGI videos that the drum and stick manufacturers create each year.
>> Links to 2009 WGI Videos
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