Jim Sewrey is in his 30th year as a percussionist with the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band (WASB), and as the chairman of the scholarship committee for the Woody Herman-Sister Fabian Scholarship Fun - the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Read More...
Change timpani heads when the tone starts to sound dry or dead or the pitch becomes "false" meaning it is impossible to fine-tune the head and obtain a clear pitch. Please refer to the Evans Timpani Head Sizing Chart to determine which head… Read More...
The problems that a timpanist must solve or overcome are many, and I'm not covering problems or issues of sticking and mallet type changes such as wood, hard, medium, or soft to achieve the appropriate sound for the music. Determining which… Read More...
The first and most important step in tuning timpani is knowing the pitch to which you are tuning the drum. Though this seems obvious, many beginning timpanists neglect the time necessary to establish the pitch in their head before striking… Read More...
On a hard wood or linoleum floor, the hi hat and bass drum will slide away from the player if something is not done to hold them in place. The simplest solution is to set up the drums on a rug. The rug should be relatively thin so the… Read More...
There is nothing more important for the beginning percussionist than to establish the correct snare drum grip. Just like the wind player with an improper embouchure, the percussionist with an improper grip will continually be hampered in… Read More...
A technique can be broken down into many areas: single strokes, open and closed rolls, rudiments such as flams, drags, 4-stroke ruffs, etc. They all must be executed with precision if a percussionist is to be an effective performer. Read More...
This is a basic skill for all drummers who play casuals and club-dates. With the wide variety of foodstuffs available in buffets served at wedding receptions and bar-mitzvah, the drummers ability to consume different types of food while… Read More...
The concept of timpani sound is complex and every conductor with whom I have played has some idea of what sound he wants the timpanist to project. Whole schools of thought have been built around producing a particular sound. The "Cloyd Duff… Read More...
