PERCUSSION
RIM TECHNIQUES | Mark Shelton
The metal or wooden circle that fits over the Check out this video for a detailed view of Of My Heart” to catch an earful of rim clicks.
flesh hoop of a drum head is technically called my preferred grip for playing the cross stick Experiment with substituting rim clicks for high
a counterhoop. Besides its chief role as part of rimshot: hat or ride cymbal rhythms.
the system that attaches the head to the shell
and allows for adjusting the head’s tension, STICK SHOT
the counterhoop provides additional sound If you need a powerful pop, go for this one. The
sources. You usually hear the counterhoop stick shot can deliver a mighty wallop as the
called the ‘rim.’ (No one asks you to play a drum resonates from the collision of wood.
‘counterhoop shot.’)
One drum stick will remain stationary and
Are you aware of the various methods of
receive the strike from the other stick. The
using the rim in your percussion work? As With the gripped end of the stick remaining in striking stick is usually held in the dominant
you read my tips for performing four common contact with the head, raise the far end up about hand.
rim techniques, remember that rim sound two inches and bring it down to strike the rim. nomenclature is not standardized, so you might Listen for a wooden pop sound. Experiment Position the stationary stick so that the bead is
know these sounds by other names. to find the sweet spot on the stick that will touching near the center of the head and the
produce an optimum cross stick rimshot when shaft is resting across the rim (See photo). Use
STANDARD RIMSHOT the stick strikes the rim. Mark that area with a the other stick to strike the stationary stick near
Popping out a standard rimshot not only felt tip pen so that you can hit a clear rimshot its shoulder. Experiment to find the optimum
sounds good, it feels good! Upon mastering consistently. head and rim placement for the stationary stick
this one, you might be tempted to use it to
excess. Strike the head and rim simultaneously
and the sweet spot for the striking area.
This short video shows how I mark the stick:
to produce the standard rim shot. You will need
to develop the stick-angle muscle memory
required to consistently impact both head and
rim together. Striking the rim with the stick’s
shoulder or taper areas will produce higher
pitched sounds than making contact farther
back on the stick. Don’t forget that you have
both hands available for double rim shots!
CROSS STICK RIMSHOT
Stick Shot
Danny Seraphine’s straight-ahead 12/8 groove
on Chicago’s recording of “Colour My World”
As you learn to produce these rim sounds, listen
includes a definitive cross stick rimshot sound.
to live and recorded performances to learn how
The choice for backbeats in many a ballad, this
to incorporate those sounds into your playing.
sound is produced with the stick laying across
the drumhead with about 3.5 inches extending
past the rim. I prefer to reverse the stick in my
hand so that I am gripping near the taper of
the stick and the butt is at the far end. When
Cross Stick Rimshot
playing a left-handed cross stick rimshot, the RIM CLICKS
far end of the stick will cross the rim at the 3:00 Simply tap the rim with the shoulder of the
position (See photo). stick to produce the click. Check out the live
video of Sarah and John Mark McMillan’s “King
December 2018
Mark Shelton
Freelance musician & consultant based in Dallas,
TX Performance credits include North Carolina
Symphony, Tin Roof Tango, Dallas Wind Symphony,
Daystar Singers & Band, TALEA, Strata Big Band,
The Metroplex Marimba Band, Harbour, and
Gateway Worship.
www.marksheltonmusic.com
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