PERCUSSION
PRACTICAL STUFF FOR PERCUSSIONISTS : PART 2 | Mark Shelton
Experience is a great teacher — for those willing to analyze and adapt . The wise musician keeps what works while learning from failures and making adjustments . The experiences from my decades as a freelance musician have produced quite a bit of keeper-stuff . away from each other and feel a gentle stretch at the wrists . Increase the opening and feel the stretching in the fingers . Hold that stretch for several seconds before slowly releasing it .
The practical stuff in this two-part article is still helping me and will also assist you on your musical path . The suggestions are uncomplicated and applicable to any level of ability .
TAKE TIME TO STRETCH Include both static and dynamic stretching in your warmup . As you begin to stretch , be mindful not to push a maneuver to the point of pain .
Static stretching is the classic “ stretch and hold ” method . Try this one : Place your hands together with palms and fingers touching their counterpart on the opposite hand ( prayer position ). Slowly move the heels of the hands
Dynamic stretching employs continuous movements . Since my college days , I have used the simple motion of shaking my hand while rotating the wrist as a warm-up exercise . ( It ’ s the same flicking motion used after washing your hands at a public restroom and discovering the paper towel dispenser is empty .) Repeatedly opening and closing a fist along with wiggling the fingers are also beneficial dynamic stretches .
WOODSHED THE SCALES Are you called upon regularly to play keyboard percussion on choir anthems ? Perhaps you occasionally play the hook of a worship song on the glockenspiel , or maybe you find yourself hammering out a chimes melody during the Christmas season . Since most of the music we encounter is organized around a system of scales , it ’ s a good idea to insert scale studies into your practice mix .
The Source by Steve Barta is a collection of traditional and contemporary scales . After you ’ ve reviewed the major and minor scales , flip open The Source and work on the blues scale or the Mixolydian mode .
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