PERCUSSION
WHY PERCUSSIONISTS NEED DRUM SET SKILLS | Mark Shelton
The door opened, and Mr. Congiardo walked two or three limbs are being employed on a orchestrate portions onto my cajon-based set-
into the practice room. My friend and I had been percussion set-up. Juggling a sixteenth-note up. Kick and snare parts easily transfer to bass
taking turns exploring the drum set. Our band shaker pattern along with a few syncopated tone and corner slaps on “the box.” The ride
director had probably heard enough of those eighths on a cowbell can seem like a piece of cymbal and stick-played high-hat lines can be
feeble attempts to play a groove. Although his cake after you have been practicing a dense implied on the corners of the cajon or ghosted
primary instrument was the saxophone, Mr. C four-part fusion lick on the drum set. on the bass tone area. I believe this transcription
sat down at the drum kit and proceeded to
and orchestration process is made easier when
confidently demonstrate a simple rock beat. His I highly recommend these classic books to you have experience transcribing and playing
brief presentation was accompanied by some build your multi-limb independence: drum set grooves.
incisive advice to begin practicing his example. • “Advanced Techniques for the Modern
It was a major moment in my musical journey.
Drummer” by Jim Chapin - Alfred Publishing
• “4-Way Coordination” by Marvin Dahlgren
While I had played percussion in school band
and Elliot Fine - Alfred Publishing
for a few years, my studies had not included
INTERACTION
It is crucial that the drum set and percussion
parts mesh properly to form a solid groove.
Timbres and rhythms should combine and
instruction on drum set--until that day. Further TRANSCRIPTION complement, rather than collide and confuse.
study and practice led to playing drums for Experience with the drum set is beneficial It is a delicate interaction. As the percussionist,
jazz ensembles, pit orchestras, big bands, when transcribing a groove. When working in I generally allow the drum set player to take the
praise and worship groups, and symphony a situation without a kit player, a percussionist more dominant role in establishing the basic
orchestras during the ensuing decades. It might create a part that is based on a drum framework of the groove, and I weave my
is hard to imagine my percussion life without set groove. When I play in the ‘no drum set’ parts around that framework. A background in
the fundamental abilities to play drum set and situation, my set-up is often centered around studying the drum set informs me as I analyze
understand its workings within an ensemble. a cajon. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I will the drummer’s rhythms and timbral choices
often borrow ideas from a drum set groove and so that I can find appropriate rhythmic and
Drum set proficiency is an asset whether I
am actually sitting behind the kit, standing in
a percussion set-up, or transcribing a groove.
Read on and I will state my case for the
importance for making “drum set know-how”
an essential element of your percussion life.
COORDINATION
Percussion
frequently
requires
multi-limb
coordination. It can be simply playing a single
line between your two hands, but there are
moments when each hand is rendering a
separate rhythm on a different instrument.
Perhaps you decide to toss in a foot tambourine
to further complicate the situation. Now you
are synching up three limbs! Playing drum
set requires four-way coordination; all limbs
are working independently. Few instruments,
other than organ and pedal steel guitar, so
regularly require that multi-limb skill set. The
independence gained from playing drum
set carries over into those moments when
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November 2018
WorshipMusician.com