Your Five-Stroke Roll Isn’t A Ra De 5
The French and American rolls have the same number of strokes and are not the same rudiment. This one is hard to hear and impossible to fix by practicing harder.
Make the next 12 weeks count
A live planning session for musicians and makers. Tuesday, September 29, 12:30–1:45 ET. Score Q3, pick one to three things for the fall, and price them against the hours you really have. Free.
What I Sent My Nephew
He’s starting percussion. The photo I sent him was mostly a rubber pad, and that was the point.
The Steel Pan Detour
I have played bass pan at Panorama in Brooklyn and at the World Steel Band Festival in Port of Spain. Neither is on any track toward the job I have.
The Snare Drummer From Sevier County
Dolly Parton played snare in a marching band forty-five minutes from my office, then spent the rest of her life paying for other people’s.
Nobody Asked Us To Do Any Of It
Four of us rehearsed ten hours a week for nothing. It is still the most useful thing I have ever done.
A New percussionist on campus
Somebody built a balloon marching band member in the lobby, and of all the instruments in the building they handed him the punchline.
The Uphill Battle
Percussion is the only section of the orchestra that had to argue its way in. That turns out to be useful.
Finish One Thing
Creative work isn’t finished when it’s good enough. It’s finished when you decide to share it.
Under the Surface
Nobody claps for the outline. But that chaotic layer is exactly what everything beautiful ends up standing on.
The Beautiful Game
The flashy touches get the applause. The part that actually works lives in the spacing and the timing.
