PERCUSSION BOOK 1

Instrument Sidekick

1
 Be Prepared To Learn and Use:
• Snare Drum*
• Bells (Metal)(Glockenspiel)*
In every rehearsal, you will need your own:
• Bass Drum •Sticks (Preferably size 5B)
• Suspended Cymbals •Mallets (Hard plastic or acrylic preferred)
• Crash Cymbals
• Triangle •Your own music and pencil
• Sleigh Bells •Readiness to play
• Tambourine
• Cowbell
• Claves
You will need a metronome. You can use www.metronomeonline.com
• Maracas or you can buy one.
• Timpani
• Xylophone A very good practice site (not required) is
• Chimes www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.php
• Marimba
• Vibraphone
• Tom Toms
• Bongos Home
• Congas practice
• Djembe should
include a
drum pad and
Keep this stuff in your
bells.
backpack so you’re
always prepared in 2
school.
 Beginning Snare

Traditional
Grip.
Thumb and 1st 2 fingers. The other 2 wrap around,
but do not grip.
Matched Grip.
Common mistakes: Fist and Tea-Time.

Do not rest the stick on the

drum after hitting it. Let it
bounce away.
Only bend the wrist. Great stick height. Too high. Not good. Never do this.

3
Always matched grip.
Beginning Bells

A# is the same as Bb. The band’s first scale uses Bb and Eb rather than A# and
D#. You can feel free to write Bb and Eb on masking tape
Same preferred D# is the same as Eb. and cover the other notes.
stick height.

Hot Cross Buns

D—C—Bb------ Bb

D—C—Bb------
BbBbBbBb-CCCC X C D
If more than one person has a D—C—Bb------
favorite instrument in band,
it’s important to take turns
and be fair. I believe in using
4
the honor system.
Let both sticks bounce:
•Evenly
•Multiple times
Rolls: Step 1
Watch your grip! Common
“rolling grip” mistakes: Back-
of-Hand grip and N0-Grip.

Don’t let them get uneven.

5
 Time For Practice!!
• How many times can you make the bounce go?
How many attempts in a row can you stay even?
• The trick is to do it over and over, as many times
as you can.
• The 2nd trick is to do it at least a little bit EVERY
DAY!! If you forget to do it for a day, you might
lower your ‘stats’.
• When you can do it solidly for Mr. Archie, he’ll
check the box. (Or maybe put a Star Wars stamp)
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 Holiday Songs on Bells
Sleigh Bells:
Bb Eb

C D X F
X Memorizing the
patterns really helps
with bells.

Good King Wenceslas
Dreydle Dreydle
Eb-Eb-Eb-F
F-D-F-D-F-D-------D Eb-Eb-Bb---------
F-F-Eb-D-C--------C C-Bb-C-D-Eb----Eb-----
Eb-C-Eb-C-Eb-C-------C Eb-Eb-Eb-F
F-Eb-D-C-Bb---------- Eb-Eb-Bb----------
(Repeat) C-Bb-C-D-Eb----Eb-----
Jingle Bells
D-D-D----D-D-D-----
D-F-Bb-C-D----------
Eb-Eb-Eb-Eb-Eb-D-D
D-C-C-D-C-----F------
D-D-D----D-D-D-----
D-F-Bb-C-D-----------
Eb-Eb-Eb-Eb-Eb-D-D
F-F-Eb-C-Bb----------
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 Snare Rudiment #16: Single Paradiddle
• R=Accented(slightly higher stick height) Right
Hand strike. Use the VicFirth site for video
examples and great practice with
• r=Regular right hand strike. levels. Playing through this
page=White Belt.
• L=Accented Left Hand strike.
• l=Regular left hand strike.
Must be 1st Bronze Level
• Single Paraddidle: to pass this check.

– R-l-r-r L-r-l-l R-l-r-r L-r-l-l R-l-r-r L-r-l-l R-l-r-r L-r-l-l

> > > > > > > >

Raise stick after this hit, to prepare for the next accent. RIGHT-left-right-right

LEFT-right-left-left 8
 Bb Scale: Joy to the World
Bb Bb
Bb X Eb A
G
X F GA F
X C D Eb
D
Joy to the World is just C
the scale going down the Bb
steps.

Bb
A A Scales go by step, having to keep in mind a
G G different set of sharps and flats for each
F different scale. The Bb scale has B’s and E’s as
Eb F
D Eb flat.
C D
Bb C
Bb 9
 Rolls: Step 2 and Rudiment #20: Flam
Step 2 of Rolls: The same as step 1, but only let the sticks hit twice (this is called a double-bounce)
•Flams: Prepare by having 1 stick low and close to the drum, while the other is in
accent position.
•Have both sticks drop to the drum at the same time (the close stick will hit first, lightly,
and the other stick will hit 2nd, with more volume.
•End with the sticks in the opposite position, ready for the next flam.

Bounce up
Both in prep for
sticks at the next
once. flam.

10
 Bell Rolls: Roll vs. Ring and Silence
• Bell Rolls do NOT double bounce.
• They do go back and forth quickly… but
EVENLY!
• After single hits, the sound will ring until you
stop the sound. Do this by touching the bell
with your finger.
• Exercise: For every note of the Bb Scale, roll
for a count of 4, then ring for a count of 4,
then stop the sound.
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 Roll: Step 3 and Rudiment #31:
Drag(Ruff)
• Roll Step 3: Double Bounce, alternating sticks.
• Drag (Ruff): Just like a flam, but double-
bounce the close stick.
• Bronze Level through this page=Yellow Belt

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 It’s Time To Learn To Read Music!
• What is this called?
• ______________________
How about this one?
____________________
And this?
_________________
What is a beat?
_______________________
How do we keep track of
beats?
_______________________

And this one? What does it mean?

___________________ _________________
___________________

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 Count To 4 (Whispering Out Loud)
Means “Battery Percussion”
• Eighth notes.

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Count the numbers out loud!

These are the beats! These are the
Count them with BAR LINES DIVIDE THE
upbeats! Say “and”.
numbers. MEASURES!!!!

This is an ‘F’.

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Means “Mallet Percussion”
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 Bell Notes On The Staff
Lines Spaces
F ine E
B oy D oes C
A
G ood F
E very
Every Good Boy Does Fine or EGBDF: Lines going up. FACE spells the spaces going up.

D C Bb

Every 1 note up or down is 1 key up or down. You may need to skip a key to get to it’s flat key.

If it goes up or down 2 notes, then it goes up or down 2 keys, etc.

So the distance up or down on the staff = the distance up or down on the bells.

(You may need to refer to this page often.) 15

 A Little Easier….
Quarter Notes

Just count to 4 for each note. There are no ‘and’s, but you can say them anyway.
That’s call ‘Subdividing’.

Foot Stompin’ Test!!!

1

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 Reading More Than One Instrument
The different areas on the neutral clef staff represent different
instruments, rather than different pitches.

The 3rd space up is always the Snare Drum.

The bottom space is always the Bass Drum.

You need to get used to reading just your line or space.

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 Composer

First Time ‘Reading’ A Song

Bile Them Cabbage Down Traditional

Title This is a ‘repeat sign’. Go back to the beginning and play 1

more time.
Flats last a whole measure, so they
save space and ink.

Can you read the rhythm? Look back to the earlier pages in the This page =
book if you forgot how to read the notes. Never write them in!! Orange
Belt!!

Bile Them Cabbage Down Traditional

This is how an ‘Accent’ is written. Give these notes a slightly higher stick height.
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This is a ‘Key Signature’. Sometimes they put the flats here rather than in front of every
note. These 2 flats mean that ALL the B’s and E’s are flat in the whole song.

Longer and Longer Rhythms

Half Notes Get 2 Beats

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Riiiiinnng Riiiiiiinng
Whole Notes Get 4 Beats!!

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggg
Rhythm And Foot Test!!!

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 Old Songs, But How They Really Look!
Remember, do NOT write in the names of the notes!

Good King Wenceslas John M. Neale

Jingle Bells Traditional Carol

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 New Songs: Can Ya Figure Them Out?

Star Wars John Williams

This is a ‘Tie’. Do not hit the bells again through here. Just let it ring that much longer.

Rudiment Run Allen T. Archie

Single Paradiddle Flam Single Paradiddle Ruff

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How Do We Know When NOT To Play?
NOTES RESTS What’s Their Name?

___________________
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

___________________

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

___________________

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

___________________
1 and
2 and
3 and
4 and
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
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 The ‘Rest’ of the Songs You Already
Know What are the names of
the songs?

___________________

___________________

This is a ‘Tie’: Combines 2 of the same note to make it longer, usually across a bar line.

___________________

Sometimes the music will specify what instrument is on a specific staff area.
Holiday Tunes Play this until Mr. Archie cuts
Traditional off the band. Make sure to
Sleigh Bells
listen, and you will have a
good sense of when Mr.
Archie’s going to stop.

Or you can read the music specifics from a different book. 23

 And What’s This?

What’s a Time Signature do again? ____________________________________

What’s the name of this song? _______________________________________

Passing this page = Green Belt!!

What are the names of the different notes and rests?
Did you keep the beat by counting out loud?

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 Roll: Step 4 (Rudiments #4 and 6)
• Multiple Bounce Roll=Closed Roll=Buzz Roll
– Let the sticks bounce as many bounces as possible
in quick succession, trying to make a buzz-like
sound.

• Double Stroke Roll=Open Roll

– Double bounce each hand, alternating.
– Try to make it sound even, steady.
– Try to get 8 hits (RRLLRRLL) per beat.
Try to start extremely slow, speed up to a buzz, and slow back down.
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 Unfamiliar Tunes
Chopsticks Traditional

‘Double Stop’ is when you play 2 notes at the same time on the bells.

16th notes have 2 beams, and are 4 to a beat. Say ‘1-e-+-a, 2-e-+-a’ etc. Allen T. Archie
Bouncy Or Not?

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 More New Music
Practice Makes Perfect
Allen T. Archie

Nobody’s Perfect
Stick: R L R L Allen T. Archie
Rim:

Sticks extend to side and clap others’ sticks

Finishing this page = Blue Belt! 27

 2nd and 3rd Major Scales: C AND G
This is a slur. Bells ignore this for now.

C Scale:

There are no flats in the key Dotted 8th – 16th

signature, nor the song. Therefore, Dotted Quarter Note
all the notes are on the ‘white’ and 8th
keys!
1 2 3 4 and

Remember downbeats and upbeats?

This key means all ‘B’s are flat, but the ‘E’s are natural.
F Scale:

Try to do the F, C AND Bb scales from MEMORY!!!!!!

Doing this means Purple Belt!! 28
 Mapping-1
Angry Future Robots
Brad Fiedel

Rim:

This keeps you from going all the way to the beginning. If
this isn’t here, then to the beginning you must go. 2nd time through: skip this ending and JUMP to the 2nd ending.

Play the last measure again. Percussion is filled with repetitive

patterns. No need to rewrite them over and over.

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Warrior Princess
Mapping-2 Joseph LoDuca

D.S. and D.C. al Fine or Coda are usually used for larger distances in the music.
D.S. goes to the weird looking ‘S’ sign (called segno). D.C. goes to the beginning. 30
 Rudiments #10 and 7
• 9-Stroke 5-Stroke

• rrllrrll R llrrllrr L rrll R llrr L

William Tell Overture Gioacchino Rossini

If you can play the 3 major scales from memory on the bells AND
Rudiments 4,6,7,10,20,31: then you have earned Red Belt! 31
 Volume = Dynamics
• Dynamics actually refer to ‘intensity’. BUT……
how intense you play affects the ‘loudness’ of
your sound.
• The following is a good beginning:
– F = Forte = strong
– P=Piano = flat, level
– Crescendo = = Cresc. = growing
– Diminuendo = = dim. = decresc. = diminish

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 Italian: The Language of Music
• Largo: Broad, wide. (Really slow)
• Andante: To go, walk. (Kind of slow)
• Moderato: Moderate. (Medium speed)
• Allegro: Cheerful, bright. (Kind of fast)
• Vivace: Lively, vivid. (Pretty fast)
• Presto: Quickly, quick. (Extremely fast)

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 Brown and Black Belts
• Mr Archie will give you blank staff paper
(called manuscript paper) to compose a song
with. There will be a rough draft. Mr. Archie
will make suggestions. Re-write to a final
draft. If Mr. Archie can play it as it should
sound, then you pass for Brown Belt.
• Mr. Archie will give you a full page solo that
needs to be learned and performed in lessons
for Black Belt.
 Is there more?
• Black Belt – 1st degree (2 BB’s tied together):
Having attended NYSSMA.
• Black Belt – 2nd degree (3 BB’s tied together):
Achieving a score high enough to be asked to a U-
E Recital called the Crawford Stahl Recital.
• Black Belt – 3rd degree (4 BB’s tied together):
Achieving the top score at the Crawford Stahl
Recital.
• Book II: Mr. Archie is in the process of writing this
book. If one exists for your instrument, you can
begin the work towards “Twisty Belts”!