ALL HANDS. A Comprehensive Percussion Education Curriculum for Secondary Schools

ALL HANDS A Corehensive Percussion Education Curriculum for Secondary Schools Original Concept by John Wetherington, Band Director, Bethel HS, Spanaway, WA Designed, coiled, & coosed by Don Neptun, Don Neptun Music LLC, Puyallup, WA

How to use the ALL HANDS Percussion Curriculum For the teacher This curriculum is designed to help your percussion students irove their musicianship, knowledge, and skills by providing: 1) A clearly defined set of tasks that are sequential, logical, achievable, and are designed to enhance musical growth. These tasks should be treated like goals and/or benchmarks for student achievement. 2) A tracking chart that will provide you and your students with an easy-to-understand visualization of their progress. You'll find an ety box next to every task on the chart. That is a place for you to sign/initial/date when the student passes that particular task. 3) Seven areas or percussive musicianship, each with 8 sequential tasks, to ensure that students maintain a balanced music education. The seven areas are: Snare, Tiani, Mallets, Auxiliary, Drumset, Hand Drums, & Self. ) Written tests to ensure that your students can not only play the music, but that they understand the theory too. 5) Etudes, exercises, and excerpts. All included music was coosed and carefully chosen to be in this curriculum. 6) Bonus material for your percussion class: warm-ups, rudiment-based exercises, drumline warmups, and a drumline cadence. To keep your students' percussive music education balanced it is recommended that you require that your students follow a 'rule of two' while using this curriculum. That means: don't let a student get more than two tasks ahead in any one area. For exale, your classic "I play the snare drum" student will likely want to finish all of the snare tasks before they touch mallet task number one. Make sure that their least-coleted area on the chart is no more than two tasks behind their most-coleted area. So, the classic "snare only" student could be on snare task 5, but every other area needs to be at least at task 3. The level system was designed with average high school percussion students in mind. Level One A would suit most high school freshmen percussionists. Level Three B would suit most high school juniors. But, because all students & music programs are different, the term Level is used instead of grade level. That way advanced middle school/junior high musicians can start the program. While this program can work for new band members, it uses the assution that your students know the basics of how to read standard musical notation and that they can properly hold two sticks or mallets. Consider tying this curriculum to each student's grade. For exale, if you are on semesters, you could require that a student must colete all tasks for Level One A to pass your class for that semester. I recommend that you stay away from doing percentage points for each task. That becomes rather subjective and takes up a lot of your time. The all-ornone method holds students accountable and is easier for you to track progress and manage your grade book. All Levels: Snare Drum Tiani Mallets Drumset Hand Drums Body Coordination Students will focus on these instruments at each level: Level 1: Bass Drum Tom-Toms Gong Tele Blocks Triangle Suspended Cymbals Crash Cymbals Congas Bongos Quad Drums Level 2: Claves Maracas Tambourine Woodblock Shaker Whip Quad Drums Level 3: Guiro Bell Tree Wind Chimes Sand Blocks Ratchet Cowbell Samba whistle Level : Cabasa Castanets Sleigh Bells Shekere Flex-a-tone Vibra-Slap Slide Whistle

Percussion Curriculum Checklist Name: Levels & Tasks Snare Tiani Mallets Auxiliary Drumset Hand Drums Self Level One A B Snare 1 Etude No. 1 Snare 2 Etude No. 2 Tiani 1 Written Test & Etude No. 1 Tiani 2 Etude No. 2 Mallets 1 C, Am, F, Dm, Etude No. 1 Mallets 2 G, Em, Bb, Gm, Etude No. 2 Intervals 1/2 Auxiliary 1 Quads, Cymbals Auxiliary 2 Quads, Triangle, Gong, BD Drumset 1 Rock & Swing Drumset 2 16th Note Rock H.D. 1 Technique, Tones, Notation H.D. 2 Son Clave, Polyrhythms Self 1 Hacky-sack Self 2 Juggling Level Two A B Snare 3 Etude No. 3 Snare Etude No. Tiani 3 Etude No. 3 Tiani Etude No. Mallets 3 D, Bm, Eb, Cm, Etude No. 3 Intervals 3/ Mallets A, F#m, Ab, Fm, Etude No. Auxiliary 3 Quads, claves, maracas, tambourine Auxiliary Quads, shaker, woodblock, whip Drumset 3 The Grid Drumset Rock & Swing H.D. 3 Djembe H.D. Know your hand drums Self 3 Help your teacher Self Lead Warm-ups Level Three A B Snare 5 Etude No. 5 Snare 6 Etude No. 6 Tiani 5 Etude No. 5 Tiani 6 Etude No. 6 Mallets 5 E,C#m,Db,Bbm Etude No. 5 Mallets 6 B,G#m, Gb,Ebm Solo Perf. Auxiliary 5 Guiro, bell tree, cowbell, ratchet Auxiliary 6 Wind chimes, sand blocks, samba whistle Drumset 5 Latin Grooves Drumset 6 Recording Playalong H.D. 5 Make a hand drum of your own. H.D. 6 Interpretation Self 5 Partner-Juggling Self 6 Lead Class Level Four A B Snare 7 Etude No. 7 Snare 8 Mastery of Rudiments Tiani 7 Orchestral Excerpt Tiani 8 Orchestral Excerpt Mallets 7 C whole tone & C H-W dim, Solo Perf. Mallets 7 Db whole tone & C W-H dim, Solo Perf. Auxiliary 7 Cabasa, castanets, sleigh bells Auxiliary 8 Shekere, vibraslap, Flex-a-tone, etc. Drumset 7 Jazz Chart Drumset 8 Drum Solo H.D. 7 New notation system H.D. 8 Drum Circle Self 7 Hacky-sack mentor Self 8 Musical mentor

PERCUSSION CURRICULUM SAMPLE TASKS 1 Snare 3 Task: Perform Snare Etude 3 Skill Focus: Flam Accents Speed: Dotted ¼ note = 120 Hints/Tips: Make sure that your flam is wide enough to be heard as a flam; if the flam is too close to the note itself it may just sound like a mistake instead of an intended flam. Keep your flams lighter than the following notes too. Snare 8 Task: Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Perform the following rudiments from memory: - Double Stroke Roll - Nine Stroke Roll - Seventeen Stroke Roll - Single Paradiddle - Paradiddle-diddle - Flam Accents - Flam Taps - Pataflafla - Swiss Army Triplets - Flam Drag - Lesson 25 - Single Ratamacue Memorization & Mastery of the most distinct and commonly used rudiments. The Speed of Success : play each rudiment multiple times, as fast as you can, without errors. As you re practicing, say the name of each rudiment as you re playing it. Have a friend quiz you on your rudiments. Multi-task: work on rudiment memorization while you watch TV. Play through each rudiment 5 times before you go to sleep each night ; you might be asleep but your brain is still functioning at night give it something good to process. Good luck! Tiani 1 Tasks: Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Colete the Tiani Tuning Written Test. Prepare/tune tiani and perform Etude No. 1. Tiani tuning & notation. Moderato (¼ note = 100bpm) Keep your strokes light and crisp. Don t try to play the tiani with heavy hands. A great tianist will play with finesse.

PERCUSSION CURRICULUM SAMPLE TASKS 2 Tiani Tasks: Prepare/tune tiani and perform Etude No.. Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Tuning on the fly. Finding tuning changes & writing them in. Maestoso (¼ note = 90bpm) Sometimes coosers put tuning changes into your music. For professional musicians, most of the time, they do not. Scan your music for notes that are different from your marked tuning notes (Ab,C,Db,Eb). Once you find a different note look for which one of your marked notes is not being used. Use that drum to tune to the new note. There are several instances in Etude No. where you need to change a drum to a different note, even while you are playing. This takes considerable amounts of concentration and the ability to multi-task. Mallets 2 Tasks: Perform Mallet Etude 2. Perform Narrow Intervals 1 & 2, as well as Wide Intervals 1 & 2, from Mallet Interval Exercises. Perform G Major, E natural minor, Bb Major, & G natural minor scales from memory. Perform G Major Thirds from memory. Skill Focus: -mallets. Shortening and/or widening intervals. Speed: Mallet Etude 2 at ¼ note=90bpm. Interval Exercises at least ¼ note=90bpm. Scales at least ¼ note=90bpm. Hints/Tips: While you re away from the instrument, practice touching your fingertips to your thumb. Use only one hand at a time. For exale, touch your pinky, ring, middle, then your index finger. This will help with dexterity and coordination. Know thy self! Mallets 5 Tasks: Skill Focus: Perform Mallet Etude 5 for your classmates. Perform E Major, C# natural minor, Db Major, & Bb natural minor scales from memory. Perform Db Major Thirds from memory. Rolls/tremolos. Performing for peers. Speed: Mallet Etude 5 at ¼ note=110bpm. Scales at least ¼ note=110bpm. Hints/Tips: Work on your rolls/tremolos at a slow speed. Make sure you have an even sound between each mallet in your hand. Speed will come with time. Go for consistency right now. Once you gain the muscle memory to play consistent rolls and to have L & R hand independence you will have it forever. This piece isn't going to be easily sight-read. You'll need to put in some serious work to be able to play this. Don t just work smarter; work harder and longer too if you want to be successful.

PERCUSSION CURRICULUM SAMPLE TASKS 3 Auxiliary 1 Task: Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Learn & perform all of the Quad Drum parts on the Drumline Warmups. Demonstrate that you can do the following with proper technique: Suspended cymbal roll Suspended cymbal crash Crash cymbals: crash at piano and at forte Crash cymbals: hi-hat Crash cymbals: scrape Multiple Percussion Techniques Drumline Warmups ¼ note = at least 100bpm Each percussion instrument has a technique. Using the proper technique will give you the best sound possible for each instrument. Auxiliary 3 Task: Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Perform letters B through C from Engine on the Quad drums. Demonstrate that you can do the following with proper technique: Play the claves Play the maracas Play a marcato hit on the tambourine Play a thumb roll on the tambourine Multiple Percussion Techniques Engine ¼ note = 120bpm Practice the quad part slowly. Pay carefully attention to the sticking. There are a few moments where your hands will have to cross each other. This is done for visual effect, which can be an iortant part of playing the quad drums. Task: Perform all grooves on Drumset Grooves 3. Drumset 3 Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: The Grid: 16th note accuracy & coordination at least ¼ note = 100bpm Keep your 16 th notes on the hi-hat very light. Try vocalizing each measure before you play it. Also, if you get stuck on Part 2 or Part 3, go back to Part 1 and work on it until you hate it. Then work on it some more. Part 1 lays the foundation for Parts 2 & 3.

PERCUSSION CURRICULUM SAMPLE TASKS Drumset 7 Task: Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Ask your teacher for a copy of a swing drumset chart from jazz band. Learn to play the chart including all of the grooves, fills, & transitions. Reading. Performing for peers. as the original music intends. Fills, fills, fills. Fills can be, and are often, overplayed. Drummers try to play too much during fills. Try doing as little as possible during a fill, but play just enough to keep it interesting. Almost anyone can make a lot of noise during a fill. Talented drummers choose their notes wisely and play only those that are interesting to listen to. Listen to professional jazz drummer s and borrow some of their ideas for fills. Ask your teacher if you need some suggestions for listening. Hand Drumming 1 Task: Skill Focus: Speed: Hints/Tips: Demonstrate the four common hand drumming tones: Bass, Open, Slap, Muffled Slap Perform all exercises on Hand Drumming Exercises 1. Use congas, bongos, or two other drums of different size and sound. Fundamental Hand Drumming Tones. ¼ note = 160 bpm Read through the "Hand Drumming Basics" to fully understand the technique for creating each kind of tone. Grab a drum and irovise rhythms and grooves using the proper technique to create various tones. Hand Drumming Task: Skill Focus: Hints/Tips: Research the following drums: congas, bongos, djembe, ashiko, talking drums, Native American hand drums, water drums, bodhran, doumbek, tabla, tambora, cajon. Use the Hand Drumming sheet as your guide. Knowing your hand drums from around the world. Get on the internet and look up exales of each type of drum. You'll be amazed at how incredible and peculiar hand drums sound throughout the world. There are distinct differences between tablas & djembes, and between doumbeks and congas. If you want to experience how these drums sound live go to the percussion section in a music store. They often carry hand drums that you may not played, or even seen, before.

PERCUSSION CURRICULUM SAMPLE TASKS 5 Self 3 Task: Skill Focus: Hints/Tips: Help your teacher for one hour by cleaning instruments, organizing music, and/or cleaning the classroom. Cleanliness & organization. When your class is organized and clean you will have a better learning experience. Ask your teacher what cleanliness & organization means to them. You will learn something about how valuable it can be, especially in a musical classroom setting. Self 6 Task: Skill Focus: Hints/Tips: Lead an entire class for one day. Run everything from setup & warm-ups to the clean-up at the end. Leadership. Teamwork. Meet with your teacher and prepare a plan. Be a servant leader instead of a tyrant. A good teacher is always willing to help. Help your peers irove their skills.

Snare Drum Etude 3 - Keep your flams light. They are like sprinkles on a cake: they add decoration, not domination. q.=120 6 8 R l r L mf p R L R L r l R r L R l r L mf p R L R 7 L r l R r f L R r L l R l r L l r l R l r L l r l 13 R l r L r l R r r l R l r L l R R l R R l R R l R mf 19 R l r L rr ll r r L l R r l l r L l r l r L l r L r l R l r L r l 25 R l r L L l r l r L l r L r l R l r L r l R l r L L 30 l r l r L l r L r l R ll r l rr l R fp ll rr ll rr ll rr ll... 36 f r l R l r L r l R l r L r l R l r L r l R l R l r L r l 2 R ll r L rr l rr ll r L r l R R R R l R R l R R l r r L r L L r 8 L L r l l fp R ll rr ll rr ll fp R ll rr ll rr ll R ll rr ll rr ll rr ll rr ll rr ll fp 53 R R R L L L R l r L r l R l r L rr ll R f ALL HANDS

Tiani Tuning Written Test Name: 2 3 1 1. Fill in the range of notes, and the size (in inches) of each drum. Drum: 1 2 3 Range: Size: 2. The determine the pitch of a tiani drum you can strike the drum head with a mallet or your fingertip. You can also determine the pitch of the drum by or into the drum. 3. Tuning a tiani requires an accurate pitch source. The most commonly used device to provide an accurate pitch source for tuning is called a. ALL HANDS

Tiani: Etude No.1 Moderato q=100 G,C,D,E f p cresc. f 6 p f p 11 17 fp f p mf 21 p mf f ALL HANDS

Tiani: Etude No. Maestoso q=90 Ab,C,Db,Eb 3 3 3 3 2 mf 9 p mf 17 3 3 3 3 f 25 3 p f p f 3 3 3 3 ALL HANDS

Keyboard Note Name Written Test Name: 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 1. Fill in the names of the notes. If a note has more than one name (# or b) then write in the alternate name. Note: Name: Note: Name: 1 9 2 10 3 11 12 5 13 6 7 8 ALL HANDS

1 Four Mallet Techniques There are several commonly-used techniques for playing with four mallets. In this curriculum we will learn about one of them: the Stevens grip. (Note from the author: I prefer teaching students to use the Stevens grip, especially in a large group, or classroom, setting. After teaching my percussion students a few different techniques it seemed that the Stevens grip was the most natural grip and seemed to 'click' with more students than other common grips. I use it myself as well. As a percussionist who is affected by carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists I need a grip that requires the least amount of tension in the hands while playing very wide or very close intervals. The Stevens grip is very relaxing and puts the least amount of strain on my hands and wrists. This is my opinion based upon my experience as a teacher and a player. It is not a rule. Feel free to learn and use a different technique if you'd like to do so.) Outside Mallet Stevens Grip Look at your palm. Spread your ring finger and middle finger away from each other. Your hand will probably look like your imitating Spock from Star Trek (ex. 1). "Live long and prosper." Place the mallet in the webbing between your ring and middle fingers. The end of the mallet should be about "-5" from where you placed it in your hand. Next, close your ring and pinky fingers over the mallet, holding it securely in place, but not holding it with a tight grip (ex. 2) These two fingers don't move when you're playing. The Stevens grip will feel a bit loose at first. As you use the grip you'll learn how much pressure you'll need to keep things in place. The outside mallet should not move around within your hand. When held properly, it is an extension of your hand. It only moves when you move your hand, wrist, or arm. ex. 1, webbing ex. 2, outer mallet

2 Inside Mallet Look at your palm then close your fingers into a fist. Your middle finger should land near the center of your wrist on a curved line that frames your thumb. Hand surgeons refer to this line as the Thenar (ex. 3). Place the end of your mallet in the center of this line, right where your middle finger landed while in a fist (ex. ). Once you place the end of the mallet on the line it should not move from that spot. That spot will be your fulcrum point, or the support point as your mallet acts like a lever. Next, rest the mallet on your index finger on the Distal Interphalangeal. That's the crease that is closest to the tip of your finger (ex. 5). Place your thumb on top of the mallet. Your thumb will keep light pressure on the top of the mallet so that it stays in that crease on your index finger. The last part of the grip involves your middle finger. Sily place your middle finger on the end of the mallet. That will help the end stay in place. Voila! Stevens grip! (ex. 6 & 7) ex. 3, Thenar ex. 6, Stevens grip top view ex., fulcrum ex. 5, index crease ex. 7, Stevens grip side view

3 Playing with the Stevens Grip - Keep your hands up as though you were going to shake hands with someone. Don't turn them in like a 2- mallet grip or like a matched snare grip. - To play with both mallets simultaneously move your wrists in a vertical motion making sure that both mallets strike the keyboard at the same time (ex. 8). Watch the ends of your mallets. They should all be travelling the same distance. If one mallet is going higher than another mallet then you have either turned your wrist away from the up position or you are not moving your wrists in a vertical motion. - To play with one mallet at a time while playing a roll, a tremolo, or an arpeggio, you'll need to use a rotating motion in your wrists. The rotating motion is the same that you would use to turn a door knob. Making sure that there is no tension in your wrist, rotate your wrist back and forth. This will cause the inner and outer mallets to strike the keyboard in an alternating manner. - To change the interval, or distance, between two mallets in one hand sily move your index finger left, or right, while keeping the inside mallet placed in the index crease (ex. 9). You should be able to move your index finger and adjust your mallets so that they can play as close as two notes next to each other or as far as two notes that are at least an octave apart. - Sometimes you'll need to play a part in your music where you only need to mallets, but you've already got the four mallets in your hands. Don't put the outer mallets down. Just adjust your wrists slightly to bring the outer mallet up and out of the way so that you don't accidentally strike the keyboard. You can use the inner two mallets by themselves. When you do, use the same rotating motion with your wrists. Just don't rotate out so far that your outer mallet hits the keyboard. ex. 8, vertical motion ex. 9, changing interval For more information, or to see a video demo, on the Stevens grip check out VicFirth.com. There is a video lesson section with dozens of lessons from professional percussionists. Gifford Howarth has a video lesson series on how to hold and use the Stevens grip. There are many resources out there with video lessons, but VicFirth.com has world-renowned percussionists teaching the lessons.

Mallet Interval Exercises - Use a vertical stroke for exercises 1 & 2. - Use the wrist rotation for exercises 3 &. - Play exercises 3 & with the R hand and the L hand. Narrow Intervals 1 Narrow Intervals 2 Narrow Intervals 3 Narrow Intervals Wide Intervals 1 Wide Intervals 2 Wide Intervals 3 Wide Intervals ALL HANDS

5 Mallet Etude 2 q=90 p R Hand - Try to be as fluid and graceful with your hands and wrists as you can possibly be. - Practicing one measure at a time, repeatedly, can help you gain muscle memory for changing intervals. 9 L Hand 13 Both Hands (double 8va or 8vb) 17 R Hand ff 21 L Hand Both Hand ff

Mallet Etude 5 - Keep the rolls/tremolos smooth. Playing with a consistent and even sound is more iortant than playing fast rolls/tremolos. - This piece requires finesse. Allow your body to be relaxed. Use fluid and graceful movements. Take long, deep breathes before, and while, you play to keep your body and your mind relaxed. 3 3 q=110 5 9 13 f f 17 p p ALL HANDS

2 Mallet Etude 5 (cont.) 21 25 29 f f 33 p p 37 pp ppp ALL HANDS

Accent 8's Cymbals Drumline Warmups HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH Snares Quads Basses (5) R R... L L... R R... L L... R R R... L L... R R... L L... R R R... L L... R R... L L... R Double Beat Cymbals Snares Quads HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ 5 5 R R... L L... R R... L L... R R... 5 R R... L L... R R... L L... R R... 2 2 2 Basses 5 2 Cymbals Snares Quads HH SZ HH SZ HH SZ HH CR 3 3 L L... R R... L L... R R R R L L L L R R L L R R L L R R R R L L L L R 3 L L... R R... L L... R R R R L L L L R R L L R R L L R R R R L L L L R Basses 3 ALL HANDS

Triple Beat Cymbals HH (Alternate) Drumline Warmups (cont.) (Alternate) Snares R R R... R L L L... L R R R R... R L L L L... Quads R R R... R L L L... L R R R R... R L L L L... Basses R L R... R R L R... R R L R... R R R L R... (Alternate) (Alternate) CR Cymbals Snares L R R R R... R L L L L... L L L L R R R R R R R R L L L L R R L L R Quads L R R R R... R L L L L... L L L L R R R R R R R R L L L L R R L L R Basses R R L R... R R R L R... R L R L R L R L R L R R R L R R R R R R R Higga Digga Burr Cymbals HH HH HH SZ HH SZ HH HH (Alternate) CR Snares R L R L RR LL RR LL R L R L RR LL RR LL R L R L R L R L RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL R Quads R L R L RR LL RR LL R L R L RR LL RR LL R L R L R L R L RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL R Basses R R R R R L R L R L R L R R R R R L R L R L R L R R R R R R R R R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R ALL HANDS

Quads 6 A q=120 - Engine 3 5 StickClick pp B 7 8 f p f 9 10 11 12 C 13 16 p r l r r r l r r l r l r l f r l r l r l r ll r l l r r l l r r l l r l r l r l r l rr l r l r l r l p 1 15 p f p D 17 18 19 f p f p 20 21 22 E 23 2 25 f r r l l r l r l r r l r l r l r l r l r l l r r l 26 27 28 l r l r l r r l l r l l r l l r r l l r l r l F 29 30 31 f f r l r r r l V.S.

2 32 33 3 35 Quads l r r l l r l r l r l r l R L L R R L L R R L R L L R R L r r l r l r l G 36 37 38 39 r l r r l r r l l r l l r l r r l r r l r r l l r r l r r l r r l l r l l R L 0 1 2 3 r l r r l r r l l r l l L r l r l r r L r l r l r r L r r l r r l r r l l r l l R ff 5 6 7 8 f l r l r l r L L L l r l r l r l r l r l r l r l r L r l R L R L R L R L 9 50 51 f r l l r l l r r l r r l r l r l r r l r r l l r r l l r l l r r l r r l 52 53 r l r l r r l r r l l r r l l r l l r r l r r l 5 55 56 r l r l r r l r r l l r r l r l r r l r l r l R ff L

Drumset Notation Written Test Name: 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Keeping Standard Drum Notation in mind, match each note to the correct drum or cymbal sound. Note: 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ALL HANDS

Drumset Grooves 3 The Grid Part 1 The Grid Part 2 The Grid Part 3 ALL HANDS

Hand Drumming Basic Technique - Make sure your hands & body are warmed up. Cold hands limit your flexibility, accuracy, and speed. Hand drumming can be physically demanding so breathe regularly. Don't hold your breath. - Remove any jewelry or gloves. The most authentic, and best-sounding, tones come from your bare hand hitting the drum. - Align your hands on the edge of the drum head so that your hands and arms at a 90-degree angle to each other. This position should feel comfortable and your hands should be relaxed. - When striking the drum head be sure to flex from your wrist. Your arm movement should be minimal, unless you are creating a visual effect. Keep your wrists very relaxed; no tension. - Look at your hand and imagine a curved line from where your index through pinky fingers connect to your palm. In hand drumming the most commonly-used part of the hand is the area from that curved line out (ex. 1) to your finger tips. More specifically, the area in the middle of that part of your fingers creates the best tone on a hand drum. Some people call that area the 'sweet spot.' (ex. 2) ex. 1 the curved line ex. 2 the 'sweet spot' - Keep your fingers together and your thumb tucked in while striking the drum. Allow your hand to rebound off of the drum head to achieve the best possible tone quality. Don't push into the drum or hit it so hard that your hand hurts or gets bruised. That can lead to long-term damage and can limit your ability to play. Use finesse while drumming, not sheer strength.

Hand Drumming Tones Bass: The bass tone has the deepest sound. To play a proper bass tone hit the drum head with your fingers and your palm, striking the drum head at the same time. Your finger tips should be near the center of the drum head but, generally, not past it. Experiment with how much force it takes to create the deepest sound on the drum. Some drums will create a bass sound with a light hit, while others will take some significant force to barely hear the bass sound. Open: The open tone is the most frequently used tone. It has the full sound of the drum which is a mixture of high, mid, & high frequencies. To play a proper open tone hit the drum head with your fingers (the 'sweet spot'). You should be striking the outer area of the drum head, about 3"-5" away from the edge. Practice this stroke so that you hear a blend of bass, mid, & high frequencies. Make sure that both hands can achieve the same tone quality Hand Drumming Tones (continued) Slap: The slap tone has a 'pingy' sound. The ping is the high frequencies and overtones of the drum. Even big drums, like a djembe, can have very high overtones. To play a proper slap tone hit the drum head with the pads of your finger tips near the edge of the drum. You can get a slap tone out of most drums by striking about 1" from the edge. Try learning the slap tone on a bigger drum, like a djembe. It is, generally, easier to achieve a proper slap tone on a bigger drum head. Muffled Slap: The muffled slap tone has a pingy sound, but is quickly muffled with the opposite hand. To play a proper muffled slap tone sily hit the drum head to create a standard slap tone, then gently place your opposite hand on the outer 1" of the drum head. By stopping the vibration of the outer area of the drum head you will stop the resonating high frequencies and, therefore, have a muffled slap. You can vary how the slap tone can sound by adjusting how hard you and how quickly you press your opposite hand. Try lightly placing your opposite hand, or fingers, on the outer edge of the drum head while you play a slap tone. Try letting the sound ring for a second or two, then place down your hand or fingers. These variations in the sound can create effective nuances while hand drumming. Hand Drumming Notation - Notation of hand drumming can be a controversial topic. Most of the world's hand drumming techniques, rhythms, and music has been carried through generations of aural teaching and learning. Sily put, most of this is learned by watching, listening, and doing. Each culture has different ways to communicate the language of drumming. Most music students in the USA are learning Western standard notation with 5 lines on a music staff. You will see hand drum music written this way, but you will also see that each piece of music may have different rules of notation. How do you know what sound to create? Well, fortunately, most pieces come with a key, or guide, which shows how to understand the notation on the page. If there isn't a key, or guide, look for the vertical relationship between notes: there are usually higher notes and lower notes that correspond to higher sounds and lower sounds, respectively. In this percussion curriculum you will find a key, or guide, on some pieces of music, but you may just see notes on another piece. Use what you've learned and use good judgment to determine what to do.

Hand Drumming Exercises 1 ALL Exercises: q=160 Key B: bass tone O: open tone S: slap tone MS: muffled slap tone Lower note: bigger drum Upper note: smaller drum Exercise 1 B O S O B O S B O S O B O S MS Exercise 2 B S O S MS B S O S B Exercise 3 B O B O MS B O B O 3 Exercise O S B S B S O B 3 ALL HANDS

Hand Drumming - Page 1 Congas Know Your Hand Drums Name: Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Bongos Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Djembe Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques:

Hand Drumming - Page 2 Name: Ashiko Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Talking Drums Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Native American hand drums Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques:

Hand Drumming - Page 3 Name: Water Drums Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Bodhran Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Doumbek Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques:

Hand Drumming - Page Name: Tabla Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Tambora Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: Cajon Location of origin: Made with these materials: Historical significance: Unique sound characteristics: Drum-specific techniques: