Four-Mallet Technique: Balancing Melody and Accompaniment on Marimba
Four-mallet technique on marimba is not only about reaching four notes. It also lets you decide which notes should lead and which…
Journal
Ideas on technique, sound and pedagogy.
Short essays and notes on percussion, musical thinking and the MTDM Method.
Double Stroke Roll: Practising Evenness and Dynamic Control
A double stroke roll alternates two strokes from one hand with two from the other: RRLL RRLL. To practise it usefully, listen…
Timpani Tuning: Checking Pitch Before an Orchestral Entrance
Timpani tuning is not complete when the pedal or gauge reaches a familiar position. You still need to check the pitch that…
Beethoven 9 Timpani: Resonance in Bars 16–35
In the first-movement timpani excerpt from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the end of a sound can matter as much as the attack. A…
Magic Flute Glockenspiel: Shaping Papageno’s Bells
The glockenspiel passages in Mozart’s The Magic Flute are part of a stage conversation. Papageno’s bells can interrupt, charm and change what…
West Side Story Vibraphone: Clarity and Resonance
In a West Side Story vibraphone passage, clarity is not only a question of how a note begins. It also depends on…
Sacrificial Dance Timpani: Practising Meter Changes
Preparing the Sacrificial Dance timpani excerpt means more than memorising a sequence of time signatures. You need to know how long each…
Tambur-ille: Connecting the Tambourine Phrase
Sebastian Schmid’s Tambur-ille asks you to make a musical line out of different kinds of tambourine sound. Short figures, sustained rolls and…
Pique Dame Snare Drum: Keeping the Pulse Through Sticking Choices
In Franz von Suppé’s Pique Dame overture, a snare drum passage can look repetitive while asking for several different decisions. The rhythm…
How to Run a Percussion Mock Audition and Use the Feedback
A percussion mock audition gives you a setting in which to play a complete round and examine what happens across it: preparation,…