Oh ya!!! A blog about metronome use.
Why? Because I can.
The metronome is huge part of the success of the SASPB's so, with all the new members and non-members reading up on this blog, I thought I'd highlight "Sean's Steps to Successful Tempo Control".
Step 1. Buy a Metronome
Step 2. Attend practice regularly and ask about tempos
Step 3. Write all tempos down on each corresponding peice of music
Step 4. Take metronome out when you get home from practice... then take out your drum pad/sticks, or chanter
Step 5. EVERY TIME YOU PLAY USE YOUR METRONOME
Step 6. We'll use a march tempo from our msr. of 80 bpm's
I strongly recommend with marches, reels, hornpipes, to subdivide the tempo
set your metronome at 160 double time, or for those sneaky party in a round
or h/p quadruple it
For Spey's and Jigs you need to just clock in at whatever the tempo is
no subdivison though for those tricky GDE's feel free to clock a triple
feel in for the triplets
Step 7. If you have the metronome at a good volume but while playing you cannot hear
it's beat... you're probably playing with it. STOP HUNTING AROUND THE BEAT!!
That's about it. Long and short of it.
With almost 40 people in the grade 2 band, 4 of which fly in once a month to practice, it's is increasingly important we all utilize this tool.
This weekend is the Society men's dinner friday, and a performance at Knox United church on sunday, more on that later.
Cheers,
Sean
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A Christmas Wish Granted, and a birthday wish, and easter, and new years.... well you get it
Welcome back folks.
Things are going pretty smooth around the province right now. PPBAM general meeting was this past weekend and I'm happy to say I've retained my position as Director of Grading.
Bigger news is that Wes was voted President. He has extremely large shoes to fill, and will never fully replace the expertise of past President Marlene Stephen, who pass away mid-way through last season.
Marlene was a true warrior of our craft, and I'm exceptionally grateful for the large amount of time I got to spend with Marlene during my first two years on the executive.
So, what's with the title... well it's official we've completed the deal to purchase a full set of drums for our grade 2 band.
The search to replace our premier's began back when the grade 4 band was in Scotland... circa. 2008
I spent a large quantity of this trip listening to every single corp I could and trying to find the best snare sound to compliment our pipe tone.
I know this seems silly but I have to say drum tone can seriously detract from a good pipe sound. Even well tuned drums aren't always well suited to the overall band effect you're looking for.
I'm interested to hear how completely different SFU will sound with Andante's. I did question Field Marshall's decision to move to Premier. Not because of the instrument but the character of sound that band produced under the Pearl label.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.....
Except our drums started to break.
So after hunting around it all came down to fate.
Up here in the frozen Tundra... (it's currently plus 11 Celsius here in the peg BEAUTIFUL!!!) We don't always make as many contacts as we'd like.
So there we were a bunch of young punks, scared out of our wits, terrified of the massed bands in Maxville, Ontario. I think we collectively all knew maybe 3 people in that mass.
Out of nowhere up walks Jon Quigg to talk drumming.... pretty nice of him I'd say.
So, I commented on the sound of City of Washinton's drums. Crisp and clean very enjoyable to my ear. Not exactly what we're looking for but really close. Jon then introduces Ian and myself to Harry Meade who simply says... "email me".
So as soon as I got off the plane in August, you guessed it, email sent.
Harry is the son of Bob Meade, one of the world's top pipe band drum dealers. Bob is also one of the most helpful people you'll find in the pipe band world.
You can check these great guys out at www.bobmeade.com
After some negotiations, a band decision, some more shopping, we came to last week when I finally put a stamp on our order from Pearl.
I'm proud to say the big blue machine is going Pearl. I have played Pearl products all throughout my career as a percussionist and it's truly the quality control that has attracted me most.
I'm expecting delivery sometime in the new year.
Until then here's a small snap shot of what we're expecting...
I know, I get choked up too just looking at it.
Merry Christmas drum corp, your hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed by your fellow band members. Your reward is playing the top instrument, at the top contest.
Cheers,
Sean
Things are going pretty smooth around the province right now. PPBAM general meeting was this past weekend and I'm happy to say I've retained my position as Director of Grading.
Bigger news is that Wes was voted President. He has extremely large shoes to fill, and will never fully replace the expertise of past President Marlene Stephen, who pass away mid-way through last season.
Marlene was a true warrior of our craft, and I'm exceptionally grateful for the large amount of time I got to spend with Marlene during my first two years on the executive.
So, what's with the title... well it's official we've completed the deal to purchase a full set of drums for our grade 2 band.
The search to replace our premier's began back when the grade 4 band was in Scotland... circa. 2008
I spent a large quantity of this trip listening to every single corp I could and trying to find the best snare sound to compliment our pipe tone.
I know this seems silly but I have to say drum tone can seriously detract from a good pipe sound. Even well tuned drums aren't always well suited to the overall band effect you're looking for.
I'm interested to hear how completely different SFU will sound with Andante's. I did question Field Marshall's decision to move to Premier. Not because of the instrument but the character of sound that band produced under the Pearl label.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.....
Except our drums started to break.
So after hunting around it all came down to fate.
Up here in the frozen Tundra... (it's currently plus 11 Celsius here in the peg BEAUTIFUL!!!) We don't always make as many contacts as we'd like.
So there we were a bunch of young punks, scared out of our wits, terrified of the massed bands in Maxville, Ontario. I think we collectively all knew maybe 3 people in that mass.
Out of nowhere up walks Jon Quigg to talk drumming.... pretty nice of him I'd say.
So, I commented on the sound of City of Washinton's drums. Crisp and clean very enjoyable to my ear. Not exactly what we're looking for but really close. Jon then introduces Ian and myself to Harry Meade who simply says... "email me".
So as soon as I got off the plane in August, you guessed it, email sent.
Harry is the son of Bob Meade, one of the world's top pipe band drum dealers. Bob is also one of the most helpful people you'll find in the pipe band world.
You can check these great guys out at www.bobmeade.com
After some negotiations, a band decision, some more shopping, we came to last week when I finally put a stamp on our order from Pearl.
I'm proud to say the big blue machine is going Pearl. I have played Pearl products all throughout my career as a percussionist and it's truly the quality control that has attracted me most.
I'm expecting delivery sometime in the new year.
Until then here's a small snap shot of what we're expecting...
I know, I get choked up too just looking at it.
Merry Christmas drum corp, your hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed by your fellow band members. Your reward is playing the top instrument, at the top contest.
Cheers,
Sean
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Elementary with dear Watson... and the Fisher!
Welcome back!
No I haven't gone crazy and started rambling about various literary works of art. The title of today's blog refers to one powerhouse weekend we spent with the grade 2 band, Jake Watson (Peel), and John Fisher (Spirit of Scotland).
What a great and educational experience!
Friday night Wes and I poured over material with these fellas getting into tunes, expression, and tempos. This set us up perfectly for the 9 am rehearsal saturday morning with the whole grade 2 band.
We were at the elmwood legion. In the basement. Not a big place but comfortable. John and I immediately took the drummers into the back room to start lighting into the music and I don't think I surfaced until 11:30.
Keep in mind this was the first weekend we've seen the whole band.
I walked out of a room with 8 sides in it to find about 21 or 22 pipers crammed around tables on the dancefloor of the legion. What a sight!
I've never played in a band this big, and I was starting to grow concerned about the logistics of controlling this many people. After lunch my worries were put to rest. Thirty people sat around the table and made the first rumblings of music together saturday afternoon. It was as clean and controlled as ever.
I think everyone was as worried about the size of this band as I was. It's very easy for one good joke or something to break it into a great party, we all get along so well. Everyone remained focused though. Then we made some noise.
Now, I've been to the big contests, I saw the Frasers play 30, I've seen corps of 12 and 25 pipers. But saturday we put a huge band together in 50 minutes. Tuned and ready. 21 pipers, we were missing a couple due to colds, 8 sides, 4 tenors, and 1 bass.
What a powerful sound.
It just kept getting better. What an energy to this band. I know Wes and I were so pleased.
It's kind of like a choose your own adventure book. At some point somewhere we chose to jump to a certain page, and here we are today. The little blue band on the prairies with a huge grade 2 band, a wonderful little grade 3 band, a brand spankin new Juvenile band, membership in the 70 to 80's, and years of memories with many more to come.
The grade 2 band is flourishing and I think it's the direction. We know where we're going and what our goals are. People respect that. It gives a purpose to tuesday nights.
We worked so hard this weekend almost everyone was sick tuesday! John led the drum corp and I on a rollercoaster ride to ensemble and exciting, emotional drumming. Jake gave the pipe corp a breathe of air, a new voice, and a wakeup call that we're all in it together, we're all growing together.
We're all going back to basics. Who cares what you can play if you can't hit an attack or nail a cut off? If the tuning slacks harmonies are a killer instead of a treat. We're focused again. Deadly focused.
It's going to be an incredible season. I can feel it. Together there's nothing that can stop us. We've got our work cut out for us, but we're miles ahead of last year. And let's face it, come January in Winnipeg, we might as well practice. It creates warmth.
Sean
No I haven't gone crazy and started rambling about various literary works of art. The title of today's blog refers to one powerhouse weekend we spent with the grade 2 band, Jake Watson (Peel), and John Fisher (Spirit of Scotland).
What a great and educational experience!
Friday night Wes and I poured over material with these fellas getting into tunes, expression, and tempos. This set us up perfectly for the 9 am rehearsal saturday morning with the whole grade 2 band.
We were at the elmwood legion. In the basement. Not a big place but comfortable. John and I immediately took the drummers into the back room to start lighting into the music and I don't think I surfaced until 11:30.
Keep in mind this was the first weekend we've seen the whole band.
I walked out of a room with 8 sides in it to find about 21 or 22 pipers crammed around tables on the dancefloor of the legion. What a sight!
I've never played in a band this big, and I was starting to grow concerned about the logistics of controlling this many people. After lunch my worries were put to rest. Thirty people sat around the table and made the first rumblings of music together saturday afternoon. It was as clean and controlled as ever.
I think everyone was as worried about the size of this band as I was. It's very easy for one good joke or something to break it into a great party, we all get along so well. Everyone remained focused though. Then we made some noise.
Now, I've been to the big contests, I saw the Frasers play 30, I've seen corps of 12 and 25 pipers. But saturday we put a huge band together in 50 minutes. Tuned and ready. 21 pipers, we were missing a couple due to colds, 8 sides, 4 tenors, and 1 bass.
What a powerful sound.
It just kept getting better. What an energy to this band. I know Wes and I were so pleased.
It's kind of like a choose your own adventure book. At some point somewhere we chose to jump to a certain page, and here we are today. The little blue band on the prairies with a huge grade 2 band, a wonderful little grade 3 band, a brand spankin new Juvenile band, membership in the 70 to 80's, and years of memories with many more to come.
The grade 2 band is flourishing and I think it's the direction. We know where we're going and what our goals are. People respect that. It gives a purpose to tuesday nights.
We worked so hard this weekend almost everyone was sick tuesday! John led the drum corp and I on a rollercoaster ride to ensemble and exciting, emotional drumming. Jake gave the pipe corp a breathe of air, a new voice, and a wakeup call that we're all in it together, we're all growing together.
We're all going back to basics. Who cares what you can play if you can't hit an attack or nail a cut off? If the tuning slacks harmonies are a killer instead of a treat. We're focused again. Deadly focused.
It's going to be an incredible season. I can feel it. Together there's nothing that can stop us. We've got our work cut out for us, but we're miles ahead of last year. And let's face it, come January in Winnipeg, we might as well practice. It creates warmth.
Sean
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)