Jon Pages Art of Drumming Page | ||||||||||||||||||||
| An Introduction to me. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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My name is Jonathan Page. I am 17 years old and live in the UK. I have been playing drums for 7 years and have reached Grade 5 standard. I can normally be found in Kingsmead school Music block drumming away. I am a member of the schools senior orchestra and often accompany the schools choir. This is usually Drum kit work I am also a member of CMC Symphony Orchestra. Which involves a lot of percussion work such as Timpani and Snare drumming. I take a very active role in the schools concerts. ( Usually sitting behind the drums! ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Drum kit | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The most common form of drum kit is the 5 piece with a Hi-hat and two cymbals. The bass drum is played using a pedal. It produces a loud thud. The bass drum is used to regulate the tempo of a piece. Various different beats can be created using the bass drum. Funk, which involves syncopated bass drum beats, is probably the most diffcult use of the bass drum. The Snare drum is undoubtedly the most versatile of the drums. It can be used for ryhthms and fills. By hitting the drum various ways many different sounds can be created. By switching off the snare it sounds just like a tom. There are usually three toms in a 5 piece drum kit. The top tom, middle tom and floor tom. These are usually used in fills but can be used in latin rhythms such as samba and rhumba. The Hi-hat is used in rhythms. It can be opened and closed to create various sounds. The most difficult beat on a Hi-hat is a disco beat. This involves alternately opening and closing the Hi-hat. There are usually two cymbals. A crash cymbal and a ride cymbal. The crash is usually used at the end of fills while the ride is used for rhythms such as swing or latin beats. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Drum music? | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Do drummers read music? This is a question I am often asked and the answer is YES WE DO. The bottom line of the music stave indicates the bass drum while the 2nd line from the top indicates the top tom. The floor tom, snare drum and middle tom are positioned between these two drums on the stave. Crosses indicate cymbals. There are also various different signs and symbols which indicate different things. A ring around the snare indicates a rim shot while an open circle above the hi-hat indicates an open Hi-hat. Drummers will usually only play a piece of music once. After that they just throw it away. Improvisation is far better anyway. Drum music simply gives the drummer an idea about the piece. This is why you rarely see drummers actually reading music. Rudimental drumming is the drummers version of scales. In a melody instrument such as a violin you get a scale such as A minor. In drumming you get a rudiment such as a paradiddle. Rudiments are undoubtedly the most difficult of drumming techniques but are very rewarding. Rudiments make use of all drums and cymbals and often involve using both arms and legs at the same time. | |||||||||||||||||||
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