snares

[moondrums]

im 1 of 3 snare drummers on my line and it seems that we are always the worst section. besides playing with a metronome, what other things might i be able to do to help my section improve?

[Teever]

Moon,
The met is a good start, but what are you playing to it? Make sure to include in your daily reps those rudiments and rhythmic challenges that are in your show. If you have several triplet rolls in the show, for instance, work triplet roll exercises as well as your parts. Be sure to get many good repetitions in on each technique before moving on, working slow to faster. Emphasize quality over quantity of reps, but do get in a sufficient amount.

Another very helpful technique is to get you section in front of a mirror. While some campuses have a dance room or mirrors in the weight room, etc, any large tinted window will do. We've even taken used mirrored closet doors and set them sideways on the whiteboard rail. What you're looking for is individual technique (how your hands, fingers, grip and stroke look) as well as uniformity among the three of you (matching heights, angles of sticks, etc). Seeing is believing.

[Steven]

what other things might i be able to do to help my section improve?

Sectionals, eat lunch in the bandroom every day and drum together, or if another time works for you?

At reed in 1999 the snare line met up a half hour before school (6:30 am) to track rolls because it was the only time we could all meet up. My last year there me and my quad partner in crime would drum/hang out every sunday. Fairfields 07 winter snare line (a hot snareline) drummed every single school day together.

Ill shut up now, but the short of it is there is no shortcut, play together and you will get better. Also dont stress yourself out about it to much, make sure you mature as an individual player and dont think exclusivly about how good your section is.

[Che!]

what other things might i be able to do to help my section improve?

Fairfields 07 winter snare line (a hot snareline) drummed every single school day together.

Yea they did! They were drumming together a whole season before too.

When you drum with the same people all the time, you notice what everyones habits are and then you'll pick them up as well, making it easier to clean things down the road as a section.

[ipwnyou]

what other things might i be able to do to help my section improve?

Fairfields 07 winter snare line (a hot snareline) drummed every single school day together.

Yea they did! They were drumming together a whole season before too.

When you drum with the same people all the time, you notice what everyones habits are and then you'll pick them up as well, making it easier to clean things down the road as a section.

Yup! Like Steven and Che! have said, everyone in your snare line has to practice together a lot outside of rehearsals.

If you're the section leader, try not to let any dirty sections, no matter how small, go unnoticed. Point them out quickly and keep repping those dirty sections until you guys are clean. The advantage of having three snares is that you can clean up faster than the bigger snare lines!

[Bacon]

im 1 of 3 snare drummers on my line and it seems that we are always the worst section. besides playing with a metronome, what other things might i be able to do to help my section improve?

-Play in front of a mirror
-make sure your not slicing
-appearance has a big effect
-play on pillows sometimes
-match techniques
-make accents and taps distinguishable
-have sectionals at lunch & on bus to shows, as often as possible
-use matching sticks, and make sure you all grip the stick in the same area. I prefer having my fulcrum on the flag for Vic Firth sticks. Typically 1/3 away from the butt.
-practice at all different tempos
-practice dynamics
-break things down and practice at slower tempos and then build it up
-practice marching in blocks together.
-Listen
-do finger exercises to become more familiar with your hands
-work on chops
-practice sticking doubles and triples
-practice doing splits
-Mark time to grids, add flams, accents, diddles, buzzes, dynamics....
....There's like a million things you could do, I think some of the best lines think, feel, & execute in the same way. Getting "better" and "cleaner" is just like making new friends and getting to know more about each other. There are a million questions you could ask, and a million things you could do to get to know each other better. But, you will lose friendships sometimes when you havn't spoken in a while. So, consistency is the key.