Battery Warmups online

We have posted the first batch of battery warmups online here:

https://sites.google.com:443/site/fremontpercussion/

The media page has pdf files for most of the things we have handed out so far - so now you can print a copy whenever you want :)

DCI Quarterfinals in Theaters!

This Thursday the DCI Quarterfinals will be shown in theaters - it's a great chance to see the top 20 groups performing at the end of the season.

You can click on the image above to get more information from the site, or use the following link to get tickets for the showing at Cupertino 16. Alec and I will be there, and it should be a fun show!

Purchase tickets for the Cupertino 16 show:
https://www.movietickets.com/purchase.asp?perf_id=558211193

-Corey

New Fremont Percussion calendar

Here's an easy way to see the upcoming schedule…

You can view the calendar online:


Fremont Percussion on Google Calendar


Or you can subscribe to it in other applications, like Apple's iCal or Microsoft Outlook:


Fremont Percussion .ics file

The calendar should stay up to date, but please send an email if you see any errors - fremontpercussion [at] gmail [dot] com

Fall 2008 is fast approaching!

The fall season will be here soon, and the work that we've been doing this summer has been a great start!

There are two more summer percussion practices before band camp:
Tuesday, July 29th, 6-9pm
Tuesday, August 5th, 6-9pm

More posts will be coming soon, and this will be the place to look for exercises, recordings, sheet music and more. You can also look back through the archives to see and hear things we've done in the past, and look at some great information about practicing and equipment for band camp (still true even today!).

Until next time,
Corey

Practice Tips/MIDI/PDF

Heyhey everybody.  First off, thank you all so much for coming to the audition workshops and showing interest in our Fremont High School Winter Percussion.  It no doubt will be a great season.

I'm posting this entry to give some helpful tips as to how to approach, play, and become confident with the music for this year.  It is very unique and challenging, but we need to be able to present it as if it were stupidly simple.  So, here's some helpful suggestions

1.  LISTENLISTENLISTENLISTEN

This piece does not sound or feel "weird" to me anymore because I've just listened to it a while.  Just like memorizing one of your favorite songs, after a while, you start to understand how the song moves, and what lyrics (or notes) are coming up.  Having just a sense of familiarity with the piece will definitely help you approach and succeed with this music.  Here's a .midi file of our opener.

2.  Back to basics

Remember when you were just starting to learn how to read rhythms, and you wrote "1" "&" "2" "&" under each note?  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, please do that now.  Though most of this piece is in something-over-4 (3/4. 4/4, etc.), there are lots of rhythmic phrases that feel like they're in a different meter.  Being able to identify where each note fits in the measure will be very helpful to keep the ensemble together.  

-Note : Make sure to ALWAYS have a pencil on you at all times.  We may be writing in these counting structures, or explaining phrasing, or anything else.

3.  METRONOME

After doing step 2, make sure that you can play all your rhythms in relation to a metronome.  Obviously the 5/8 stuff it's so easily done, but definitely for anything-over-4, a metronome is a must.  A big challenge of this show is that since the music doesn't move in a very..."traditional" way, we ALL must be on the same page at all times, or else it wont work.  Metronome work, very important.

4.  Memorize music

The quicker you memorize your music, the quicker your brain can start focusing on the meters and the entire ensemble.  If your music isn't memorized, then your brain is trying to read the music, play the music, read the meter, and listen around to the ensemble.  Try at all times to get your brain to do the least amount of (necessary) work as possible.  Memorizing your music will help that a lot.

5.  Double-check with friends

Find someone who has more experience than you do, and play a passage for them, or ask them questions.  The staff of course will always help you with any questions you have, but there is lots of talent in our percussion program so most likely, they could answer the same question.

6.  Think ahead

Once your music is memorized, or even when it's slightly memorized, you need to start thinking ahead.  With how quickly this piece moves, by the time it takes you to focus on one measure, the following (which is probably in a different time signature) has already passed you.  

7.  Know your ensemble

Lots of parts (battery to pit, pit to battery) are written to overlap.  Once you know how the ensemble is supposed to sound, it will help you be able to place your parts correctly within it.  So, with that, here's a copy of the score.  Read it up and down and notice what you play that may match what someone else also has.

Have fun practicing.  If there's anything confusing or anything you don't understand, you can also ask me directly.  Email to alec_swink@yahoo.com or call 408-431-3697.

(Alec Swink)

Hey everyone, here's the 16th note timing exercise we'll be playing for this winter season.  Have any questions about it ready to ask us at rehearsal.  Enjoy.

WP08 16th Timing

Also, here is the 8s exercise we'll be playing.  Snares/Tenors is the same as fall season, but basses have a new split.

WP08 8s DS (Double-stops)

(Alec Swink)

Tapes from the Independence show

Great job at the show this past weekend!

I've posted two tapes from the weekend to help us improve going into championships. In chronological order, they are:

Independence percussion tape - lots of great stuff from the judge up in the box for the field show. There are tons of comments about various performance issues.

Standstill performance - I put my tape recorder between the snares and basses for this performance, which gives a sound that's different from what we usually get from a tape.

And hopefully we'll end up with another practice or two this week to keep working on this :)