7th Grade Students who have instruments at home:

Please continue to practice at home:

Use your regular class warmups (habits, long tones, etc..)

Play through your scales every day. Play down the entire scale sheet at whatever tempo

you can comfortably play them all correctly.

Work on Blaze, Of Distant Peaks, and Rejoice!

Review the things that we were working on just before we got out of school.

If you would like to hear recordings of the pieces you can go to jwpepper.com

and search the titles.

7th Grade Students who do not have instruments at home:

Day 1:

You will need a computer or a smartphone. Go to www.musictheory.net

• Once you are on the site, click the Exercises tab

• Click Key Signature Construction

• Go to settings. In settings, you can change the clef if needed. You can also make

other changes.

• Spend 5 to 10 minutes on this exercise. Try to get your score to 90% or higher.

Day 2:

You will need a computer or a smartphone. Go to www.musictheory.net

• Once you are on the site, click the Exercises tab

• Click Scale Construction

• Go to settings. In settings, you can change the clef if needed. You can also make

other changes.

• Spend 10 to 15 minutes on this exercise. Try to do as many scales as you can.

Day 3:

How playing an instrument benefits your brain

https://www.ted.com/talks/anita_collins_how_playing_an_instrument_benefits_your_brain

Day 4:

How to Practice effectively

https://youtu.be/f2O6mQkFiiw

Day 5:

Go to www.musictheory.net

• Once you are on the site, click the Exercises tab

• Click Key Signature Identification

• Go to settings. In settings, you can change the clef if needed. You can also make

other changes.

• Spend 5 to 10 minutes on this exercise.

Day 6:

Go to www.musictheory.net

• Once you are on the site, click the Exercises tab

• Click Keyboard Ear Training

• Spend 5 to 10 minutes on this exercise.

Day 7:

https://youtu.be/Rqldh4uYHzo

Lots of trombones doing a cool thing

Day 8:

https://www.jwpepper.com/Rejoice%21/10758897.item#.XnFCaC-ZPOQ

Listen to Rejoice!

Day 9:

https://www.jwpepper.com/Blaze%21/10758905.item#/submit

Listen to Blaze

Day 10:

https://www.jwpepper.com/Of-Distant-Peaks/10311316.item#/

Listen to Of Distant Peaks

How it’s Made - Trumpet

https://youtu.be/y9XYQHBBp9I

How it’s Made – Clarinet

https://youtu.be/_DZgoYmbU-w

How it’s Made – Percussion

https://youtu.be/PltwBvmiwNM

Marine Band

https://www.youtube.com/user/usmarineband

How to Practice

Correct practice is crucial to your development as a percussionist. We can define practicing correctly as:

1.! Practicing with a plan and setting goals 2.! Practicing those things that you can’t play perfectly 3.! Practicing on the instrument 4.! Practicing with a metronome 5.! Practicing in front of a mirror 6.! Constant evaluation of your quality of sound/efficiency/tempo control 7.! Marking time while you practice (marching percussion)

Practice with a Plan and Setting Goals

Practicing with a plan or goal is crucial to your development. Having a plan allows you to be methodical and smart about your approach. This approach leads to efficiency. The more efficient you are at practicing, the quicker you will become great. Here is an example of having a solid practice plan, or goal: Week of 12/24 through 12/30 Goal: Tap fives

-! Monday: One hour of tap fives (triplet-base) q = 60 to 84 (up four beats every ten minutes)

-! Tuesday: One hour of tap fives at q = 84 to 108 -! Wednesday: q = 108 to 132 -! Thursday: q = 132 to 156 -! Friday: q = 156 to 180 -! Saturday: q = 180 to 204 -! Sunday: q = 204 to 228

Keep a practice journal. Writing things down will keep you organized. Seeing your

progress in writing will help to crystallize your improvement.

Playing material slow is important. Slow things down. You’ll be amazed at how much better your control will be and how much of a better overall player you will become. Practicing Those Things that You Can’t Play Perfectly It is very easy to play things that feel good and sound good. At your level, you should be disciplined enough to play things you can’t play perfectly. Make everything you play sound perfect and feel good. Your job is to be a master of all motions and all tempi, so practicing things you don’t feel completely comfortable with is key. Practicing on the Instrument A practice pad does not give you the same feel as a drum. There is no substitute for the chops you will gain practicing on a drum versus a practice pad. No exceptions.

Practicing with a Metronome Tempo control is crucial as a percussionist and is probably the single most important trait you, as an individual performer, can bring to the table. There is simply no substitute for practicing with a metronome. Keep it fresh by practicing to a half-time feel. Try putting the metronome on the upbeat and keep a constant, steady pulse. Practicing in Front of a Mirror Practicing with correct height control is crucial to your development. Practicing in front of a mirror allows the performer to observe and correct any height discrepancies, Y-axis motion (slicing), weird facial tweaks, et cetera. Take a dry erase marker and draw lines for heights on the mirror. While practicing, keep your beads touching these lines consistently. Draw a vertical line to observe the vertical rise and fall of the stick. It should be exactly straight up and down. When practicing in front of a mirror, continually ask yourself the following questions:

-! Are my heights correct? -! Are stick paths (right and left) straight up and down? -! Are there any extra motions (shoulder ticks, elbow motion, et cetera)? -! Is my body symmetrical (right and left shoulders parallel to the instrument and

even)? -! Do I look relaxed and do I make it look easy?

Constant Evaluation of Sound Quality / Efficiency / Tempo Control When you practice, you should constantly evaluate how you feel and look. You should critique how you sound. Does it sound good? Does it flow? Are the sticks resonating at all times? Does it sound relaxed? Am I breathing calmly and evenly when I play? Is there tension in my back, shoulders, arms, or wrists? Do I sound like I am taking ownership of the music? Constant self-evaluation is important in your development as a percussionist. If something isn’t right, you have the tools to diagnose the problem, find a solution, and fix it. Marking Time While You Practice Marking time is important, as this is a movement-based activity. If your feet are not in time, you will not play in time. Your heel should be impacting exactly on the beat. Your feet must be in time.

Thom Hannum’s Three Technique Keys

1.! Hold the stick/mallet with the fingers and thumb at all times. a.! Every attempt should be made to keep ten full fingerprints on the stick at all times. b.! The thumb and index fingerprint (fulcrum) should be on opposing sides of the stick. c.! The thumb should point straight down to the bead of the stick.

2.! Play from the wrist. a.! Flex your wrist all the way through the stroke.

3.! Use the rebound. a.! See “The Four Stroke Types” below.

Hannum’s Five Grip Guidelines

1.! Natural Curve of the Hands 2.! Starting (Set) Position

a.! Maintain slightly less than ninety degrees between the sticks b.! Downstroke / Upstroke Position

3.! Sticks are an Extension of the Forearms a.! The sticks should point slightly downward toward the instrument b.! The mallets should point upwards away from the keyboard at the volume/height of the

first note to be played 4.! Relaxed Elbows

a.! The elbows should hang naturally from the shoulders b.! The elbows should not be too far away from the body, nor too close c.! Elbows should rest next to the performer’s ribcage; not in front of, or behind d.! This includes relaxed shoulders

5.! Bead/Mallet Head Placement a.! Generally, this will be the center of the instrument, but there are exceptions

Hannum’s Five Stroke Guidelines

1.! Grip Maintenance 2.! Path of the Stick/Mallet

a.! The stick/mallet should travel in a straight path up and down from the instrument whenever possible

3.! Bead Moves First 4.! Height of Rise Consistency 5.! Control of the Opposite Stick/Mallet

a.! While one hand is at rest, it should be in the starting position.

The Four Stroke Types 1.! Full Stroke

a.! A high stroke that rebounds high 2.! Down Stroke

a.! A high stroke that rebounds low 3.! Tap Stroke

a.! A low stroke that rebounds low b.! These are also low full strokes.

4.! Up Stroke a.! A low stroke that rebounds high

It is very important to remember (demonstrate) that the words full/down/tap/up describe what

happens after the note is struck.

The Four Lever Points

1.! Shoulder – Most powerful, but not fast at all 2.! Elbow – Less powerful than the shoulder, but faster 3.! Wrist – Not as powerful as any of the above, but faster; also the best combination of speed

and power 4.! Fingers – Not as powerful as any of the above, but the fastest of all four lever points

Perpetually-evolving General Percussion Rules for Awesomeness

1a. The sticks/mallets should accelerate towards the striking surface. 1b. Allow the stick to rebound as fast as possible. 2. Keep the hands rotated towards each other. a. Palm down. b. Make sure you can see all of the back of your hand. 3. Try to rid the grip of all daylight without squeezing the stick/mallet.

Copyright © 1986

check

Check Patterns - Duple Thom Hannum

r l r l r

l etc.

1

r l r l r

l etc.

2

r l r l r

l etc.

3

r l r l r

l etc.

4

r l r l r

l etc.

5

r l r

l r l etc.

6

r l r l r

l etc.

7

r l r l r

l etc.

8

r l r l r l etc.

9

r l r l r

l etc.

10

r l r l

r l etc.

11

r l r l r l etc.

12

r l r l r

l etc.

13

r l r l r

l etc.

14

r l r l r l etc.

Copyright © 1986

Check Patterns - Triple Thom Hannum

check

r l r l

r l r

r

r

etc.

1

r l r l r l r

r

r

etc.

2

r l r

l r l r

r

r

etc.

3

r l r l

r l r

r

r

etc.

4

r l r l r l r

r

r

etc.

5

r l r l r l r

r

r

etc.

6

r l r l r l r

r

r

etc.

Duple 421

Triple 421

Rff

l r l R l r l R l r l R l r l r L r l r L r l r L r l r L r l r l R l r l R l r l R l r l R l r l r L r l r L r l r L r l r L

™™ ™™R l r l R l r l r L r l r L r l r l R l r l R l r l r L r l r L

5

™™ ™™R l r l r L r l r l R l r l r L R l r l r L r l r l R l r l r L R

9

R l r L r l R l r L r l r L r l R l r L r l R l r l R l r L r l R l r L

12

™™ ™™ ™™ ™™R l r L r l r L r l R l r l R l r L R l r l R l r l R L r l r L r l r L R

15

44 24

24 44

44 128

128 68

68 98

/

/

/

/

/

Variations1. All buzzes2. Taps buzzed3. Taps diddled4. As written5. Change hands on accents6. Change hands on first tap

œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ>

œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ>

œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ œ> œ> Œ Ó

œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ>

œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ> œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ> œ œ œ œ> œ œ œ œ> œ> ™ Œ ™ Œ ™