Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band Sun Devil ... Ensemble Expectations 2015.pdfArizona State University – Sun Devil Marching Band 2 Preface The following items in this

Arizona State University – Sun Devil Marching Band

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Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band

Sun Devil Athletic Bands

P.O. Box 872505 500 E. Veterans Way, #501

480-965-2044, 480-727-6681 (fax)

Welcome Percussionists! We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all students who are interested in auditioning for the Sun Devil Marching Band percussion section. Please read the following material, as this handbook will provide the necessary information for you to be successful at our audition. Sincerely, Roberto Paz Arizona State University Director of Marching Percussion [email protected]

Registration:

https://sundevilband.asu.edu/

Percussion Auditions:

August 10th - 11th, 2015 6pm - 10pm

@Percussion Blockhouse $20 fee

Sun Devil Marching Band on Social Media:

Facebook: Sun Devil Percussion

Twitter: @sdmbpercussion


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Preface The following items in this handbook are fundamental exercises, etudes, and various types of information complied to help prospective members with a successful audition process. It is highly recommended that all past and future members read the following information to better understand the Sun Devil Marching Band. Auditions Final auditions for the Sun Devil Marching Band Percussion Section are held during Band Camp on August 10th and August 11th. Both of these days will be from 6:00pm until 10:00pm. There is a $20 fee to audition. Checks may be payable to the “Sun Angel Foundation.”

In order to properly sign up, please fill out the Marching Band Registration form. Once a successful audition is complete, registration will begin for members who are offered a spot with the Sun Devil Marching Band. At that point, members will be expected to read and follow all the expectations dictated in the band handbook. Equipment Please bring sticks or mallets to the corresponding instrument that you will audition on. We will provide limited equipment but we encourage battery members to bring their own equipment. We will have snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, cymbals and keyboards available. Bring athletic clothes and water since we will be marching for part of the audition process. Arizona is hot and we will be outside the majority of the time if not all the time. Arizona State University uses Promark sticks and mallets. Season Weekly Rehearsals This is the rehearsal schedule throughout the season for the percussion section. All rehearsals are mandatory. Percussionists are required to be able to set up their equipment 10 minutes prior to the start of any rehearsal.

Monday 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Wednesday 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Percussion Sectionals 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Friday 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Game Days involve a morning rehearsal with a small break before our designated call time.


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General Expectations All the details in this handbook about technique are to be taken with the thought in mind that everyone has slightly different hand sizes, shapes and musculature. This packet is simply an attempt to unify the look of the performer and general approach to creating sound on the instrument. There is a vast amount of information about our craft that simply cannot, and will not, be written because the nature of percussion is not one derived from text. Learning the details and minutia of what will be expected of you, as a Sun Devil Percussionist, will be grounded in your experiences with the staff and your ability to respond to that experience. Sun Devil Philosophy The Sun Devils’ pride themselves in its professionalism on and off the field. We show our respect to the competitor and recognize their accomplishments. Our goal is to provide an educated and logical process that will help develop a high level of musical performance. Presence Our presence says it all. The percussion performance presence is best described as stoic. The term refers to an unbreakable focus regardless of our performance demand. If we move together, we play together. If we look the same, we play the same. Rehearsal Expectations Preparation is the key element in success. Having your music prepared as well as having your materials ready for each and every rehearsal will send you on your way to become successful in the percussion world. We pride ourselves on being efficient and productive individually as well as an ensemble. We maximize every minute and every effort possible for the ensemble. Above all else, the metronome will be our key to success as an ensemble. It is the key to unify our interpretation, sound, and musical elements as a holistic ensemble. In return, this will coincide with the rest of the Sun Devil Marching Band to create unity and greatness in our sounds and movements. Champions are born at rehearsals. Dynamics Our stick heights are what create the dynamic contours in our music. Each of these increments is determined from the distance of the instrument to the top of the stick/mallet.

Dynamics Height piano (p) 3” mezzo piano (mp) 6” mezzo forte (mf) 9” forte (f) 12” fortissimo (ff) 15” - vertical


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Fundamentals and Exercises The fundamental exercises provided are essential for a successful percussionist. Every musical passage should be carefully learned at any given tempo with a variation of heights. This will help the performer understand the exercise at a higher level. Every percussion section should be ready to play any of these exercises to demonstrate their skillset and abilities to the staff. Please memorize the exercises that correspond to your section.

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Arizona State University Front Ensemble Technique Packet

Front Ensemble Exercises (Memorize these as soon as possible)

Two Mallet Exercises Octaves

7/8 Octave is a scalar exercise to be played in a chromatic, or circular (circle of 4th or 5ths) progression covering all major scales. It can also be used in minor keys, modes, other scales, or even backwards. Challenge yourself with different variations. This will help you with everything else that we do as an ensemble!

Green “Green” is our scale exercise. Players should be comfortable in all keys (major and minor) and in all modes

and should be able to play it from 60-200 bpm. At all but the fastest tempi, strike the note in the middle of the bar. As you approach 160-170, begin the use the edges. When striking a note on the edge, go all the way to the edge. When playing on the edge, the mallet should literally be half on and half off the bar. Try to match the sound of the edge to that of the center. When playing Green or any scale-like passage, a particular problem is presented with the type of lift in preparation we use to begin playing.

With a double-stop of single-hand exercise, we lift one note’s value’s length prior to playing. For instance, if you’re playing eighth notes, you would lift on (actually, just after) the “and” of 4. If you’re a more physically oriented learner, think of it the following way. We want to lift to feel like a rebound, and with good reason. If the lift feels like a rebound that means the mallet is moving the correct speed before we play the first note. This makes playing in tempo and with a good tone at the beginning of an exercise much easier. It means that the first note will sound like the fifth note (Which is not as easy as it sounds). With “Green” though, the hands do not start together. We must perform a “two-handed lift.” One mallet (the first hand) is going to move before the other. When playing this exercise, most players immediately lift both hands together, causing the mallet to move at two different speeds on the first two notes, thus ensuring that the beginning of the exercise does not sound even. By moving one hand and then the other in rapid succession, both hand speeds are the same, and the beginning of the “phrase” is linear and even. Green is intended to work on accuracy and speed development, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself at faster tempos.

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Scharton Scharton, or “Workout Plan” is essentially a double-stop exercise. The player is to avoid flams at all costs. However, this is also a good piece to practice independence between melody and accompaniment. The melody (right hand) must be brought out slightly more than the stationary line (left hand). In doing so, it becomes very easy to produce flams rather than true double-stops. Timpanists beware! This is a very difficult exercise from a pedaling and tuning standpoint. One would be best served to learn the exercise on a keyboard first before attempting it on the drums.

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Workout Plan/Scharton p.2

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Tempe Sunset Tempe Sunset integrates dynamics as well as technical combinations. It is a great short practice/comprehensive exercise.

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Version “B” “Version B” uses two of the three main types of stroke: double vertical and single independent strokes. Measures 1-6 use double vertical strokes. Essentially, each hand is playing a double stop. The wrist will bend down, striking the bar with a level shaft. The lack of tension in the fingers will allow the wrist to rebound back to its original position quickly and smoothly. Be sure to keep the wrists turned properly (with both mallets level) as you strike to avoid flams. Measures 7-23 to the end employ single independent strokes (unless you’re playing very fast, at which point they would become single alternating strokes, which we will not discuss here). For these measures, move only one mallet at a time. The wrist does not “bend” down but rather “twists,” with the stationary mallet acting as an axis around which the hand turns. This concept is crucial to creating a full and controlled sound. Before moving on to the next note, the first mallet must fully rebound back to its original position. Then the next mallet begins to move. Avoid “flipping” the hand from side to side like a see-saw. Remember, there are called single “independent” strokes because each mallet is moving “independently” of the others. Start this exercise very slowly (about 50 bpm.) so you can control and define the technique. You should be comfortable playing it at all dynamics ranges, from 50-150 bpm.

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Version “B” p.2

Laterals “8-16/Laterals” employs the third and final stroke type we will discuss: double lateral strokes. Double laterals are basically two single independent strokes sped up and combined into one fluid stroke. However, while this is considered one “stroke,” there are three discrete motions: 1) The first mallet moving downward and striking the bar. 2) The wrist turning, elevating the first mallet and bringing the second down to strike the next bar; and 3) The second mallet rebounding to is original position. When playing this exercise, avoid letting the second mallet “flop” onto the bar. Turn the wrist strongly and produce a tone equal to that of the first. Due to the amount of wrist strength needed to play double laterals, one should postpone this exercise until the previous two stroke types are mastered. Attempting to play double laterals before attaining requisite wrist strength will result in uneven and unsatisfactory sound. Also, at almost all tempi, even though this is a lateral exercise, the eighth notes will be moving at a speed that requires the player to execute single independent strokes. Don’t get sloppy by trying to play lateral strokes on the eighth notes. Again you should be comfortable playing this exercise between 50-150 bpm and at a variety of dynamic levels. This exercise is to be performed in 1234, 1243, 1324, and 1423 permutations (reverse the pattern for the second 16 bars).

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Laterals p.2

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Triple Laterals Triple Laterals work towards one-handed rolls and are a great workout for your chops!

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Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band Sun Devil ... Ensemble Expectations 2015.pdfArizona State University – Sun Devil Marching Band 2 Preface The following items in this