Percussion Resources

Expectations for all Millbrook High School Percussionists

All Percussionist should own their own pair of 5B drumstick or preferably SD1 concert sticks. There are other acceptable makes and models as well, but they should be concert snare drum sticks, as opposed to marching or drum set.
Students may use a school-owned practice pad they can use for rehearsals and practice. This pad is the property of the high school band, as is expected to be handled with care, and returned unharmed at the end of each use.
Students are encouraged to own their own mallets, but the school will provide sticks and mallets for the various specific instruments.
- These are to be handled with care, and returned to their proper storage location when not in use.
- The heads of these mallets are to touch only three things:
  - The appropriate instrument
  - The inside of their bag
  - air
All percussion equipment is to be put away at the end of each rehearsal in the designated areas. This will keep the band room clean, and allow those from our many ensembles to find what is needed for each rehearsal.
- Timpani and mallet keyboards are to the have a covers placed on the instrument.
- Timpani tuning pedals are to be dropped (heel down) to release the tension from the heads.
- Small instruments, sticks/mallets, cymbals are to be placed in the appropriate storage location.

The Percussive Arts Society (P.A.S.) is a huge resource for all things percussion. Great clinics, advice, essays, and more all about being a better percussionist.
Percussionists have a TON of small music decisions to make while moving between a variety of instruments. Knowing what to use to smack what instrument can be overwhelming. Here's a helpful chart that can help you make good choices that are sure to impress your conductor.
Colonel Thomas Palmatier, commander and leader of the United States Army Band, "Pershing's Own," has put together a comprehensive list of performers you should be listening to in order to have what he calls a "sound image" to provide guidance towards your perfect sound. You'll not want to miss out on the Colonel's "Sound Like This" page!
Here's a full playlist of percussion repertoire to help shape and guide your musical journey.
Dom Famularo takes a few moments to highlight the five must-have books for all drummers. How many do you have?
Check out this free resource from the US Army that covers all parts of the percussion family. Includes, snare, drum set, auxiliary percussion, timpani, and keyboard percussion.
Another resource that covers all the basics in the world of percussion.
Vic Firth's Education Suite - Tons of resources for all percussionists.
Drummerworld - The ultimate site for learning about your favorite artists and how they play. Clinics, videos, biographies, and much more!

The Percussive Arts Society's 40 Essential Rudiments - a must know for all serious percussionists.
Rudimental Studies for the drummer. These exercises explore how the basic rudiments are implemented in music you'll see every day in class.
- Rudimental Studies Part I - rolls, accents, flams, diddles, and flamacues.
All you need to know about snare rolls explained. See the article from Band World here.
Playing zones for tenors.
Not sure how high those sticks should be? Here's an outline of stick height expectations according to dynamics for marching percussionists.

Dr. Dave Gerhart at Yamaha has put together this comprehensive guide for students interested in getting started in keyboard percussion. Not a bad place for veterans to brush up on their fundamentals as well. Warm ups, etudes, basic theory, and more!
Innovative Percussion has put together this collection of great articles and resources for mallet players. Get insight, tips, and tricks from the pros (scroll to bottom of page for resources)

From Vic Firth and Zildjian, this instructional series will give you everything you need to know to make your triangle sing, your tambourine sizzle, and your cymbal crashes break down walls.

Just as with percussion, the resource, DrummerWorld.com is a virtually endless abyss of information for drum set. This link takes you to their clinic session with lessons from the masters themselves.
Here is a great graphic a that shows the standard P.A.S. (Percussive Arts Society) notation for drum set.

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