Most of us come to the hammer dulcimer because of its voice and the infectious way it presents melodies. But the fact is….. the hammer dulcimer is a percussion instrument. It’s a drum.
Strong players understand this fact. The realization might be intuitive or might come from long and thoughtful practice. Here are two sources to help you develop rhythm and the skill to break the hammer dulcimer mantra of “always alternate your hammers”.
1. Stick Control for the Snare Drummer
This 50 page book was first copyrighted in 1935. It’s been the foundation for many high school drummers; especially those playing in marching bands. The book is nothing but Left and Right hammer (or stick) patterns. To practice with this, put your left hammer on the left side of the treble bridge and your right hammer on the right side of the treble bridge. Often I’ll use the D-G or E-A pair of tones. That way you can hear what each hand is playing.
Now the good news! This resource is FREE. You can download a copy at this URL:
http://www.4shared.com/document/C87SXfMB/Stick_Control_For_The_Snare_Dr.html
Work through the first half dozen pages and your playing will get stronger. Go through the entire fifty pages and you’ll get a gig at Carnegie Hall.
2. Rudiments for Drummers
The National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD) requires applicants to master thirteen rudiments in order to gain membership in the organization. Nard lists an additional twenty-six drumming patterns to complete the Standard American Drum Rudiments. PDFs of these resources are available at this URL:
National Association of Rudimental Drummers
http://nard.us.com
Happy drumming!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment