Percussion Courses

In this course students will study the 26 American rudiments, Swiss, and variations. Application of rudimental vocabulary will lead to successful performance of solo études, including those in Modern Swing Solos by Chas Wilcoxon.

A study of the 26 American rudiments, the Swiss rudiments, and their variations. Application of rudimental vocabulary to successful performance of solo études, including Wilcoxon's Modern Swing Solos.

In this course, students develop fundamental snare drum techniques including grip, sticking, rhythmic studies, snare drum reading, and a thorough study of the 26 American drum rudiments. Basic drum set time feels or grooves will be introduced.

In this course, students learn elements of jazz drumming including time keeping, comping, independence, vocabulary, and soloing. Also included is a brief history of the drum set and its function in modern and traditional jazz. Other topics covered include 4/4 & 3/4 swing (jazz waltz), common song forms, basic brush technique, and a list of common standard tunes.   

Study of snare drum performance techniques and reading of constant odd meters, changing meters, polyrhythms over one and two beats, and metric modulation.

In this course, students will be exposed to time-feels, repertoire, and improvisation on drum set styles from Brazil and Cuba. Some Caribbean time feels including reggae, soca, and bomba will also be reviewed. A variety of intermediate drum set charts from the above time feels are introduced so the student is also able to participate in a wider range of ensembles and prepare for required percussion examinations. Students will also learn some of the basic hand percussion patterns and create their own drum set beats based on these patterns. 

In this course, students should be able to apply all of the previous drum set techniques, styles, and time feels that they have studied into chart interpretation and drum set reading. A wide variety of intermediate drum set charts from such idioms as big band, small group, show, traditional, and contemporary settings are introduced, so the student is also able to continue their development with varied styles and feels while simultaneously getting more comfortable with chart reading, utilizing charts that mirror practical settings. Students also continue to develop advanced snare drum reading.

In this course students will learn foundational skills with wire brushes. Studies will include ballad and swing sweeping patterns, as well as patterns that can be applied to bossa nova, samba, and many contemporary popular styles.  Studies in the areas of hand-to-hand development, drum set coordination/balance, listening, repertoire, and transcription studies will also be included in the course.

This course will enhance the learning and playing of standard repertoire for the drumset in various rock styles. Numerous songs will be analyzed, studied, and memorized. This course is designed to allow the student to gain a working knowledge of the standard rock repertoire.

In this course students will be exposed to and required to learn 50 tunes from the standard jazz repertoire. The emphasis will be on the drummer playing the melodies of the song in various orchestration positions on the drum set. 

In this course students will enhance their understanding of standard drum set repertoire in various hip-hop drumming styles. Songs will be analyzed, studied, and memorized. The course is designed to give students a working knowledge of the various types of drum set grooves associated with genre of hip-hop.