Today is the first day of Cadence Week! Each day we will be posting a new cadence. Here’s the first one.
Click “Read More” to listen and download!
CADENCE WEEK, DAY #1
Today is the first day of Cadence Week! Each day we will be posting a new cadence. Here’s the first one. Enjoy!
Difficulty: 1.0 – The cadence’s title “A.D.M.” stands for Acoustic Dance Music — in contrast to E.D.M. (Electronic Dance Music). The rhythms are inspired by something you might hear in E.D.M., except everything is performed acoustically on drum line instruments. The cadence is intended for younger developing groups or as something simple for more advanced groups to learn quickly. Whatever level your group can perform, it’s fun to play and hear!
Resonance is a big buzzword in percussion today. Unfortunately, it is often discussed as if there is only one proper style and technique to achieve it. In the process, a great deal of music is ignored. Today I want to dismantle it a bit and show that there is a full spectrum of resonance. On one end, you have crisp, articulate playing. On the other end, you have open, resonant playing. Both approaches are necessary for different musical situations. This video showcases two snare drum etudes played with different approaches to demonstrate the variety of techniques.
A new cadence section has been created in the Free Stuff section at the top of the page. Check out these new cadences posted for your listening and playing enjoyment. More will be added in the future, but here are three to get you started.
Some of the cadences are free, and some of them cost a little bit. Overall, we want to keep these affordable and accessible for any drum line that wants to play them. Generally speaking, the free ones have a simple structure and are just fun to play. The ones available for purchase are a little more involved and took more effort to create. If you like this site and the music, please consider supporting it through purchasing one of the cadences. Thanks!
Great White – FREE
Difficulty: 2.5 – This catchy cadence gets faster and faster on each repetition. This requires some control on accented singles, 6-stroke rolls, and syncopated 16th note rhythms. It should be accessible for an average high school or good junior high drum line.
Difficulty: 1.5 – This simple cadence consists of a three-measure groove followed by a four-count solo, each time performed by a different drum line member. The solos here are just examples. They can be easy or difficult. It’s a fun opportunity to show off some improvisation and creativity! The snare line needs to be able to play a basic rock groove, which requires a little bit of independence coordination between each hand, but it should be fairly quick to learn for most percussionists who have been playing for at least a year. This cadence should be accessible for an average junior high drum line. (A high school can also have fun with it by making the solos flashier and harder!)
Difficulty: 4.5 – You may recognize this cadence as the “soundtrack” for many other videos on this site. It starts confidently with a hard-thumping bass groove and showcases some fun feature moments for every section. The snare and tenors need to be able to play their flam rudiments. Flam taps, pataflaflas, and flamacues are just some of the rudiments you’ll encounter. The bass line has split 16th note triplets and 32nd notes, some syncopated 16th notes splits, and double stroke rolls in the top two parts. The recording features five bass drums, but an alternative four-bass part is included with the purchase. (If you have six bass drums, just double the bottom part.) The cymbal part is written for two or more players, but one person can combine the parts if needed. This cadence has drive. It has attitude. It’s bad a$$. This cadence should be accessible for an average college or good high school line.
Struggling with speed, accuracy, or pulse? James describes three ways you can use different tempos to maximize your practice sessions. The following is a transcript of the video above (slightly reworded for readability):
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Hello, everyone. This is James Christian with RudimentalUniversity.com. Today I would like to talk about three different ways you can use tempo to help you when practicing a piece of music.
It’s coordination time again! In our last drum set exercise, we focused on different limb combinations with triplets. This week, we take the same concept further and increase the coordinative complexity a bit. (Note: This assumes a traditional kit setup, in which the ride cymbal and bass drum are played with the right hand and right foot respectively, and the snare drum and hi-hat are played with the left hand and left foot respectively. Adjust this exercise to work the same concepts according to your setup.)
Measures 1-2: triplets in left hand and left foot (3 notes each), quarter notes in right hand and right foot (lead with hand)
Measures 3-4: triplets in right hand and right foot (3 notes each), quarter notes in left hand and left foot (lead with hand)
Measures 5-6: triplets in left hand and left foot (3 notes each), quarter notes in right foot and right hand (lead with foot)
Measures 7-8: triplets in right hand and right foot (3 notes each), quarter notes in left foot and left hand (lead with foot)
Measures 9-12: repeats the previous patterns of measures 1-4 with triplets alternating single strokes between limbs
Measures 13-16: repeats measures 9-12, except the order of hand and foot is reversed on the single stroke triplets
Measures 17-18: a “tag” ending to wrap it up
Measures 19-36: the entire exercise repeats with the opposite side leading (right hand becomes left hand and vice versa, right foot becomes left foot and vice versa)
Between this exercise and the previous exercise, just about every combination is covered. If you can play both exercises smoothly and consistently, your coordination will increase significantly.
This triplet-based exercise is a great test of your independence between limbs. Triplets are constantly trading off between two limbs while the other two limbs are keeping steady quarter notes.
Measures 1-2: triplets in hands (3 notes each), quarter notes in feet
Measures 3-4: triplets in feet (3 notes each), quarter notes in hands
Measure 5-6: triplets in right hand and left foot (3 notes each), quarter notes in right foot and left hand
Measures 7-8: triplets in right foot and left hand (3 notes each), quarter notes in right hand and left foot
Measures 9-16: repeats the previous patterns with triplets alternating single strokes between limbs
Measures 17-18: a “tag” ending to wrap it up
Measures 19-36: the entire exercise repeats with the left side leading instead of the right
A lot of combinations are covered here. Have fun with this one. Check back in two weeks for Triplet Limb Independence #2!
