These are the materials I have found to be the most comprehensive and productive in the formative year(s) of a percussion student’s study. 

Here I explor the vices and virtues of Matched Grip versus Traditional Grip.

The decision to “teach mallets” is one that has plagued, and will plague, music teachers in perpetuity.

Students of percussion usually have preconceived notions about rolls.

Legato and staccato techniques are two of the many components that go into playing timpani.

This article is the second in a series of articles intended to help educators better understand the options available for teaching percussion and realizing the maximum potential of these resources.

A conversation with 2010 Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame inductee, clinician, author, composer, educator, and retired 38-year Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Principal Timpanist, Mr. Stanley Leonard.

Years ago a student came in for his lesson, barely through the door and he asked me, “What do you do to warm-up?”

Warming-up is a matter of personal preference that develops and should continue to transform over time as a player matures.

“Technical methods” are either loathed or embraced by students of percussion.  Practicing has similar fraternities.

Modulating accurately between different groupings of notes comes easily to some students, but can be a source of confusion, anxiety, and frustration for others.

Over the past few years I have been asked, “Have you seen the movie, Whiplash?”  “What do you think of the movie Whiplash?”

There are many different schools of thought regarding the presentation of rudiments or more officially, The 40 PAS Rudiments, during the course of a percussionist’s development. 

Many of the general indicators apply to the transition from elementary to intermediate keyboard percussionist. 

Here are continuing thoughts and clarifications about writing for Concert Snare Drum, Keyboard Percussion, Drum Set, and Timpani. 

Often called Open stroke roll or Rudimental roll, the double stroke roll can take considerably longer to develop than the Buzz roll or Single stroke roll.

Printed music does not always communicate a composer’s or arranger’s fullest intent.  Experience will guide players’ discretion and interpretive ability behind the instrument.

This set of methods covers resources for drum set students who have successfully completed their first method.

Here I outline the subsequent resources that I require my students to obtain as intermediate players.

Learning to read and play melodic notation is one of the more difficult and tedious skills to acquire for many students of percussion.

By nature of all the various instruments on which players can demonstrate their skills, assessing percussion performance can be a complex process.

These are just some of the considerations percussionists have to sort out every day.

By the time you finish this article the answer to that question will clear as a bell.

Regardless of the discipline he wants to pursue (education, performance, technology, etc.) there are common areas for which all music majors need to prepare and demonstrating a mature approach to their instruments is high on that list.

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This article is the third in a series intended to help educators better understand the options available for teaching percussion and realizing the maximum potential of these resources.

R.J. Heid is percussion instructor at Grove City College and Seton Hill University.  Mr. Heid has been freelancing since 1992 and has gained the reputation as one of the finest drummers in the Pittsburgh area.

This topic covers perhaps the transition from the elementary to intermediate snare drum development.

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The concept of open-handed drumset playing goes back at least 50 years.

In many of the schools I have visited over the years I have found that timpani are often the least cared for in the percussion section.

Learning to write for percussion is a skill that will serve an educator well beyond mere composition.

In this article I outline the subsequent resources that I require my students to obtain as advanced players.

I ask students at their first lesson, “why do you want to play drums” or “what made you decide to learn how to play the drums?”

Attempting to study timpani without any prior percussion experience will likely regress to work on keyboard percussion and perhaps some basic rhythmic and technical concepts on a single surface or snare drum.