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EducationChoosing A Music College As you can see in my Student Accomplishments page, Brian Foreman had an incredible high school career as a percussionist and musician in the Tucson area. Now he has graduated from high school and moved on to attend the University of Southern California. In this interview, we discuss his thoughts on the music college selection and audition process. He also gives us his impressions of the faculty and features of the schools he visited, including Peabody Conservatory, Rice University (Shepherd School of Music), University of Arizona, and USC (Thornton School of Music). READ MORE... CommentaryThe Questions You Should Be Asking What does a cheerful technical support person from India have to do with your avoidance of emptying the dishwasher? READ MORE... Equipment Selection And MaintenanceSnare Drum First; Drum Set Soon! I often hear the question, “What equipment do we need to get started on drums?” Many students have no background in music and daily practicing. Very few have $800 to $900 to spend on a brand new instrument. If either is the case, I suggest borrowing, renting, or even purchasing a snare drum only. READ MORE... Selecting A Snare Drum Ask your teacher to help you locate a good beginning snare drum at a good price. If you have no teacher, ask a professional drummer or percussionist to refer you to a good local store. The salesperson at this store should steer you in the right direction. Your snare drum should be fourteen inches in diameter and have at least eight tuning lugs. READ MORE... Selecting Drum Sticks A good pair of sticks will help your learning process flow smoothly. For snare drumming, choose sticks that are approximately 5/8 inch (1.5 cm) diameter and 15 1/2 to 16 1/2 inches (39 to 42 cm) long. It is a good idea to have a separate pair of sticks for drum set to avoid chewing up your snare drum sticks. READ MORE... Tuning Your Snare Drum (.pdf excerpt from The Snare Drum Plays The Zoo) Ask your teacher, professional, or salesperson to help you tune your drum. This is the quickest and easiest way to learn! Here is an overview from start to finish: 1. Place the new head on the drum, place the rim over the head, and finger-tighten all tension rods equally. READ MORE... Muffling Your Snare Drum The method you use to mute, dampen, or muffle (I use all three terms) will depend on how "dead" you want your drum to sound. I cover this subject briefly on page 8 of my beginning snare drum book, The Snare Drum Plays The Zoo. Here are some additional ideas: READ MORE... Need links?The most complete list of drumming and percussion links on the internet is the Tomás Howie Drumming Web. What an incredible gift to us all. Thanks, Tomás! |
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Brian J. Harris Method | 4210 North Saranac Drive, Tucson, AZ 85718 Phone: (520) 878-0363 | Fax: (520) 844-8166 | Email:
by Brian J. Harris. All rights reserved.
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