DEVELOPING FLUIDITY OF MOTION IN PERCUSSION PERFORMANCE

A Lecture Recital and Document

By
Henry Eichman

DMA Candidate, Percussion

Michigan State University

March 27, 2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 3

Chapter 1: Importance of Kinesthetic Awareness .............................................................................. 6

How the Body Moves .............................................................................................................. 7

Balancing the Body ................................................................................................................ 12
Kinesthetic Awareness........................................................................................................... 14
Summary................................................................................................................................. 17

Chapter 2: Developing Automaticity of Fluid Technique ............................................................... 19

The Cognitive Stage............................................................................................................... 20

The Associative Stage............................................................................................................ 24
The Autonomous Stage ......................................................................................................... 28
Summary................................................................................................................................. 30

Chapter 3: Instrumental Applications ............................................................................................... 32

Snare Drum Technique: The Basis for Fluid Percussion Playing....................................... 32

Specific Challenges: Stroke-Type Execution .......................................................... 33

Existing Exercises and Methods ............................................................................... 38
Creating Fluidity Exercises ...................................................................................... 42

Keyboard Percussion ............................................................................................................. 46

Specific Challenges: Moving About the Keyboard................................................. 46

Existing Exercises and Methods ............................................................................... 55
Creating Fluidity Exercises ....................................................................................... 62

Multiple-Percussion ............................................................................................................... 68

Specific Challenges: Establishing an Efficient Set-Up ........................................... 69

Existing Exercises and Methods ............................................................................... 72
Creating Fluidity Exercises ....................................................................................... 75

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 83

Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 84
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Introduction

A typical scenario for an ordinary percussion student learning a new piece of music is as

follows: the student places music on a stand, picks up their sticks or mallets, and starts playing the

notes on the page. Each following practice session may consist of the same procedure: playing the

notes, in order, until relative comfort is achieved, occasionally trying to fix any known errors in

execution. As a foundation, this procedure will “get the job done,” but what it usually lacks is any

detailed or organized plan geared toward perfecting the music in terms of technical execution,

precision, and quality of sound, and it can take a very long time for the student to fully master the

piece. As the difficulty level of repertoire increases, this process of learning a piece can be more

challenging than students may know how to handle and will require more than simply repeating

passages over and over.

An important goal in the learning process for any new technique or piece of music is that

it should at some point become effortless to perform, with complete fluidity of motion. While

teachers may know and share this goal with their students, students themselves may not fully

comprehend what goes into achieving this goal. The question then is what strategies exist to

develop this fluidity, other than sheer repetition? In recent years, many pedagogues have written

about this subject, but the issue is that most of this material is not available in one concise, easily

accessible volume, and is usually instrument specific.

The goal of this document is to consider the elements that contribute to developing fluid

percussion technique across a broad spectrum of percussion playing, and present strategies for how

to best use those elements to one’s advantage, specifically while learning new pieces of music.

This information may be beneficial for any level of percussion student, particularly to those
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seeking higher levels of excellence as performers, and to any educator seeking to develop a deeper

understanding of how to communicate efficient percussion technique.

Chapter 1 of this document presents basic information about how the body is designed to

move. This promotes an understanding of anatomical movement while playing percussion, which

is important so that one can learn how to play efficiently, and in ways that are healthy and in

accordance with the body’s design. Chapter 2 presents strategies for developing the fluidity of

one’s technique to the point of automaticity, which is the ultimate goal of technical practice. When

this stage of technical development is reached, the fluidity of one’s playing becomes more or less

“automatic,” (aside from specific challenges that may arise in new repertoire), and the musician is

much freer to make music without the distraction of technique. Finally, Chapter 3 aims to problem-

solve specific scenarios within solo repertoire for snare drum, marimba, and multiple-percussion.

This is accomplished by demonstrating various techniques and exercises developed specifically

for those passages in order to develop one’s fluidity in each context. This information is preceded

by specific technical concerns for those instruments as well as a brief survey of existing exercises

and methods that are available for each instrument.

Although this document concerns the process of learning a new piece of music, one area

of this process it does not discuss is that of memorization. While many of the exercises and

methods explored here may aid in the kinesthetic memorization (“muscle memory”) of a new piece

of music as it is being practiced, this is not the primary goal of this particular study. It should be

noted that “muscle memory” is also not recommended as a complete memorization technique,

because as many professionals and students alike have noted, this is usually the first thing to

dissolve during a performance when nerves arise. In his book, The Mastery of Music, Barry Green

states that “muscle memory can be a powerful tool as long as it is backed up by a strong conscious
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awareness in preparation.”1 Therefore, it is suggested that strategies for mental rehearsal of music

should be learned and implemented to increase one’s memory of and overall perspective and

interpretation of each new work learned. Effective mental rehearsal strategies, coupled with

deliberate and effective kinesthetic practice methods, will establish a complete and successful

practice regimen for any musician.

Because percussionists are expected to play many different instruments with consistent

fluidity of technique, it is important to be able to develop techniques that not only work for one

instrument, but also will transfer to all other instruments as well. The examples given later in this

document may at times be instrument specific, but it should be noted that many of the concepts

discussed can easily apply to other percussion instruments as well. The concepts in this document

are also not necessarily geared toward beginning level students but are focused more on refining

or revisiting key elements of intermediate or advanced level technique rather than developing it

from scratch. However, these some of these concepts, particularly those regarding snare drum

playing, will certainly be useful in the initial development of a new percussion student.

1
Barry Green, The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry (New York: Broadway Books, 2003), 172.
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Chapter 1: The Importance of Kinesthetic Awareness

The straightest path to developing fluidity of any motion is quite literally taking the path

of “least resistance.” Summarized well by percussionist and professional chiropractor Dr. Darin

Workman, “the body was made to move. The less resistance it encounters while moving, the less

energy it needs to operate. Moving without resistance is called functioning efficiently.”2 In order

to move with the most fluidity of motion, each part of the body must be functioning efficiently,

naturally working with how it is designed to move. This task becomes much easier if the performer

develops an understanding of how the body moves, and how it should feel to move efficiently

while performing a specific technique. John Lamb introduces the importance of this fact in his

book, Anatomy of Drumming: Move Better, Feel Better, Play Better.

There is a strong tendency to think of music as something that is fundamentally

outside of ourselves. We concentrate on the notes played, but do not consider the
body’s role in both creating and feeling music. This theoretical separation between
the body and the brain goes back millennia to Ancient Greece. But modern science
paints a picture that is quite different – one where the body and brain are
inseparable. Understanding how they work together allows us to play better and
with more endurance.3

This understanding of the feeling of movement within the body is called kinesthetic

awareness. This chapter aims to build a foundation for developing one’s kinesthetic awareness by

establishing a basic understanding of how the body moves; how to support this movement in

accordance with the body’s design; and offering ways to gain awareness of one’s kinesthetic sense

2
Darin Workman, The Percussionists’ Guide to Injury Treatment and Prevention: The Answer Guide for Drummers
in Pain,” (New York: Routledge, 2006), 13.
3
John Lamb, Anatomy of Drumming: Move Better, Feel Better, Play Better, 2nd ed. (Self-pub., CreateSpace, 2018),
7, Kindle Edition.
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and how to practice in this mental space in order to avoid injury, perform comfortably, and

ultimately to develop effortless fluidity across any percussion instrument.

How the Body Moves

Before understanding how it should feel to move efficiently, it is important to have a basic

understanding of which parts of the body are involved in that movement and how they work. Body

movement is operated by a system of muscles, ligaments, tendons, and vessels working together.

Muscles control movement of the body, tendons attach muscles to bones, and ligaments attach

bones together. Vessels supply nutrition to the muscles through the blood so that they may work

to their fullest potential. Each of these elements work together to help the body move. 4 The most

important part of this system for percussionists to understand is that muscles, and no other part of

this system, control body movement. This may seem obvious, but it is important to recognize

because not all percussionists fully comprehend where their “percussion-playing” muscles are,

how they work, and how it should feel when they are performing a certain technique. It is vital to

have a basic understanding of these aforementioned elements in order to increase one’s fluidity of

motion, and more importantly, avoid injury.

The most important areas of the body for percussionists to understand the mechanics of are

arguably the hands, wrists, and arms. When developing the “hands” in order to play a certain

technique or play faster, percussionists are actually mostly working on developing the muscles in

the forearms that control of the movement of the hands rotating from the wrists (fig. 1 and 2). The

4
Darin Workman, The Percussionists’ Guide to Injury Treatment and Prevention, 6-11.
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following images show these muscles and how they connect to the hand and fingers by tendons

that run through the wrist.

Figure 1.1. Muscles in the forearm, palm facing up. 5

Figure 1.2. Muscles in the forearm, palm facing down.6

5
Anterior Compartment of Forearm Muscles, n.d., How to Relief, Accessed February 17, 2021,
https://www.howtorelief.com/forearm-muscles-origin-insertion-nerve-supply-action/.
6
Posterior Compartment of Forearm Muscles, n.d., How to Relief, Accessed February 17, 2021,
https://www.howtorelief.com/forearm-muscles-origin-insertion-nerve-supply-action/.
 9

While there are small muscles in the hands that are at work in order to hold a stick or mallet

correctly, the motion of the hand is controlled by muscles in the forearm.7 When playing

percussion, the muscles in the hands work to hold the sticks or mallets while the muscles in the

forearms work independently to control the motion from the wrist. Forearm muscles guide the

hand to move through two types of movement at the wrist: up and down (flexion and extension),

and side-to-side (adduction and abduction). Laurel Black describes the importance of recognizing

these two planes of wrist movement in the context of percussion technique.

The two primary planes of movement, grouped as flexion and extension, and
adduction and abduction, respectively, dictate how we can best approach playing
in order to prevent injury. . . [T]he field of possible motion for flexion and
extension is quite large compared to that for adduction and abduction. This
explains, to a great extent, why nearly every technique is based on some mix of
flexion and extension: there are simply more possibilities, more opportunities for
specificity, and, due to more muscle support, greater control. Some techniques, like
French grip on timpani, rely on adduction and abduction, but the sound desired
from the grip correlates to having less power and less range of motion: lightness,
bounce, percolating energy.8

No matter which way the wrist is moving, the muscles in the forearms are the primary

activator for most percussion techniques. This includes but is certainly not limited to executing

different stroke-types on snare drum, marimba, timpani, or drum set, playing a shake roll on

tambourine, or striking a hand drum. Why is this important to understand? If a person is unaware

that they are activating muscles in the middle of the forearm and not in the fingers or wrists when

they are playing fast single strokes on a snare drum, then it is likely that they are putting more

stress on the tendons in the fingers and wrists than is necessary to perform that technique fluidly.

7
John Lamb, Anatomy of Drumming, 133, Kindle Edition.
8
Laurel Black, “MarimbaBody: Wrists, part 2 – Skeletal Structure,” Republished July 18, 2019, accessed February
17, 2021, https://www.laurelblackmusic.com/new-blog/marimbabody-wrists-part-2-skeletal-structure.
 10

In turn, this will prevent the performer from achieving their full capacity with this technique and

may even lead to injury down the road. The same is true for any variety of techniques that require

“finger” or “wrist” control. The control that the performer actually needs in this instance is the

control and power from the forearm muscles operating the fingers and moving the base of the hand

through the wrist.

Bearing in mind the importance of muscles in the body’s movement, it is vital to properly

“warm them up” before extensive use. Muscles are rendered unproductive without the nutritional

support from the blood. “Warming-up” the muscles increases blood flow in those areas, therefore

increasing the muscle’s ability to work to its fullest potential without being strained. Dr. Darin

Workman states that “[w]arming up and stretching are an integral part of our ability to perform at

peak. It allows the body to prepare for activity and is one of the most effective things you can do

to prevent injury.”9 Warming up should prepare the muscles for the activity level at which they are

about to perform. Dr. Workman suggests that a good warm-up should start slowly and gradually

work up to the desired activity level.

[A]llow the body the necessary time to adapt comfortably to the increased intensity
before moving to a higher level. . . . As a rule, you are on the right track when you
perspire slightly (not dripping). You may want to gauge your warm-up by noting a
feeling of warmth beginning deep within the muscles. Overall you should feel
primed, alert, and ready to perform. . . . With practice, you will learn when your
body is properly warmed up.10

After warming up, it is also important to stretch the muscles in order to increase flexibility.

Dr. Workman describes why it is important to stretch muscles after they have been warmed up.

9
Workman, The Percussionists’ Guide to Injury Treatment and Prevention, 15.
10
Ibid, 16.
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First, muscles consist of thousands of fibers lined up in a bundle. They are designed
to shorten. They do not push – they only pull. This pulling motion causes bones to
move on each other at the joints.
Second, for these fibers to function at optimal efficiency, they need to be
kept flexible and must be given proper nutrition. When you begin a warm-up jog,
your circulation increases, supplying nutrition to and loosening the muscles.
Mentally, it may help to compare muscle fibers to strands of spaghetti –
brittle until warm and moist. This image may help illustrate the fact that as we get
colder, we become less flexible and more apt to break (or be injured). Conversely,
the warmer we get, the more flexible we become. It is obviously best to stretch
something when it is soft and flexible, rather than brittle and cold. The body
responds this way as well.11

John Lamb suggests, supported by recent statistics from sports scientists, that it is more

effective to utilize “dynamic stretching” as opposed to “static stretching.” The former is “where

you stretch but don’t stop moving,” whereas the latter is more along the lines of “striking a pose,”

or holding a stretch for a period of time.12

Dynamic stretching has been shown to reduce repetitive motion injuries. Muscles
and connective tissue can get “stuck” in a shortened position, especially when
circulation is low. When shortened, they add extra tension and this can cause
problems over time, such as pinched nerves or stressed joints. Dynamic stretching
can help to keep things moving freely.13

It is clear that a thorough warm-up and stretching of the muscles is necessary to maximize

the efficiency of percussion techniques. Percussionists are encouraged to consider which parts of

the body should be warmed-up before playing, and to research and experiment with types of

stretches that facilitate the most comfortable movement in those parts of the body.

The operations taking place in the hands, wrists, and forearms are not the only important

part of the body to consider when playing. If there is unresolved tension in other supporting parts

11
Ibid.
12
John Lamb, Anatomy of Drumming, 211.
13
Ibid.
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of the body, it will likely translate to the technique in the hands. Intentional tension-relieving

practices such as Alexander Technique have been established to rid performers of excess stress in

the body while playing. Even without the specific use of Alexander Technique, performers can

take simple steps to ensure their body is set up to move freely.

Balancing the Body

The most important step to take to ensure proper support for technical execution is simply

to position oneself with proper posture. This is something that everyone may know but may also

take for granted. So, what does it mean to have good posture, and why does it matter? Essentially,

good posture amounts to properly distributing the weight of the body so that it is balanced

according to how the body is designed, allowing the rest of the body to move most freely. This

usually has to do with the position of the pelvis and hips in relation to the spine.

When it comes to maintaining a good posture, our goal is to get the spine in a neutral
position. Our spine has a gentle “S” shape. A neutral spinal position refers to the
natural curve of a healthy spine. What our pelvis and hips are doing is very
important to our overall posture. When we stand, sit, or walk, we want our spine
and pelvis to remain in a neutral position.14

The best way to develop awareness and practice of good posture is to form a proper mental

image of what it should look and feel like. “A common misconception is that ‘good posture’ results

from a straight back; from looking at the natural curve of the spine, it is clear that balance is not

achieved by a straight line, but instead by properly distributed weight.”15 Figure 3 shows an

example of what properly balanced posture looks like.

14
Westcoast SCI, “Pelvic Alignment and Your Posture,” Westcoast SCI Blog, June 22, 2018, accessed March 4,
2021, https://westcoastsci.com/blog/pelvic-alignment-and-your-posture/.
15
Laurel Black, “MarimbaBody: The Spine. (And again, with the “no waist” bit),” Republished July 15, 2019,
accessed February 17, 2021, https://www.laurelblackmusic.com/new-blog/marimbabody-the-spine-and-again-with-
the-no-waist-bit.
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Figure 1.3. Good posture and bad posture related to positioning of the spine and pelvis.16

John Lamb emphasizes that this does not mean that the body should be rigid and stiff, but

rather, free to move.

The goal of posture is to support your movements. “Posture” is how this support is
accomplished. This support changes moment-to-moment as your body moves, and
so does good posture. Thus, posture isn’t one static position – it is a method of
supporting your actions. Think of a tightrope walker: they don’t maintain one
position, or else they would fall. Instead, they adjust to best balance their body on
the rope.17

Aligning the body with a balanced posture serves two major purposes: to physically

support the rest of the body so that it may move with confidence, and to keep the rest of the body

free from tension, allowing necessary parts to move as freely as possible. Laurel Black describes

the importance of “getting grounded,” or establishing a mental connection with the ground to

16
Westcoast SCI, “Pelvic Alignment and Your Posture.”
17
John Lamb, Anatomy of Drumming, 49, Kindle Edition.
 14

enable the mind to make a connection with the whole body, not just its upper half.18 This is a

concept shared amongst musicians, dancers, and actors, and is valuable in providing power,

stability, and support for everything performed, both mentally and physically. Performing

“grounded” provides a strong foundation for good posture. These two elements work together to

allow the body to move with confidence and fluidity.

Kinesthetic Awareness

Putting this knowledge to practice, it is crucial to develop one’s kinesthetic awareness in

order to allow the body to function most efficiently. This type of awareness allows the mind to

become aware of specific physical sensations of the body in action in order to analyze what may

or may not be working smoothly. Laurel Black highlights the importance of this practice, which

may not be aligned with how many percussionists are first taught.

The purpose of kinesthetic awareness is to fight off the over-analysis of our

techniques’ physicality. We are taught “how” and often use our vision to keep our
technique in check: Is the palm down? Is the fulcrum secure? Is the mallet in the
right place? The issue with a visual checklist is the danger of forgetting or never
learning how a technique should feel.19

A musical kinesthetic mindset can be developed using three “barometers” of ease, pain,

and discomfort. These barometers are the criteria by which fluidity of technique can be evaluated.

Laurel Black describes these barometers and what they look like in context.

As players, our pain barometers are always working, even if they sound the alarm
later than we’d like. The ease barometer, however, is elusive. This barometer is
always looking for more relaxed and effortless movement; it examines the body for
any signal that it could move with less work. Even if playing is not painful, perhaps

18
Laurel Black, “MarimbaBody: Get Grounded,” Republished July 13, 2019, accessed February 17, 2021,
https://www.laurelblackmusic.com/new-blog/marimbabody-get-grounded.
19
Laurel Black, “Developing Kinesthetic Awareness: A Guide to Mindset, Explorations, and Wrists – Part 1,”
Rhythm Scene (April 2016): 18-19, accessed February 18, 2021,
http://publications.pas.org/Health%20and%20Wellness/1604.18-19.pdf.
 15

it could still be “ease-ier,” or more free. For example, a wrist and elbow that are
consistently slightly sore after a moderate two-hour practice are victims of an
absent ease barometer, as the player seems oblivious to a small tension somewhere
in the technique.
The discomfort barometer is important, especially if you are a young player
or a mature one working on a new technique. Imagine that you’ve never run a mile
before and decide one day to try; you will be incredibly uncomfortable throughout
the process—increased heart rate, sore legs, heavy breathing. But you will recover
quickly and realize that this discomfort is temporary. Any time players ask their
hands to do something new, we go through the same process. That being said,
discomfort is not the same thing as pain. We discern between them via kinesthetic
awareness.20

Black states that these barometers “are invaluable in honestly listening to your body. We

learn the difference between fatigue and misuse, and how to find more ease, allowing us to practice

for longer periods. We can compassionately examine how we play, not for punishment, but for

improvement.”21 Listening to the body and recognizing the presence of (or lack of) these

barometers are in integral part of learning to play with fluidity.

How then can these concepts be incorporated into the practice room? One way is through

a process called body mapping, which is “the conscious correcting and refining of one’s body map

to produce efficient, coordinated, effective movement.”22 A body map (which is different from,

but related to the practice of body mapping) is a neurological term referring to the way that the

brain is linked to and recognizes each part of the body and its movement. This connection between

mind and body can be extremely valuable if taken advantage of, and harmful if neglected. A

person’s perceived body map can be inadvertently developed to be inaccurate and can therefore

20
Ibid.
21
Laurel Black, “Developing Kinesthetic Awareness: A Guide to Mindset, Explorations, and Wrists – Part 2,”
Rhythm Scene (June 2016): 14-15, accessed February 18, 2021,
http://publications.pas.org/archive/June2016/1606.14-17.pdf.
22
Association for Body Mapping Education, “Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed February 18, 2021,
https://www.bodymap.org/faq.
 16

translate to inefficient movement. William Conable, a pioneer of the practice of body mapping,

describes this in the following story.

Some years ago, a colleague asked me to observe a violin student who was having
difficulty bending her bow arm at the elbow. Nothing the student or the teacher
could think of was effective in helping her to solve this problem. Watching her play,
I asked myself what I would have to think in order to move that way. It looked to
me as if a possible answer was that she was thinking of her elbow joint about two
inches higher on her arm than it really was. I thought that a plausible reason for this
would be that that was the distance of her elbow from her shoulder when she started
the violin as a child and that perhaps she had not changed her thinking as she grew.
When I proposed this to her and showed her where her elbow joint really moved,
she said, “Oh, I can do that,” and immediately proceeded to play with a freely
moving elbow.23

From this example and many others, it is evident that if a musician mis-understands which

part of the body is actually responsible for the movement required to perform an action, they may

be exerting much more effort than necessary to carry out the task or may be unable to carry out

the task at all. This is why the practice of body mapping is commonly used in methods such as

Alexander Technique to become aware of the stress in the body. The practice of body mapping

can be used in the practice room to consciously notice different parts of the body, taking notes of

the three barometers of a kinesthetic mindset, and making necessary adjustments.

Laurel Black describes a simple body mapping exercise for the practice room. She suggests

taking a musical excerpt and playing it as many different ways as possible, focusing on physical,

not musical, variation. For example, play it normally, then play it while thinking about different

parts of the body – legs, knees, back, neck, arms, wrists, fingers, palms, and whatever other parts

of the body may be involved or even seemingly uninvolved in the motion needed to play that

23
William Conable, “Origins and Theory of Mapping,” accessed Februrary 20, 2021,
https://www.bodymap.org/origins-and-theory-of-mapping.
 17

excerpt. Black suggests that this process helps to discover several different ways to play a musical

excerpt that are more relaxed, easier to play, and will sound better. Simply through mentally

noticing what is taking place in the body during movement, tension will naturally be released (or

can intentionally be released) from various elements the motion being performed.24

The best way to develop one’s kinesthetic awareness while playing is simply by actively

noticing how it feels to play. It also may help to play with one hand while feeling parts of the arm

with the other hand in order to discover what muscles are actually being activated for a given

movement. This sort of experimentation and discovery will allow a student to begin to think about

where motion is actually initiated from, which will positively inform their body map. If even

through this type of experimentation one is not sure which muscles are being activated, John

Lamb’s book and Laurel Black’s blog posts provide a good starting place for informing one’s

knowledge of the muscles and mechanics of percussion playing.

Summary

Understanding how the body works and how it should move does not have to be an

intellectual exercise, but it does require implementing an intentional mental awareness of what the

body is doing while playing. Each of the elements discussed in this chapter are simple in concept

and may easily be inserted into one’s practice routine, even in the smallest of the ways. Developing

one’s kinesthetic sense plays an integral part in developing any technique and will be essential to

maintain as one refines their technique through any of the exercises discussed later in this

document.

24
Laurel Black, “Developing Kinesthetic Awareness: A Guide to Mindset, Explorations, and Wrists, Part 1,” March
25, 2016, video, https://vimeo.com/160376847.
 18

The key to all of this is simply learning to stay relaxed. Percussionist Josh Jones

emphasizes that “when developing any technique, beginning at a place of relaxation is crucial to

ensuring that you are learning and executing the technique correctly, creating good habits.”25 With

this tool at the forefront, percussionists will be free to play comfortably, effortlessly, and

musically, and will have one less thing to worry about when performing.

25
Josh Jones, Spatial Studies for Hitting Things, (New York: Bachovich Music Publications, 2020), 3.
 19

Chapter 2: Developing Automaticity of Fluid Technique

When working towards any worthy goal, it is essential to have a clear plan of action. No

person would (or should) attempt to drive to a new destination without a map, plan to lose weight

without a specific diet or exercise plan or write a paper without a clear and well-organized outline.

Considering the goal of developing one’s technical fluidity in the practice room, this can be simply

plotted out with the right tools and an informed frame of mind. But first, the question must be

asked – what is the ultimate goal in developing technical fluidity? Most musicians would likely

agree that fluidity is not something that should be developed for one specific scenario alone but

should be generally developed to the point where it can be effortlessly applied to any possible

musical scenario. The goal, then, is to develop one’s technical fluidity to the point of automaticity,

or the point at which a performer may execute any passage effortlessly without any conscious

focus on technical elements. This is what any expert performer is aiming to achieve through the

efforts of their practice. This chapter aims to break down this process into manageable steps,

utilizing the stages of skill acquisition as a template for developing automaticity of fluid technique.

According to Fitts and Posner, the three stages of skill acquisition of any skill are the

cognitive stage, the associative stage, and the autonomous stage.26 Lehmann, Sloboda, and Woody

summarize the types of musical learning that occur in each of these stages.

During the cognitive stage, we use higher mental processes to acquire a task and
develop motor programs; during the associative stage we practice the skill and
focus on how the movements feel; and in the autonomous stage the execution of
the skill requires little conscious effort, freeing up the performer’s cognitive
resources to deal with other matters than the skill itself.27

26
P.M. Fitts and M.I. Posner, Human Performance (Belmont, CA: Brooks & Cole, 1967).
27
Andreas C. Lehmann, John A. Sloboda, Robert H. Woody, Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and
Acquiring the Skills (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 79.
 20

In an ideal scenario, a student would cycle through these stages of technique-building with

precision from start to finish, ending up with natural, flowing technique that only serves and does

not distract from performance. However, this is usually not the case, and that is why it may be

helpful for students who are seeking excellence to take a step back and re-enter some of these

stages to analyze their approach to the instrument. Re-entering the cognitive stage, for example,

allows one to re-examine the mechanics of a given technique or movement in order to discover it

from a new point of view. With a newfound understanding, the student can continue to the

associative stage by engaging in newly informed practice to hone and perfect the skill. The end

goal is to reach the autonomous stage in which mental focus on technique is no longer necessary,

freeing up much more mental capacity for musical expression. In order to reach this stage, “...the

processes that are intended to run by themselves have to first be rehearsed using conscious thinking

and that, once automatized, such processes should be left alone during performance.”28 This

concept of working towards automaticity using conscious thinking is an integral part of the process

and will discussed in detail later in this chapter.

The Cognitive Stage

Following the framework of the stages of skill acquisition, re-entering the cognitive stage

is the first step in working to refine one’s technique. The clearest path down this particular road is

taken by understanding and developing accurate mental representations of technique. Mental

representations are “mental structure[s] that correspond to an object, an idea, a collection of

information, or anything else, concrete or abstract, that the brain is thinking about.”29 Ericcson and

28
Ibid, 80.
29
Anders Ericcson and Robert Pool, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, 2016), 58, Kindle.
 21

Pool offer an of example of developing and incorporating mental representations into one’s

understanding of a new concept.

Suppose you’ve never heard of a dog and never seen anything like it. Perhaps
you’ve grown up in some isolated place—a desert island, say—where there are no
four-legged animals of any sort, only birds and fish and insects. When you’re first
introduced to the concept of dog, it is all just isolated data, and the word dog doesn’t
really mean much to you; it is just a label for this collection of disconnected
knowledge. Dogs are furry, they have four legs, they are meat eaters, they run in
packs, the little ones are called puppies, they can be trained, and so on. Gradually,
however, as you spend time around dogs and start to understand them, all this
information becomes integrated into one holistic concept that is represented by the
word dog. Now when you hear that word, you don’t have to search your memory
banks to remember all the various details about dogs; instead, all that information
is immediately accessible. You have added dog not only to your vocabulary but to
your set of mental representations.30

An important bridge between this analogy and practicing music is the correlation between

time spent with a dog and one’s understanding of a dog. It is not until one spends time with the

creature, getting to know its traits and characteristics, that one can actually understand what a dog

is and how it fits into the world. Likewise, until a person spends a lot of time physically getting to

know how a specific musical technique should look, feel, and sound, they will not have the mental

representations necessary to assist the mind and body in carrying out the desired task consistently

and accurately. Detailed mental representations need time and constant acquaintance with a task

in order to develop to their highest potential.

Although they exist in the mind, mental representations are not strictly for a mental purpose

and are imperative for being able to perform physical tasks correctly. Ericcson and Pool describe

how this concept applies in the athletic field.

Consider a competitive diver working on a new dive. Much of the practice is

devoted to forming a clear mental picture of what the dive should look like at every

30
Ibid, 59.
 22

moment and, more importantly, what it should feel like in terms of body positioning
and momentum. Of course, the deliberate practice will also lead to physical changes
in the body itself—in divers, the development of the legs, abdominal muscles, back,
and shoulders, among other body parts—but without the mental representations
necessary to produce and control the body’s movements correctly, the physical
changes would be of no use.31

This example illustrates how perfect execution of a technical movement requires accurate

mental representations of both visual and kinesthetic elements of the technique. The performer

must understand how the technique is supposed to look and how it should feel. The same is true

for any percussionist working to perfect their performance. Without a clear mental image of how

the arm, wrist, fingers, and stick should move, and how it should feel to move them properly, it is

unlikely that the technique will be performed with consistency or fluidity and will also likely not

produce a desirable sound from the instrument. This is one reason why having a basic kinesthetic

awareness of the body in motion is highly advantageous for the developing percussionist. If a

person does not pay attention to how they are moving, or how it feels to move while playing, they

will also not be able to form accurate mental representations of the correct motion and will likely

struggle to progress with the given technical challenge. Visual and kinesthetic mental

representations work together to enable a performer to execute technique with precision and

fluidity.

One of the most common ways to develop visual mental representations of a given

technique is to analyze a good model and practice with that model in mind. The simplest example

of this is a good teacher. A teacher exemplifies the correct technique and walks the student through

any useful analogies that may help to develop the appropriate mental representations to carry out

31
Ibid, 60.
 23

the task. The student will then have an informed visual representation of the teacher’s technical

example to use in their practice. The more often the student observes and analyzes the technique

of the teacher, the more ingrained that visual representation becomes in the mind of the student.

To supplement this, another example of a good model would be for the student to seek out other

professional performers – in video, live performance, or other settings – and analyze their approach

to the technique. This will visually reinforce mental representations of what the technique should

look like when executed with complete fluidity.

Because a teacher can only describe, not show, how a technique should feel, a majority of

the work needed to develop kinesthetic mental representations is up to the student to explore.

Guided by the advice of a good teacher, a student must experiment with the technique in order to

learn what feels most comfortable and is at the same time in alignment with how the technique

should work within the parameters of correct body movement. This is not to say that learning a

new technique cannot at times be uncomfortable, but it should never be painful. This is the stage

in which a student may use the three kinesthetic barometers mentioned in the previous chapter –

ease, pain, and discomfort – to determine whether or not the technique is being performed correctly

and efficiently. The more the student intentionally explores physical elements of the technique,

determining what does and does not work, the more their mental representations of that element

will be strengthened.

As a technique grows more comfortable and the feeling more recognizable, original mental

representations from the model are reinforced, and new ones are formed. These developing mental

representations must be established in small pieces and will grow over time with further practice.

The more informed practice that occurs, the stronger and more detailed the mental representations
 24

of the task become. In this way, the process of developing mental representations is somewhat

circular. Ericcson and Pool describe this “virtuous circle” process.

Honing the skill improves mental representation, and mental representation helps
hone the skill. . . . It’s like a staircase that you climb as you build it. Each step of
your ascent puts you in a position to build the next step. Then you build that step,
and you’re in a position to build the next one. And so on. Your existing mental
representations guide your performance and allow you to both monitor and judge
that performance. As you push yourself to do something new—to develop a new
skill or sharpen an old one—you are also expanding and sharpening your mental
representations, which will in turn make it possible for you to do more than you
could before.32

The process of developing mental representations in the cognitive stage is an integral and

unavoidable part of being able to efficiently learn or master fluid percussion technique. Because

every person is different and learns differently, no person will interpret mental representations in

the same way, although some common technical analogies may serve the same purpose to inform

one’s mental representations. Because of the nature of the “virtuous circle” described by Ericcson

and Pool, the depth of a student’s mental representations is entirely up to how much time and

dedication they are willing to put into furthering the fluidity of their technique. Most importantly,

the development of mental representations is not limited to the cognitive stage, but also continues

as a student develops in the following associative stage.

The Associative Stage

After deepening one’s understanding of technique in the cognitive stage, the work

performed in the associative stage serves to continually develop one’s mental representations and

apply them through intentional, informed practice. For most music students working towards

32
Ibid, 82-83.
 25

excellence, this stage is especially active throughout their time in college.33 Technical fluidity may

be integrated in at least two settings within this stage. First, an established warm-up routine would

serve as a great opportunity to make sure the body is working according to its design, and to

intentionally insert habitual technical maintenance into one’s daily routine to help the prescribed

motions to become autonomous. Second is the process of learning a new piece of music. In this

setting, particularly on keyboard and multiple percussion (which require learning a new

arrangement of notes and/or instruments), focus on fluidity of motion between each note being

learned is essential to reinforce early on so that it becomes autonomous and not an issue when it

comes time to perform.

Lehmann, Sloboda, and Woody discuss four phases of practice in which musicians work

to learn a new piece of music. Stage one is learning the big picture, which could include sight

reading, beginning to learn notes, score study, or listening to recordings to develop an initial mental

representation of the work. Stage two is technical practice in which the performer begins to perfect

the notes of the piece. In stage three, the performer practices performance of the piece by

reinforcing memory, rehearsing in front of a practice audience, and ironing out any final details of

the piece’s preparation. Stage four is then the maintenance of the piece, which involves keeping

the music “in the hands,” and possible readjustments of interpretation.34 The most obvious place

to insert intentional practice of fluidity of motion within this structure is in stage two while learning

the notes of a piece but can also be maintained and reinforced throughout stages three and four.

33
Colin Hill, “The 10,000 Hour Threshold: Interviews with Successful Percussionists” (DMA diss., University of
Kentucky, 2013), 30.
34
Lehmann, Sloboda, and Woody, Psychology for Musicians, 77-78.
 26

Continuing this work within the associative stage, the most essential ingredient for

successfully mastering a new skill is a concrete and informed practice system. Ericcson and Pool

define two kinds of effective practice systems – purposeful and deliberate. These two words are

very similar in meaning, as is their application in practice. However, their difference is important

to note.

Purposeful practice can be used for developing any sort of formal or informal skill to an

adequate or above average level. To approach this most effectively, one’s practice sessions should

have the following elements: well-defined, specific goals; focused attention; feedback on progress;

and take place outside of one’s comfort zone.35 Each of these elements define clear parameters by

which a person can analyze their practice methods. When working on a developing a specific skill,

one can ask themself: “Do I have a clear goal in mind?” “Am I focused on the task when

practicing?” “Am I utilizing feedback from myself or from others to analyze my progress and help

myself improve?” “Am I moving forward (out of my comfort zone) in progress, or am I stuck in a

comfortable rut with no challenge?” In most cases, these sorts of parameters will help a person to

grow by carefully aiming their practice towards the target and developing their mental

representations along the way. This sort of purposeful practice will help most anyone achieve their

desired goals of developing a skill, but may not always lead to expert performance, if that is the

desired outcome.

Ericcson and Pool suggest that if a person is seeking to become an expert in a given field,

they should be following the parameters of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice shares similar

parameters with purposeful practice but differs in two main ways.

35
Ericcson and Pool, Peak, 12-17, Kindle.
 27

First, [deliberate practice] requires a field that is already reasonably well

developed—that is, a field in which the best performers have attained a level of
performance that clearly sets them apart from people who are just entering the field.
We’re referring to activities like musical performance (obviously), ballet and other
sorts of dance, chess, and many individual and team sports . . . . What areas don’t
qualify? Pretty much anything in which there is little or no direct competition, such
as gardening and other hobbies, for instance, and many of the jobs in today’s
workplace—business manager, teacher, electrician, engineer, consultant, and so on.
Second, deliberate practice requires a teacher who can provide practice
activities designed to help a student improve his or her performance. Of course,
before there can be such teachers there must be individuals who have achieved a
certain level of performance with practice methods that can be passed on to others.36

Summarized well by Ericcson and Pool, “Deliberate practice is purposeful practice that

knows where it is going and how to get there.”37 The table below serves to compare and clarify the

commonalities and differences between purposeful and deliberate practice.

Table 1. Comparison between Purposeful and Deliberate Practice

Parameter Purposeful Practice Deliberate Practice
Has well defined, specific goals. X X
Requires focus. X X
Involves feedback and adjustments
X X
according to that feedback.
Requires getting out of one’s comfort
X X
zone.
Requires a field that is already reasonably
well developed, as well as strategies for X
success from experts in that field.
Produces and depends on effective mental
representations to provide self-analytical X
feedback.
Builds or modifies previously acquired
skills by focusing on particular aspects of
X
those skills and working to improve them
specifically.
Source: Adapted from Anders Ericcson and Robert Pool, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016), 14-16, 97-99, Kindle.

36
Ibid, 98.
37
Ibid, 97.
 28

Regarding the development of fluid technique, it is clear that the most effective route for

percussionists to take is that of deliberate practice. Each of the parameters of this path may help

the percussionist to organize the way they develop their approach to a given instrument through

specific ways that have been tried and tested by experts in the field. Table 2 at the end of this

chapter outlines some ways in which a percussionist may apply deliberate practice towards the

specific task of achieving fluidity in their technical practice. In this example, the performer is

practicing the fluidity of performing consecutive full strokes on the snare drum.

It is clear that most of the work needed to be done in order to develop complete fluidity of

technique will occur during this associative stage. It is in this stage that a student may take

previously learned mental representations and continue to develop them as they work to physically

and mentally master the mechanics of their technique through deliberate practice. If a student

consistently and patiently engages in deliberate practice, they will advance much more effectively

through this process. Specific practice strategies for the associative stage will be discussed in detail

in the next chapter and will be aimed at helping students to reach the much desired autonomous

stage with efficiency.

The Autonomous Stage

With the foundation of deliberate practice as a guide, the journey through the associative

stage of developing fluidity will eventually lead towards automaticity. How long this process takes

is up to the student and the amount of consistent time and dedication they are able to commit

toward deliberate practice. Once a performer has reached the point of automaticity, they will be

able to devote much less time to technique and may focus instead on complete musical expression.

Technical maintenance will still be an important part of the player’s practice routine but will no

longer need to be at the forefront.

 29

Because of all of the work completed, the payoff of this stage can be very rewarding. It is

only in this stage that musicians can most easily experience the spirit of “the zone,” a mental state

in which one may be completely absorbed in the music they are producing. About achieving this

state, Barry Green states that “any artist, athlete, or professional is less likely to experience the

zone when attempting to micromanage technique at the same time he or she is hoping to be inspired

by great ideas.”38 Likewise, as most any musician and audience member would agree, “...music

making is at its best when the performer is completely absorbed in the act of making music.”39

When all of the technical work is done and set aside, musicians are much more free to perform to

their highest and most expressive potential.

With all of this considered, the desire to reach the autonomous stage is really about its long-

term benefits toward performance and the learning of new music. If approached deliberately, “[t]he

goal of practice is not merely to learn a piece of music but to develop complex mental and physical

adaptations that, in turn, enable successful long-term skill building.”40 The more a person

incorporates these elements into their practice, the more equipped they will be to more easily apply

it to every piece of music learned thereafter.

In essence, practice not only enables us to perform a given piece of music but also
helps establish generic cognitive (i.e., mental) representations that support the skills
and enable the learner to assimilate, manipulate, memorize, and retrieve the music
in appropriate ways. More important, these representations allow mental and
physical skills to transfer from one piece and difficulty level to the next. This
mechanism allows us to learn subsequent pieces faster, because certain note
combinations of expressive devices can be anticipated, and the conceptual
understanding of the music becomes largely independent of the motor execution.41

38
Barry Green, The Mastery of Music, 170.
39
Ibid.
40
Lehmann, Sloboda, and Woody, Psychology for Musicians, 61.
41
Ibid, 67.
 30

This explains why experienced, professional musicians can learn difficult music more

quickly and easily than less-seasoned players. This idea is also reinforced by Ericcson and Pool.

“[T]he most effective forms of practice are doing more than helping you learn to play a musical

instrument; they are actually increasing your ability to play.”42 By engaging in deliberate practice,

especially if focused on technical fluidity, a musician’s technical trajectory will be aimed a much

more efficient process of learning and performing music for years to come.

Summary

The stages of skill acquisition provide a clear structure for students to follow when learning

when and how to approach implementing fluidity into their practice. With these stages as a

template, students should be able to keep an open mind as they learn, always thinking analytically

about the sound they are producing and how it is being produced. This way of thinking, put in

motion through deliberate practice, will help students to develop any aspect of their musical voice

more efficiently and will lead them towards their goals of excellence.

42
Ericcson and Pool, Peak, 42, Kindle.
 31

Table 2. Example of deliberate practice application

Deliberate Practice Parameter Application Toward Technical Fluidity
Be able to properly execute consecutive full strokes
(using straight eighth notes on each hand) on the snare
drum considering the following:
• The stick will fully rebound off of the drum
head after motion is initiated.
• The rebound of the stick is not prohibited by
tension in the hands or fingers.
• With each stroke, the stick peaks at the same
Has well defined, specific goals. height.
• Each note played will look, sound, and feel
exactly the same.
• The stroke can be accurately and consistently
executed at dynamics ranging from pianissimo
to fortissimo.
• Consecutive full-strokes can be performed
accurately and consistently, ranging in tempo
from quarter note = 80bpm-180bpm.
During practice sessions, full attention will be given to
Requires focus. the task at hand. Outside distractions will be limited to
enhance a focused environment.
Feedback from the teacher will be carefully recorded
and implemented into each practice session. This will be
Involves feedback and adjustments according to
combined with other types of self-feedback to monitor
that feedback. progress, such kinesthetic awareness and visual analysis
(playing while watching technique in a mirror).
Feedback acquired from all sources will be used to
continually analyze current technique and get rid of
existing bad habits. This may be awkward until enough
Requires getting out of one’s comfort zone. repetitions of correct technique are achieved. Practice
over time will also be aimed at building speed just
outside of the previous peak tempo until the goal tempo
of 180bpm is reached.
Requires a field that is already reasonably well
Many experts in the field have explained how to perform
developed, as well as strategies for success from this technique in depth.
experts in that field.
Proper mental representations of the technique will be
Produces and depends on effective mental formed from a variety of places, including visual
examples from the teacher and other expert players,
representations to provide self-analytical useful analogies (like bouncing a basketball), and
feedback. analysis of kinesthetic sensations when performing the
technique correctly.
Builds or modifies previously acquired skills by This skill is a fundamental skill on the snare drum and
focusing on particular aspects of those skills and other percussion instruments. By mastering this skill at
a great range of speed and dynamic level, it will require
working to improve them specifically.
much less effort to master and execute other snare drum
techniques.
 32

Chapter 3: Instrumental Applications

Developing one’s kinesthetic awareness and understanding how to approach various stages

of learning are integral pieces of the puzzle of developing fluid percussion playing. With this

knowledge in mind, this chapter aims to consider these previously discussed topics and apply them

toward refinement of technique and learning new pieces of music on various percussion

instruments. This chapter is not meant to be a discussion of basic percussion techniques, as that

information can be found across a number of existing reputable sources. Rather, focus will be

given to applying a student’s existing knowledge of correct technique through fluid motion. The

applications discussed here include methods for snare drum, keyboard percussion, and multiple-

percussion, but it should be noted that concepts from this chapter may be applied to other areas of

percussion playing as well. Each section of this chapter will discuss specific challenges that a

player may encounter when practicing fluidity on each instrument; provide an overview of chosen

existing methodologies and exercises used to develop fluidity on that instrument; and include

examples of personalized fluidity exercises built for specific musical excerpts, as well as

suggestions for how students may create their own fluidity exercises based on their individual

context.

Snare Drum Technique: The Basis for Fluid Percussion Playing

Throughout all facets of percussion playing, the primary factor contributing to playing with

fluidity is the development and implementation of consistent, relaxed strokes. This is widely

agreed upon by percussion pedagogues, and covered extensively and thoughtfully in Michael
 33

Udow’s book, Percussion Pedagogy.43 The concept of stroke development is most easily

approached through snare drum technique for at least two reasons: it is easier and more effective

to focus on technique on a single surface, rather than multiple surfaces; and the snare drum or

snare drum practice pad has the most rebound to help train the hands in fluid motion by learning

to bounce the sticks off of the drumhead. This is why most percussion educators agree on the

importance of technical foundation through snare drum technique. While the technique and

physical response from each percussion instrument may vary, the concept of the stick or mallet in

motion remains the same. Therefore, it is important for percussionists to recognize and solidify the

motion of the sticks, whether playing snare drum or another percussion instrument, in order to

connect each note with clarity and fluidity.

Specific Challenges: Stroke-Type Execution

The percussion stroke is commonly broken down into four different types of motion. These

are typically referred to as the full-stroke, tap-stroke, down-stroke, and up-stroke. Although these

terms are defined similarly by countless percussion pedagogues, Michael Udow offers the

following definition of each of these stroke-types and their specified motion.

Full-stroke: starts with the stick high. The player activates the stick, which makes
contact with the instrument, and the player allows the stick to rebound with the
player’s assistance, so the stick returns to the starting height.

Tap-stroke: starts with the stick low. The player activates the stick, which drops to
the surface of the instrument, and the player allows the stick to rebound (with the
player’s assistance), so the stick returns to the starting height.

Down-stroke: begins with the stick high. The player activates the stick, which drops
to the surface of the instrument, and the player controls the stick so that it remains
close to the drumhead.

43
Michael Udow, Percussion Pedagogy: A Practical Guide for Studio Teachers, (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2019).
 34

Up-stroke: begins with the stick close to the surface of the instrument. They player
activates the stick, which drops to the surface of the instrument, and then assists the
rebound to ensure that the stick bead returns to the high position where a full-stroke
begins.44

In a musical context, each of these stroke-types generally serves the following prescribed

articulations: full-strokes are used to play connected notes at one dynamic level and/or continuous

accents; down-strokes are used to play single accents; tap-strokes are used in between accents; and

up-strokes are used to move the stick from an unaccented note to an accented note. The use of

these four stroke-types, if practiced deliberately and with appropriate technique, will allow the

percussionist to execute passages of music with clarity, consistency of sound, and fluidity. They

should be executed smoothly from one note to the next, each motion of the stick anticipating the

next. The following snare drum etude excerpt demonstrates how each of these stroke-types would

be integrated in the standard fashion with an alternating, right-hand lead sticking system.

RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL R

DDUT DT UU FDFT DT UT DUT D UTFU FFFF F

Figure 3.1. Stroke-types applied to accents patterns using alternating sticking starting with the right hand.45

As seen in the example above, the stroke-types utilized in a given passage are directly

correlated to the chosen sticking. If that passage was to be played with a different sticking, the

stroke-types would be adjusted according to the motion of the prescribed stick motion. However,

44
Michael Udow, Percussion Pedagogy, 17.
45
Mitchell Peters, Intermediate Studies for Snare Drum (Hollywood, CA: TRY Publishing, 1976).
 35

the sticking notated above is likely the best way to perform that passage with fluidity (given that

the player is right-handed). Sticking goes hand-in-hand with the types of strokes needed to execute

a passage clearly. Therefore, before analyzing the stroke-types of a passage, the student should

determine which sticking will best facilitate a smooth performance of the passage. This decision

will be based on a number of factors, including the tempo, dynamic, articulation, and style of the

piece, as well as the personal preference of the individual.46 Most professionals agree that sticking

should be one of the first elements determined as a new piece is being learned, because it ensures

fluidity of motion between notes and consistent performance each time the passage is played.47

In addition to assisting in a fluid sequence of notes, once mastered, manipulation of these

stroke-types using the determined sticking will allow the percussionist to freely experiment with

elements of timbre, articulation, and tone on a given instrument in order to fully express their

musical ideas. Josh Jones describes the general tonal characteristics that each stroke-type may most

naturally produce on a snare drum, enabling the percussionist to incorporate tonal possibilities in

their choice of stroke-type. These characteristics will apply similarly to other percussion

instruments as well.

The full stroke will let the drumhead ring the most, creating a very balanced,
general sound. A down stroke will sound darker, warmer, and perhaps even a little
louder because of both the impact and the rebound stopping at the playing position.
An up stroke will sound softer and lighter, or brighter, because of the softer impact,
and quicker lift off of the drum. The tap stroke will be a soft version of the full
stroke, but you have the option to use the down or up stroke in combination with
taps. This will create lighter or darker sounds while remaining soft.48

46
Michael Udow, Percussion Pedagogy, 29.
47
Colin Hill, “The 10,000 Hour Threshold, 110.
48
Josh Jones, Spatial Studies for Hitting Things, 36.
 36

With these general characteristics in mind, after considering the general prescribed duties

of each stroke-type, one may analyze a musical passage and make informed decisions on which

stroke-types may be most useful to articulate the passage with clarity and the desired tone. This

practice is not always necessary to carry out for every single note to be played, as some stroke-

types are obviously ascertained within a passage. However, it can be especially helpful in passages

that require more in-depth technical or tonal attention.

Although each stroke-type has its regularly assigned duties in regard to written dynamic

shaping, it may also be helpful to consider how applying varying combinations of stroke-types

may affect the motion, feeling, or sound of a certain musical passage, especially on instruments

such as keyboard percussion or multiple-percussion. Because nuances in articulation or phrasing

may not always be given specifically, it is up to the performer to decide how to best execute a

passage to make their musical intentions clear. Through experimenting with different stroke-type

and sticking options, a percussionist may often times discover an option that flows more easily if

approached with a different variety of stroke-types.49 The desired outcome is to find whichever

setting lends itself to the most fluid and relaxed motion, simultaneously achieving the desired

quality of sound and feeling of each note in the passage. Michael Udow demonstrates how a single

passage could be approached in several different ways, which could change depending on a

number of factors including tempo, dynamic, and an individual player’s physiology. The following

example demonstrates how a variety of stroke-type combinations might apply to playing this

familiar melody, playing just the rhythm with one hand.

49
Michael Udow, Percussion Pedagogy, 19.
 37

= 60

+-+ L
Right or Left Hand
Snare Drum
Hap-Py birth-day
mf to you. Hap-py birth-day to

1.2.T
3.
D

F.
T

TU
UFF F
F F TD TU
D T U FF
FF
+
H
you. Hap- py birth - day dear Mi chael. Hap - py birth-day to you.
F D T U F F F F D T U F F F
D T T U F F F D T T U F F D

Figure 3.2. Stroke-types applied to “Happy Birthday.”50

Putting Udow’s methodology into practice, the following two excerpts demonstrate a few

options for how one could potentially approach stroke-types in non-snare drum setting using

passages from Emmanuel Séjourné’s piece, Karnataka, for solo marimba with electronic

accompaniment.51 Depending on the performer, each of these options will lend itself to a different

flow and musical phrasing.

Figure 3.3. Stroke-type options in Karnataka. Tenutos and accents added.

50
Michael Udow, Percussion Pedagogy, 24.
51
Emmanuel Séjourné, Karnataka (Clermont-Ferrand: Alfonce Production, 2020).
 38

Figure 3.4. Stroke-type options in Karnataka. Tenutos and accents added.

Considering stroke-types in a musical context would be an excellent custom to include in

one’s cognitive and associative stages of learning a new piece of music. This process is a great

opportunity to analyze the music and the motions required to carry it out in the most fluid manner

possible. One important element to consider at this stage, however, is to note these concepts with

the piece’s goal tempo in mind, because stroke-types and stickings that work fluidly at slow tempi

may not work at fast tempi. To test this, one can analyze the passage for potential stroke-types,

determine a few options, then test them at the goal tempo in order to determine which option may

work best. It is possible that the performer’s decision may change over the course of learning or

performing the piece, but simply recognizing areas where options are available will prepare the

performer to be able to make reasonable and effective accommodations to perform the piece as

they wish with fluidity.

Existing Exercises and Methods

There are countless resources available for percussionists looking for exercises to apply

these concepts into their practice routine. In regard to developing fluidity between stroke-types,

some of the most popularly used books include George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control and

Accents and Rebounds, among many others. These resources provide a large range of simple to

complex rhythmic figures to which players may focus on fluidity of motion in a number of contexts

including basic strokes, flam patterns, and rolls.

 39

The well-known fifth page of Stick Control (figure 3.5) has been used by innumerable

percussionists to train fluidity of strokes and is a simple and effective application for developing

full-strokes with various stick heights and dynamics. The first several pages of Accents and

Rebounds (figure 3.6) use these same sticking patterns from Stick Control but introduces various

accent patterns to apply each stroke-type in depth. Stone recommends mastering the fluidity of the

patterns within Stick Control before moving on to those included in Accents and Rebounds.52 Any

sort of exercise of this sort is a simple and efficient way to develop fluidity between stroke-types.
5

Read downward)
Single Beat Combinations

RL R L RL R L
RLR L RL RL RRRRL L L L
RRR R L L
LL

LRL R LR L R
LRL R L R L R
RLR L R
RLL RLR L
RRL L

RR L L R R L L RRL L RR LL L
RL R L
LRR LR L RLLL R R

L L R R
LL R R LL R
R RLR L
RLRR LR L R
LR L L

53
Figure 3.5.R Excerpt
LR L L from Stick Control, application for
L R fluid
L RLfull-strokes.
RLR LL RLR RLR R
L RLR LRL LRR
4
Accented Eighthş 1st ending final-R
RLL R L
RR L
RL L RL RRL RLR L
V RR L R
V
L
RL R
V LL V
L

RL R L RL RL RLR L
RL R L
RLR L RL RL R L RL R L R L
RLR L R

V V V V V V V V V

LRL RL R L R L R L R L RL R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L
RL R L

V V

RR L L
RR L L RRL L
RR L L R RL L R R L L
RRL L RR L L
RRL L R

V V
V V V V V V V

LL R R
LV LLRVR RR LLR R RR L
LR R
L L R R L R R L L R R L L L L L

V V V V V V V

Figure 3.6. Excerpt from Accents and Rebounds, application for down, up, and tap-strokes.54
RL R R L R RLR RLR L RL R RL R L
L L R
RR RL RLR R L L L L L L

V V V V V V V V V

LI
LRL L R L RR L R L L R L R R L
RL L RL R R L
RLL RL R R L R L L R

V
V V
V V V V V

52
RL R L L R R RLR R L R RLR L
L R R
RLR L
L R R RLR L
L L L L L L

George Lawrence Stone, Accents

V and
V Rebounds
V V for the Snare Drummer,V (Randolph:
V George B. Stone & Son, Inc,
1935), 3.
53 L R L R RL
George Lawrence Stone, Stick R L for
Control theRL
L R L R R
Snare Drummer, L RL RRL RL
RL R R L R L(Randolph: L RLB.
George RRStone & Son, Inc, 1935), 5.
L L

54
George Lawrence Stone, Accents and Rebounds, 4.
 40

One individual exercise that is quite simple yet effective for training fluid motion between

strokes is Alan Abel’s stick height chart (fig. 3.7). Ya-Chi Cheng reconstructed this chart and

describes how to use it in her book, Orchestral Snare Drum Studies.

Each group of numbers represents the stick’s distance from the drumhead
in inches. The first number of the group is the distance of the stick height from the
drumhead before the stroke. The second number is the distance of the stick height
after the bounce. A student can play each group of numbers as many times as
necessary until s/he is comfortable with each type.55

Figure 3.7. Abel stick height and stroke-type chart. The full-stroke is designated here as the "fun" stroke.

The most recent and possibly most in-depth resource covering this topic is Josh Jones’

Spatial Studies for Hitting Things. The exercises and methodology in this book specifically discuss

factors that apply to developing and maintaining fluid snare drum technique, including many of

the concepts of kinesthetic awareness discussed earlier in this document. Sections in this resource

include specific attention to stroke-type development, continuous motion (flowing full-strokes),

dynamic studies, and much more to train nearly every element of one’s snare drum and percussion

playing. This resource is highly recommended to any percussionist looking to dive deep into the

55
Ya-Chi Cheng, Orchestral Snare Drum Studies (Ann Arbor, MI, 2008), 7.
 41

development of their snare drum technique in a way that is in harmony with how the body works.

A few examples from this resource can be seen in the following figures.

Figure 3.8. Stroke-type isolation exercises.56

Figure 3.9. Stroke-type combination exercises, transitioning between full and tap-strokes.57

Figure 3.10. Exercises for developing continuous, fluid motion of the sticks using full-strokes.

56
Josh Jones, Spatial Studies for Hitting Things.
57
Ibid.
 42

Creating Fluidity Exercises for Snare Drum

Countless exercises and method books are available to all percussionists looking for ways

to improve their technique. Having the right resources and utilizing them properly will equip the

student with the tools needed to achieve fluidity throughout the repertoire they may encounter.

However, it may still at times be necessary for a student to create their own exercises or determine

which existing exercises would be most helpful to practice based off of the repertoire they are

learning in order move past any roadblocks that may be presented. If this step is needed, the

following are some recommended steps to take in order to create context-based fluidity exercises.

1. Analyze the passage.

a. What stroke-types or techniques are required to carry out this passage

effectively?
b. What are some sticking options that could help this passage flow the best?

2. Break the passage down into its basic elements. On snare drum, this could
include:

a. Separating the hands and training their individual stroke-types for intricate
rhythms or ornamental passages.
b. Isolating stroke-type coordination between both hands.
c. Checking the sticking to enable the most fluid execution of the passage.
d. Taking out the rolls and focusing on playing the roll-base rhythm.

3. As practice is being done on the elements from step three, spend time focusing on
the following questions:

a. Is there any tension present in the fingers, wrist, forearm, shoulders, or

other parts of the body as the passage is being played? If so, adjust to
release the tension and continue.
b. Is the motion of each stick as efficient and fluid as possible?
c. Is the motion and sound consistent between both sticks?
d. Does the time feel relaxed and steady, or on edge? If necessary, slow the
tempo down to one that feels comfortable until ready to speed it up.
e. What is the desired sound of this passage, and is it coming across? If not,
what elements can be adjusted?
 43

These questions may not address every problem a student may face, but they should lead

the student into a deeper awareness of their technique and allow them to discover areas that they

may need to focus on in order to play more fluidly.

The following examples break down a few short excerpts from Jacques Delecluse’s Etude

no. 2.58 Figure 3.11 shows a cumbersome flam passage in the middle of this etude. In order to play

this passage with clarity, the sticking and stroke-types must be oriented to make execution of the

passage as simple as possible. One option that serves this goal (as a right-handed player) is to keep

straight eighth notes in the left hand, while the right hand fills in other sixteenth notes as well as

the necessary grace notes (figure 3.12). This orientation places the much more intricate rhythm in

the dominant hand, and also allows each hand to have clear and simple duties throughout this short

passage. The stroke-types that correspond to these stickings are then also quite simple, which lends

itself to an easier and more fluid execution of the passage. By separating the hands as exemplified

in figure 2.12, one can focus on executing each hand’s sticking and stroke-types with fluidity first,

then gradually put them back together, checking to make sure that the same fluidity is present in

the passage as a whole.

Figure 3.11. Difficult flam passage from Etude no. 2, m. 21-22.

58
Jacques Delécluse, Douze Études pour Caisse-Claire, (Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1964).
 44

T T T T T T T T T T T T

Figure 3.12. Flam passage, hands separate with stroke-types.

The stroke-type motion in the right hand of this passage could be interpreted in two ways:

as a fluid, down-tap-up motion, or as more separate but fluid continuous tap-strokes. These stroke-

types may produce very similar results in this instance, but the former may facilitate a more relaxed

execution of this passage by focusing more on the space between each “burst” of notes. Due to the

soft dynamic and intricate nature of this passage, this concept of playing out of the drumhead more

will likely produce the smoothest results, rather than inhibiting the sound and technique by limited

downward motion. This concept may help the performer allow the stick to bounce more freely at

the given soft dynamic.

One difficult aspect of the next passage (figure 3.13) is the execution of clear, fully

sustained rolls while maintaining rhythmic accuracy. Choosing the right roll-base rhythm is an

important part of making sure this happens with clarity and fluidity. The following notated roll-

bases (indicated by a number above the roll markings) exemplify rhythms that help to achieve

this goal.

S5 tr
L
tr tr tr. tr e trw tr
p sub.
333
trd
tr
tr

p sub. L
=s
Figure 3.13. Difficult roll speed passage from Etude no. 2, m. 13-23.
 45

Figure 3.14 takes each measure of this passage and notates what each roll-base rhythm

would be without the roll. By practicing this way, the player can make sure each roll-base is

being executed with even spacing and quality of sound between each hand. This is especially

challenging in measures 16 and 20, when the base rhythms may be extra difficult to execute

while maintaining the integrity of the original rhythm. Once these rhythms are mastered without

the rolls, the rolls themselves should flow much easier in the context of the music.

Figure 3.14. Roll speeds as base rhythms, indicated by black bars above the staff.

In examining these and many of the other available exercises available today, methods for

developing fluidity on the snare drum are limitless. These can also be highly dependent on the

context of the music being played. However, if a student has a strong foundation in stroke-types,

the execution of a lot of snare drum music becomes much simpler. It may then just become a matter

of breaking down challenging excerpts from the music as demonstrated above in order to develop

context-specific facility. In regard to how snare drum technique transfers to that of other

instruments, it is clear that the stroke is the single most important element in developing fluid

technique. By analyzing new repertoire with care and considering each passage learned from a

variety of angles, percussionists can determine with practice which is the easiest path to being able

to perform the music in a technically efficient and relaxed manner. Without considering these basic

elements, bringing the music to life and playing effortlessly becomes a much more daunting and
 46

difficult task to conquer. Although this process requires a great deal of time and patience, the

outcome can be a well-polished, seamless musical product. By starting with this step and

deliberately inserting this information into their music-learning routine, the player will set

themselves up to be able to play the piece with maximum fluidity and will be much freer to express

their musical ideas when the piece is ready to be performed.

Keyboard Percussion

Approaching fluidity on keyboard percussion instruments presents its own distinct

challenges. However, if a student has mastered the flow of the different stroke-types on the snare

drum, many of these keyboard-specific challenges are much more easily overcome. One of the

most particularly challenging aspects of playing fluidly on keyboard percussion instruments is not

only playing fluid strokes but moving those strokes smoothly and efficiently between each note

played. Many students often will practice the notes over and over but may not stop to specifically

consider or focus on the motion between those notes. When learning a new piece of music, or

applying this concept through a given exercise, it is important to focus not only on playing correct

notes, but how the mallet can most easily get from one note to the next. This is the possibly the

most important aspect of developing fluidity on keyboard percussion instruments – allowing the

mallets to move with efficient and relaxed motion between each bar.

Specific Challenges: Moving About the Keyboard

With this concept being at the forefront, there are many factors that contribute to facilitating

fluid motion while playing keyboard percussion. Just as on snare drum, the implementation of

fluid strokes is the most essential element, but other elements that contribute include proper body
 47

positioning at the keyboard, efficient motion between notes, choosing effective stickings, and

leading with appropriate parts of the body.

Being that keyboard percussion instruments can have a wide range of notes, particularly

on marimba, it is first important to consider how to position the body when playing in order to be

able to most efficiently access each note played. The stance should be balanced and relaxed, with

feet shoulder-width apart, providing a solid foundation for upper body movement. The height of

the instrument should be adjusted so that it is at a comfortable height for the player and should not

be too high or too low that it causes tension in any part of the body while playing, particularly in

the shoulders or wrists. Standing in the middle of the range to be played allows the player to reach

each note, even if a little bit of movement may need to be implemented to the right or left in order

to strike each note with proper technique. Gene Koshinski describes his approach to this concept

behind a marimba, which is similar to that of many marimbists.

The performer should stand directly in the middle of the register that is required to
play the passage (this may also apply to an entire piece if composed for a limited
range). I refer to this as your “home base.” For example, if you are performing a
passage that encompasses a two-octave range from C-C, your home base will be
directly in front of the C in the middle of those two octaves. Once you have a home
base established you should refrain from moving your feet. Instead, shift the weight
of your body side-to-side to cover the range. You will be surprised to see how much
of the keyboard you can effectively cover through this method. It is important to
note that you must make sure your hands travel in line with the keyboard (a
“typewriter” motion) rather than taking the shape of a horizontal arc (a “windshield
wiper” motion). For passages that require an extreme distance between the hands,
try lowering your center of gravity.59

Koshinski also suggests writing this information into the score, particularly if the home

base has to change as the piece develops. If necessary, movement from any home base position to

59
Gene Koshinski, Two: A Collection of Concert Pieces for Two-Mallet Marimba Solo, With a Comprehensive
Guide to Technique and Performance Practice, ed. Ben Toth, (Duluth, MN: Gene Koshinski, 2014), 7.
 48

another should be smooth and methodical to facilitate fluidity both in the hands and in overall body

motion.60

The fundamental keyboard percussion stroke is commonly referred to as the piston stroke,

which is the same in concept as a full-stroke in that the motion of the mallet begins and ends in the

same position. Proper use of this stroke plays a primary role in facilitating fluid motion of the

mallets around the keyboard. This stroke provides the advantage of being able to “bounce”

between each bar with the least amount of resistance from the hands. Michael Udow playfully

likens this concept to the bouncing ball jumping between syllables on children’s sing-along

videos.61 An undesirable version of this stroke would be if the mallets have more downward motion

than upward, or vice versa. In this instance, a disruption in momentum in either direction will slow

the mallets down and may alter their path to the next note. Considering this concept, Leigh Howard

Stevens provides the following argument for why proper utilization of the piston stroke is the most

efficient way to move about the keyboard.

The reason why the piston stroke [is the most efficient] is because it does not waste
momentum: there are no unnecessary stops or changes of direction. All motion after
contact with the bar is in the service of the next stroke. The piston stroke starts at
the correct height for the desired dynamic level and recovers only as high as is
necessary for the next dynamic level.62

With the piston stroke in practice, the next important element to consider is the path of the

mallet moving to and from each bar. Stevens suggests that the most efficient way is for the recovery

of the mallet (that is, the rebound, or motion immediately after striking the bar) to shift directly

60
Ibid.
61
Michael Udow, Percussion Pedagogy, 5.
62
Leigh Howard Stevens, Method of Movement for Marimba, 5th ed. (Asbury Park, NJ: Keyboard Percussion
Publications, 2000), 17.
 49

from the bar that was struck to the next bar to be played. Stevens has described this motion as

“hyper-shifting,”63 a concept which is illustrated in figure 3.15 below. Letter A represents initiation

of motion, B represents a brief pause in motion, and C represents changes in direction.

1. Shift attached to following note

ABA
(X) CBA
X)°
C B

C 11 points C

2. Shift attached to previous note (recovery-linked)

AB
. (X!
B A B
A

----. X)|
C 9 points C
C

Figure 3.15. Two options for mallet motion between bars.

The first diagram shown above illustrates a stroke that strikes the bar, returns up, pauses

for a brief moment, then moves into position to strike another bar. This may be commonly seen in

a player that is unsure of the next note, or simply is not moving the mallet as efficiently as they

could be. The second diagram shown illustrates the path of a mallet shifting gracefully from one

note to prepare for the next as soon as it is played. In this way, the end of the first note prepares

the mallet to play the second note correctly, and trains it to do so every time it is practiced. The

key to practicing in this way is keeping the tempo extremely slow to allow for precise and efficient

movement between notes, then once comfort and consistency is attained, the tempo may be

63
Leigh Howard Stevens, lecture at the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar, Asbury Park, NJ, July 2014.
 50

gradually increased. This process could take place in a single practice session but is most valuably

done over several days or weeks of working on a passage to attain complete fluidity once the goal

tempo is reached.

To accompany this method, Nancy Zeltsman describes further results of efficient mallet

motion.

Your tone will always be fuller and warmer if your mallets are in position, ready to
play, if for only a split second, before you need to. In contrast, if you rush to reach
a note and strike it the very moment you arrive, the sound quality will be a bit slappy
and harsh. Being at the note(s) before you need to play particularly improves the
tone quality of long and/or loud notes. It’s a good general guideline for all your
playing; being in position to play every note before you need to will also improve
your focus and note accuracy.64

The more one is able to practice shifting from note to note in this manner, supported with

relaxed technique, the more likely the performance of the passage will be fluid and effortless as

knowledge of the piece increases. This practice of shifting between notes is important to implement

in the early stages of note learning on any keyboard percussion instrument because it trains

accuracy and fluidity from the very start.

This is not to say that one should only ever use the piston stroke. As shown in the previous

section on snare drum playing, considering a variety of stroke-types while playing keyboard

percussion can assist the player in determining different types of efficient motion and clear

articulation of a passage. Gene Koshinski describes the use of a variety of stroke-types that all use

a “full-stroke” motion but are executed using different velocities in order to produce different tonal

results.65 Nancy Zeltsman also supports this concept of using a relaxed down-stroke to encourage

64
Nancy Zeltsman, Four-Mallet Marimba Playing: A Musical Approach for All Levels, (Hal Leonard, 2003), 143,
kindle.
65
Gene Koshinski, Two, 10-11.
 51

a warmer sound out of marimba bars.66 Any accomplished percussionist has a variety of stroke-

types at their disposal to in order to make the best musical decisions.

Another significant matter to consider is the height of the mallets while playing. The

famous xylophonist, George Hamilton Green, insists on the importance of efficient mallet motion

in his instructional course for xylophone.

Always keep the hammers low. This is absolutely necessary in order to obtain
speed. When striking a note, do not raise the hammers any higher than necessary.
The lower you keep the hammers the better. Remember, it takes more time to raise
the hammers six inches and bring them back, than it does to raise them only three
inches.67

While louder dynamics may require more mallet height, playing higher than absolutely

necessary wastes energy in the stroke and increases the chances of hitting incorrect notes. Training

one’s hands to only play as high as necessary, particularly in very active passages of music, will

allow the player to move about the keyboard with much more efficiency and accuracy.

Corresponding directly to the motion of the mallets, sticking is one element that most

percussionists determine as soon as they begin learning a piece on any percussion instrument. Most

professionals agree that this is important to establish early in order to reinforce correct input of the

notes into one’s muscle memory.68 An effective choice of sticking facilitates the smoothest path

from one note to the next, but also can determine the flow of the musical line and articulation of a

given passage. Just like with determining stickings and stroke-types on snare drum, going through

this process on keyboard percussion may take some time to compare stickings at the slow,

66
Nancy Zeltsman, Four-Mallet Marimba Playing, 50-53.
67
George Hamilton Green, Instruction Course for Xylophone, ed. Randy Eyles and Garwood Whaley, (USA:
Meredith Music Publications, 1984), 3.
68
Colin Hill, “The 10,000 Hour Threshold,” 120.
 52

“learning” tempo with the actual performance tempo to ensure that they will work. Gene Koshinski

offers the following advice for this process of determining effective sticking.

When making sticking decisions, consider the options from both a technical and
musical perspective and define the sticking as early as possible in the learning
process (including marking it in the score). . . . Many young players make their
sticking choices based on what’s most comfortable at the moment. My personal
approach is to evaluate and decide on a sticking based on what the music calls for,
not what necessarily feels comfortable to me at the moment. If there is a sticking
option that is clearly the best way to approach the passage, I will practice it until it
feels comfortable to me.69

A well-thought-out sticking ensures that each hand can move fluidly and naturally (or as

naturally as possible) between notes while also producing a full sound and serving the musical

line. Oftentimes, a simple alternating sticking provides a good foundation for fluidity, but there

may never necessarily be one perfect sticking for a given passage; it depends on each player’s

physiology and interpretation of the music. When playing with four mallets, Nancy Zeltsman

suggests to “[a]lways try to recognize which mallets could be used in order for you to move around

as little as possible. Think in terms of minimal movement both in terms of keeping your mallet

heads low and moving your body as little as possible.”70 Each player should take this advice into

consideration and determine which stickings will contribute the most to playing a fluid, musical

line.

One final point to consider is how the body can be used in different ways (besides moving

the feet) to facilitate navigation around the keyboard. Especially while playing with four mallets,

there are times when a passage may require a somewhat awkward positioning or movement of the

arms or wrists. Usually, these issues can be overcome by some physical experimentation and

69
Gene Koshinski, Two, 14.
70
Nancy Zeltsman, Four-Mallet Marimba Playing, 159.
 53

creativity. The generally preferred method of horizontal movement is led by the forearms (initiated

by the shoulders), and the vertical motion from the mallet is led by the wrist (initiated from the

forearm muscles). In instances where the keyboardist has to access intervals that span across both

natural and accidental manuals of the instrument using two mallets in one hand, the range of

motion of the forearm alone may not be the most helpful to get into proper playing position. In this

instance, thinking about the elbow and shoulder leading the horizontal motion can assist in

bringing the forearm and wrist into the right position to comfortably strike the notes in the desired

playing areas. One example of a musical passage that warrants this type of motion can be seen in

the following excerpt from Emmanuel Séjourné’s Karnataka.

Figure 3.16. Cumbersome interval changes in mallets 3 and 4. Intervals notated in boxes.71

In this passage, mallets 3 and 4 in the right hand have to continually shift between major-

7th intervals that switch positioning on the natural and accidental manuals of the marimba. Because

of the wide interval, smaller size of the bars, and desired playing area in order to produce a full

sound, this movement can be cumbersome to perform. By leading each direction change with the

elbow, whether it moves vertically outward away from the torso or inward towards the torso, this

motion becomes more efficient because of the larger muscle groups from the upper arm and

shoulder assisting in leading the motion with the elbow.

71
Emmanuel Sejourne, Karanataka.
 54

In other instances, simply shifting body weight in one direction can help solve similar

issues. Nancy Zeltsman offers the following advice for this situation.

Don’t hesitate to change your body position if it will put you at a better angle to
play an awkward interval. For example, if you need to play B, D, F-sharp and A,
it’s quite awkward if you’re standing right in front of the chord because of the angle
of your right wrist (which is contorted in order to play the F-sharp and A, even if
you play the F-sharp on the edge beating spot). If you take a small step to the left
(or even keep your feet in the same place and just shift your weight to the left side),
your right wrist will be in a much more comfortable position while playing the F-
sharp and A. This shift will compromise all your beating spots slightly, but try to
compensate and mitigate this as much as possible.72

Another issue to consider is that of extreme range. Many advanced pieces for solo marimba

require the performer to play notes in both the high and low range simultaneously. As noted

previously in the discussion on body positioning, Gene Koshinski suggests bending the knees to

lower one’s center of gravity in order to take full advantage of the length of one’s arms. If this is

a necessary movement, the performer should carefully plan exactly how and when they will

position their body in this way in order to practice and approach it with fluidity and consistency,

as well as in a way that will not cause extra tension in the body or stroke.

While there may be other instances where physical adjustments may need to be made in

order to play with fluidity, these concepts should at least lay a foundation for any student looking

to troubleshoot issues with fluidity, tension, or just start with good concepts of motion from the

beginning of learning a new piece. With each of these concepts – positioning of the body, the

piston stroke, hyper-shifting, sticking, and leading with appropriate parts of the body – one should

take note of the three barometers of kinesthetic awareness to check for ease, pain, or discomfort

along the way, and experiment in order to find a way of execution that works best for their own

72
Nancy Zeltsman, Four-Mallet Marimba Playing, 143-144, kindle.
 55

physiology. Each of these elements previously discussed, if given proper care and attention from

the start, will facilitate relaxed, fluid, and musical playing on keyboard percussion instruments.

Existing Exercises and Methods

There are innumerable existing exercises and methodologies available in print form for

today’s student to study. Many of these resources come with their own explanation of technique,

some of which are dependent on the type of four-mallet technique used. However, much of this

information is universal and can be applied to any area of keyboard percussion playing. The

following innovative methods are some that are specifically beneficial for the student looking to

improve fluidity in their keyboard percussion playing.

One significant source for this area of study is Gordon Stout’s Ideo-Kinetics: A Workbook

for Marimba Technique. Stout’s term “Ideo-Kinetics” refers to “the idea and specific approach

through which the horizontal distance from one note to another may be memorized ‘by feel’ in

relation to a point of reference.”73 The main concept of this exercise system is “to visually

concentrate only on the notes of the instrument directly in front of the body, and kinesthetically

memorize the distance from those reference notes to those outside the immediate field of vision.”74

Through this system, one can develop a knowledge of the keyboard in a much deeper way by

building confidence in moving to each note with minimal visual change. The simplest of Stout’s

exercises can be seen in figure 3.17 below. In this exercise, the player focuses their attention

around the “rotation note” (A) and chromatically moves the hands up and down the keyboard. The

eyes should not follow the hands but should remain focused on the rotation note.

73
Gordon Stout, Ideo-Kinetics: A Workbook for Marimba Technique, (Asbury Park, NJ: Keyboard Percussion
Publications, 2001), 6.
74
Ibid.
 56

Figure 3.17. Example of the simplest of Stout’s Ideo-Kinetic exercises.75

Stout suggests that each exercise in his book may be transposed to rotate around any pitch

in order to train this ability in other areas of the instrument. Although most of the exercises in the

book only span the range of an octave, which is difficult in and of itself, Stout also encourages

players to extend exercises beyond an octave to further train the range of this skill. Along with

these considerations and in order to get the most out of practicing these exercises, the following

ten points are offered.

1. Play slowly at first

2. Watch and center your body only around the rotation note
3. Repeat many times
4. Don’t stop to fix wrong notes
5. Keep the mallets and wrists low
6. Start on different notes
7. Change sticking formats (hands alternating, hands separate, hands together)
8. Create different rhythms and sticking patterns
9. Use different harmonies or scale patterns
10. Use “rotation intervals” 76

75
Ibid, 11.
76
Ibid, 7-8.
 57

A rotation interval is the same concept as the rotation note, only that the focus is placed on

two notes being played in the center, rather than one. The notes to follow can then be single notes,

transpositions of the rotation interval, or different intervals entirely. Once again, the player is

encouraged to create their own variations of these exercises. An example of a rotation interval

exercise is shown below in figure 3.18.

This exercise uses a rotation interval instead of a single rotation note. It is played with hands together to develop accurate double
vertical stroke technique. This exercise proceeds in one direction. Try it in the other direction as well. With four mallets, play with
either hand.

Slow-Fast
m2 M2 m3 M3 P4 Aug. 4

PP rotation interval Oct.

P5 m6 M6 m7 M7

M7 m7 M6 m6 P5 Aug. 4

M3 m3 M2 m2

Figure 3.18. Exercises based around a rotation interval on C and G.77

While some of the two-mallet exercises can also be performed with four mallets, Stout

offers a variety of specific four-mallet exercises with which to experiment. These exercises are

especially difficult simply because of all of the notes for which the player must account but are

invaluable in training this skill for fluid execution of advanced four-mallet repertoire. Figure 3.19

shows an example of one of Stout’s four-mallet exercises. The visual focus for this particular

77
Ibid, 14.
 58

exercise should be maintained in between the rotation intervals C-G, separated by an octave in the

right and left hands.

Figure 3.19. Four-mallet exercise based on the C-G rotation intervals.78

One final type of exercise in Stout’s book that are worth mentioning are his “Arm

Rotation Exercises,” which are based on the concept of moving between notes guided by the

elbow or shoulder, mentioned at the end of the previous section. While these exercises are not as

strictly based in Ideo-Kinetics, they do prove useful in being able to fluidly move the mallets

between the natural and accidental keyboards of the marimba while playing tritones or other

intervals that require this motion.

78
Ibid, 25.
 59

Slow-Fast
left hand
1.
2 3 4
5

PP

Slow-Fast 2.
right hand
2 3 4 5

PP

Figure 3.20. Shifting intervals with one mallet on the upper and the other on the lower keyboard.79

Another valuable, although maybe not as well known, resource that uses these concepts is

Kristen Shiner McGuire’s book, Mallet Percussion Workout. Using Stout’s method, she provides

much simpler exercises as well as parameters for students to create their own. McGuire states that

these “focus exercises” are serve the purpose of “develop[ing] the ability to play music accurately

and fluidly while reading music, without looking down at the keyboard.”80

Among many more valuable exercises in this book is McGuire’s concept of developing

scales through pattern visualization. This is a simple idea but can be very useful to those students

who are working on memorizing their scales and playing them with fluidity. By visualizing scales,

or furthermore, any pattern in the repertoire in this manner, the performer will have a much clearer

understanding of how the mallets move horizontally about the keyboard, which may greatly inform

79
Ibid, 33.
80
Kristen Shiner McGuire, Mallet Percussion Workout: A Methods Companion for All, Beginners Through
Professionals, (Los Angeles: Alfred Music, 2013), 17.
 60

their execution of the notes. One example of scale visualization is illustrated in figure 3.21. This

example outlines the horizontal path that the mallets will take while playing in major keys.

Two Octave Scale Shapes: Sharp Keys

Trace the shape of each scale with one mallet above the keyboard before playing.

Figure 3.21. Major key scale pattern visualization.81

One other innovative practice method for keyboard percussion is Gene Koshinsi’s Additive

Method for Two-Mallet Study. This method aims to develop the performer’s facility with the most

common technical issues found in the two-mallet repertoire, including scales, arpeggios, double

stops, rolls, leaps, and more. Each of these areas is assigned a series of exercises based on

Koshinski’s “Additive Procedure,” which starts with one note and gradually adds on more. For

example, if playing a major scale, the procedure follows this pattern: 1-2, 1-2-3-2, 1-2-3-4-3-2, 1-

2-3-4-5-4-3-2, etc. Koshinski describes the practical application of this practice method.

81
Ibid, 41.
 61

These exercises, if practiced and performed properly, will help the percussionist
develop more facility than traditional keyboard exercises. . . . Very rarely does a
passage in the solo, chamber, or orchestral repertoire use an entire scale or arpeggio
moving in one direction. Most traditional two-mallet exercises only target such an
occurrence. The additive procedure will prepare the percussionist for nearly all
possible technical situations.82

The key to mastering this method is not only by playing this procedure in its basic form,

but also adding variation. Koshinski establishes the following practice rules to enhance the

performer’s fluidity throughout using this method.

1. Perform each exercise with as many variations as possible.

2. Perform every exercise starting from each scale degree/chord tone.
3. Perform each exercise at least 2 octaves.
4. Perform each exercise descending as well as ascending.
5. Perform each exercise in segments by looping each fragment of the exercise.
6. Perform each exercise with one hand only.
7. Perform each exercise leading with both the right hand and the left hand.
8. Approach each exercise with a realistic tempo and always with a metronome.
9. Practice each exercise with alternative stickings.83

By practicing various scales, arpeggios, or other common patterns in this way, a student

may greatly develop their fluidity around the keyboard. It may also be extremely effective to

combine some of Koshinski’s exercises with Stout’s methodologies. The possibilities for these

types of exercises are nearly endless and allow the individual a great amount of variety for

applying these concepts into practice.

82
Gene Koshinski, The Additive Method of Two-Mallet Study, (New York: Bachovich Music Publications, 2010), 6.
83
Ibid, 8-9.
 62

Many other methods for keyboard percussion playing are available to today’s developing

percussion student and present a large variety of material for which a student to apply their

development of fluidity. Considering a depth of exercises, some of the most used include George

Hamilton Green’s Instruction Course for Xylophone for two-mallet playing, and Leigh Howard

Stevens’ Method of Movement for Marimba for four-mallet playing. These and any of the resources

quoted in the previous section provide a great deal of knowledge and application about how to

properly and efficiently move around the keyboard in any setting. Any resource a student chooses

to use may present valuable exercise material and may go as far as the student is willing to take

them in regard to playing with fluidity, clarity, and musicality.

Creating Fluidity Exercises

As was the case with snare drum playing, similar questions may be asked when analyzing

or rehearsing the technical possibilities within a difficult musical excerpt on keyboard percussion.

The following steps and questions should guide the performer in determining not only how to

approach the passage most fluidly, but with a touch that is appropriate to their physiology and an

interpretation in accordance with their musical mind.

1. Analyze the passage.

a. What stroke-types or techniques are required to carry out this passage

effectively?
b. What are some sticking options that could help this passage flow the best?
c. Are there sections of this excerpt that could benefit from hyper-shifting
practice?

2. Break the passage down into its basic elements. On keyboard percussion, this could
include:

a. Defining one’s “home base” body position during the passage and writing this
in the score.
b. Separating the hands and training their individual stroke-types and/or paths
from one note to the next.
i. Practicing stroke-type coordination between both hands.
 63

c. Checking the sticking to enable the most fluid execution of the passage.
d. Utilize hyper-shifting motion between each note or at least any section with
large leaps.
e. Analyzing any moments of awkward wrist angle or body positioning and
determining the most comfortable or realistic scenario.

3. As practice is being done on the elements from step three, spend time focusing on the
following questions:

a. Is there any tension present in the fingers, wrist, forearm, shoulders, or other
parts of the body as the passage is being played? If so, adjust to release the
tension and continue.
b. Is the motion of each mallet as efficient and fluid as possible?
c. Is the motion and sound consistent between both mallets?
d. Does the time feel relaxed and steady, or on edge? If necessary, slow the
tempo down to one that feels comfortable until ready to speed it up.
e. What is the desired sound of this passage, and is it coming across? If not, what
elements can be adjusted?

With these questions as a foundation, the following few examples include various excerpts

from Emmanuel Séjourné’s Karnataka. 84 Each of these excerpts aim to address a few of the

problem-solving steps listed above in step two.

The opening gesture of this piece (fig. 3.22) is challenging to learn and perfect because of

its angular nature and brisk tempo. Simply learning the notes to this passage and feeling

comfortable moving between them is in itself a challenging task. One effective way to learn and

rehearse a passage such as this is to break it down into a few different forms in order to simplify

the complication information between both hands. The first way one could approach this is by

taking each set of three notes and grouping them into block chords (fig. 3.23). This works well in

this instance because each set of three notes is rhythmically unified and is always played with the

same three mallets. Blocking these groups of notes together can help one recognize the visual path

84
Emmanuel Séjourné, Karnataka.
 64

that the mallets take between notes, develop note-accuracy, and reinforce the complex rhythmic

motive that occurs here. This is also an instance that would be well-served by hyper-shifting

between each chord to help train the pathway of both hands.

Figure 3.22. Opening gesture from Karnataka with sticking notated.

Figure 3.23. Opening gesture as block chords.

Another way to approach breaking down this passage in order to learn and practice it

effectively is by separating the hands (fig. 3.24 and 25) and individually training each hand’s

pathway through the line. While this can be rhythmically awkward, especially in the left hand, the

purpose in this case is more about fluidity of motion between each note than it is about total

rhythmic accuracy. Once again, hyper-shifting could be used while practicing this way as well to

reinforce efficient motion between each note. In this step, focus should be given to achieving a

relaxed and fluid motion through each stroke.

 65

Figure 3.24. Opening gesture, right hand only.

Figure 3.25. Opening gesture, left hand only.

Another difficult passage to execute is shown in figure 3.26. Once again, this passage is

difficult to learn and master because of its angularity, brisk tempo, and extremely large range

across almost the entire marimba. Breaking this passage into smaller groups of notes is yet again

another helpful way to approach this section, although this approach will look slightly different

from that of the previous excerpt. Through experimentation with different sticking options, a clear

pattern of three-note groups seemed to emerge with the option that is notated below; this of course

is also reinforced by the fact that the passage is built on triplet subdivisions. Therefore, one simple

way to practice this section is to isolate each three-note group (fig. 3.27), practice with hyper-

shifting, then practice moving between each group with hyper-shifting as well (3.28). This

approach assists in memory of the notes by chunking them together, and gradually adding on larger

pieces to those smaller chunks.

 66

Figure 3.26. m. 92-94, as written.

Figure 3.27. m. 92, chunked into three-note groups, isolated. Hyper-shifting noted by arrows.

Figure 3.28. m.92-94, chunked into three-note groups, strung together using hyper-shifting.

One final example from this piece has the potential for a variety of challenges all at once.

This excerpt stretches the player across three-and-a-half octaves simultaneously and requires an

in-depth analysis of stroke-types in order to play with any sense of phrasing and fluidity across the

broad range it requires. The phrase markings, emphases, and dynamic shaping noted below (fig.

3.29) have been added to the original score to indicate one musical interpretation of this passage.
 67

Figure 3.29. m. 110-115.

Because this passage spans such a large range of the lower end of the marimba, it is vital

to establish a “home base” position in order to accurately build muscle memory of this passage

over time since this wide stretch will naturally be uncomfortable. In this case, it has been found

helpful to position the body in front of the A-flat in the middle of the range being played. This

positioning places the performer in an ideal location to reach all the necessary notes. Because this

section requires such a large range, it is also helpful (at least for a performer of the average height)

to lower one’s center of gravity in order to more easily reach across from the low C to the high G.

Once the body is in the ideal position for execution of this passage, another important factor

to consider is how the mallets should move. The stroke-types noted above were determined based

on the desired musical shape of this section, as well as any technical issues presented when moving

between notes. For example, the stroke-type pattern “F-D-T-U” in the left hand of the first measure

serves both the desired articulation, and the difficulty of moving between each of those notes with

both fluidity and fullness of volume. Initially, this passage was approached as all full-strokes,

which was actually determined to be less efficient because of extra motion of the mallets going

upward on the second the second and third notes.

 68

This passage is also another place where isolation the motion of each hand is extremely

beneficial. Considering the vast difference in stroke-types decided upon in each hand, it is of great

benefit to the performer to master each hand’s stroke-types, then gradually learn how it feels to

incorporate both hands at the same time. While the coordination of this effort can be especially

difficult, the result is two clear, contrasting, and complementary musical lines on each end of the

marimba, which presents a polished musical product.

These examples present just a few common instances in the keyboard percussion literature

where it can be beneficial to break down or isolate specific elements of a passage to simplify and

gradually train fluidity into one’s learning of the music. Approaching both the learning and

polishing of notes in this way is of great benefit to any percussionist wishing to play with the

utmost fluidity, accuracy, and musicality.

Multiple-Percussion

If one has mastered technical concepts from each of the previous instrumental studies, they

will be well suited to play with fluidity on a multiple-percussion set-up. Perhaps this is why many

students first approach learning a concert piece for multiple-percussion later in their collegiate

studies, after developing a high level of facility on snare drum, keyboard percussion, and timpani,

among other instruments. Most students also develop basic skills for multiple-percussion playing

through experience playing in wind ensemble or percussion ensemble.85 It is also notable that very

view method books exist on the specific subject of playing multiple-percussion. For one, this

85
Benjamin Charles, “ Multi-Percussion in the Undergraduate Curriculum,” (DMA essay., University of Miami,
2014), 27, accessed March 15, 2021, https://www.pas.org/docs/default-
source/thesisdissertations/keller_reneeea7e7bc6de1726e19ba7fff00008669d1.pdf.
 69

category of instrumentation is so broad, and the possibility of set-up configurations is so limitless,

that it is understandably difficult to fit the study of this practice into a technique-focused volume.

Many of the early works for solo multiple-percussion utilized massive set-ups that were entirely

different between each piece, and while many great soloists learned how to play fluidly and

extremely expressively within that context, there is no doubt that an enormous challenge was

involved due to the sheer amount of physical space to cover in practice and performance of the

music. In the present age, many contemporary works for multiple-percussion have become more

manageable in size, and even though they each may have very different instrumentation and set-

up considerations, some commonalities exist in how one may approach learning a new piece for

multiple-percussion from a fluidity-building standpoint.

Specific Challenges: Establishing an Efficient Set-Up

A primary roadblock in developing fluidity within any new piece of multiple-percussion

repertoire is the fact that every piece requires learning an entirely new set-up of instruments.

Because of this, it is imperative that the performer is thoughtful and methodical about how they

choose to arrange each instrument within their set-up. Even in instances where a composer may

suggest a specific arrangement of instruments, it should be understood that the performer may

choose to modify the suggested arrangement to suit their individual musical and physiological

needs. Michael Udow suggests that choosing an effective set-up should be done after thorough

study of the score in order to determine what arrangement will best suit a performer’s interpretation

of the work.86 He also provides suggestions for organizing instruments by timbre and decay.87 Of

86
Colin Hill, “The 10,000 Hour Threshold,” 212.
87
Michael W. Udow and Chris Watts, The Contemporary Percussionist: 20 Multiple Percussion Recital Solos, (Ft.
Lauderdale: Meredith Music Publications, 1986), 2-3.
 70

course, a significant part in determining an effective arrangement of instruments is dependent on

the general type of movements needed to perform the piece. Steven Schick offers the following

reflection about how this is related to human physiology and the art of percussive gesture within

this genre of music-making.

Looking closely at gesture and its relationship to percussion music requires an

examination of how human bodies move in performing on percussion instruments.
We humans are combinations of more or less straight bones that are connected to
our torsos by rotating ball-and-socket joints. We position ourselves over percussion
instruments by means of gross movements involving the legs and torso and then
strike the instruments with motions initiated by the arm, wrist, or hand. As a result,
most percussive gesture consists of two concurrent bodily tempi that are typified
by two very different types of motion: fast movements necessary to play individual
notes are usually angular motions, but slower preparatory movements involving
ball-and-socket joints are often curving. Multiple percussion set-ups are best
designed accordingly. The most efficient arrangements do not impede the small
angular gestures of striking - groups of instruments are set at the same height and
positioned as close as possible to accommodate short strokes. But the entire set-up
is often rounded as a reflection of the rotating motion of shoulders and hips as they
position the body to strike. . . . Serious technical problems result if these functions
are confused. In a set up where a performer has to reach out and over several ranks
of instruments (think of leaning over a vibraphone and row of cymbals to play a set
of temple blocks, for example) the body loses its ability to prepare and support the
stroke. Instead the player bends forward, and the arms and hands must both position
the stroke as well as execute it. The lack of support from the torso reduces sound
density, causes fatigue, and, not least of all, looks awkward.88

By carefully considering the score, physical elements such as instrument height and

spacing, and one’s ability to comfortably reach and produce full sounds on each instrument in the

collection, a performer will at least have a strong basis for how to begin to arrange instruments

when approaching a new piece. This is not to say that the set-up cannot change once work on the

piece has begun, but it is highly advantageous for the performer to make informed choices from

88
Steven Schick, The Percussionist’s Art: Same Bed, Different Dreams, (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester
Press, 2006), 142.
 71

the beginning in order to avoid having to re-learning sections of music later on in the process.

Depending on the context, determining an appropriate arrangement of instruments may be simple

or very complicated. For example, if the piece utilizes a series of tuned drums that are more often

than not played in order, it may make sense to place those drums in order from left to right as one

would play marimba. Even in that configuration, the drums could be positioned “chromatically”

or “diatonically,” likened to the arrangement of notes on a keyboard. However, if there are

recurring passages in the music that, after experimentation, make use of a pattern that is more fluid

to perform with the drums in a different order, the performer might consider adjusting the

arrangement of the drums to suit the context.

In the case of Iannis Xenakis work, Rebonds b, five drums (bass drum, tom-tom, tumba,

and a pair of bongos) and five woodblocks are called for, but no specific set-up consideration is

provided. After examining the score, it is clear that a majority of the piece is divided into two

drum-based voices – a steady, rhythmic pulse on the high bongo, and a cyclical five-note melodic

voice across the other four drums. In this case, the steady-pulse voice is primarily kept in the right

hand, whereas the melodic voice is kept in the left hand. Due to the cyclical nature of the melodic

voice, one way to approach setting up this piece is to consider an arrangement of drums that will

facilitate efficient movement of the left hand between each drum through the course of the

repeating melody. Considering also the placement of the woodblocks, they should be placed in a

position that is both out of the way of the drums, but still allows a natural playing position. The

image below shows one interpretation of this set-up based on these important considerations.
 72

Figure 3.30. Rebonds b set-up. Path of the left hand indicated by the line, each note indicated by dots on the line.

By taking the time to choose an effective arrangement of instruments, the percussionist is

setting themselves up to be able to perform the piece as effortlessly as possible. Schick reinforces

that “[a] performer who obeys the dual rules of preparation and stroke by constructing compact,

well-organized set-ups curates efficiency. With efficiency comes organicity and ease of

performance.”89 Because the performer has the freedom to arrange instruments in any way they

wish (as is physically possible), the amount of fluidity by which they are able to contribute to the

performance of the piece is predominantly determined by this first important step.

Existing Exercises and Methods

There are not many published methods on the general approach toward multiple-percussion

playing. As stated by Benjamin Charles in his dissertation on multiple-percussion in the

undergraduate curriculum, “perhaps the lack of multi-percussion method books can be attributed

to the wide variety of multi-percussion styles, ranging from avant-garde sonic exploration pieces

89
Schick, The Percussionist’s Art, 142.
 73

to virtuosic drum solos.”90 This issue has become evident, and has been addressed by a few

composers and pedagogues over the past several years. This list includes publications by Michael

Udow, Nick Petrella,91 and Brett William Dietz,92 among a few others, but most of these books

simply provide sequential musical etudes for study. Perhaps this is one of the more effective ways

to develop multiple-percussion technique – by simply playing repertoire that gradually becomes

more difficult, and discovering new concepts as each new piece is learned. Even though there is a

general lack of documented methodology regarding technique in this area, there are at least a few

resources that are of assistance in organizing one’s practice of a multiple-percussion piece, three

of which will be discussed here.

One significant resource is Michael Udow’s collection of etudes, The Contemporary

Percussionist. This collection of short concert pieces for multiple-percussion begins with two

instruments, and gradually increases to twelve, providing a gradual experience for those students

who may be new to the genre of multiple-percussion playing. One simple exercise concept

included in this resource is the encouragement to practice moving the mallets with a varied pattern

of sticking to practice developing fluidity around the set-up (fig. 3.31). While these exercises are

primarily geared toward the etudes to be performed in this specific collection, the concept they

showcase is still valuable and can be applied to a variety of multiple-percussion set-ups.

90
Benjamin Charles, “ Multi-Percussion in the Undergraduate Curriculum,” 10.
91
Nick Petrella, The Multiple Percussion Book: Concepts for a Musical Performance, (New York: Carl Fischer,
2000).
92
Brett William Dietz, Reflex: 15 Studies for the Intermediate Multi-Percussionist, (Greensboro, NC: C Alan
Publications, 2009).
 74

2 3 4 1 2 4 3
13 2 4
13 4 2

21 4 3 1 2 4 2 3 1

Also, practice each exercise beginning on a different beat.

Group the beats into two, three, four, and five note groups.

Then try adding different accents to specific notes (this accent pattern is the basic bossa nova beat).

Figure 3.31. Udow's multiple-percussion sticking exercises.93

Brett William Dietz provides a similar format in his collection of etudes. In the

introduction to his book, he emphasizes the importance of a relaxed and balanced body position

(especially when required to use a kick pedal), and encourages the performer to experiment with

the set-up, instrument height, and sticking options to facilitate the most fluid performance for the

individual.94 His etudes are also structured in manner that gradually use more instruments and

become more difficult as the player progresses through each piece.

Larry Snider also addresses the art of multiple-percussion playing in his article, “The Logic

of Swatting Flies.” In this article, Snider describes a unique method by which to learn and rehearse

93
Michael W. Udow and Chris Watts, The Contemporary Percussionists: 20 Multiple Percussion Recital Solos, (Ft.
Lauderdale: Meredith Music Publications, 1986), 5.
94
Brett William Dietz, Reflex, 3-4.
 75

a new piece for multiple-percussion. This method consists of determining a set-up, initially

learning the piece at the instrument, and then spending a great deal of time actually practicing the

piece away from the set-up itself by “air playing.” Snider’s main goal of rehearsing this way is to

save the player the extra energy of setting up the instruments for the piece, but also to reinforce

one’s aural, visual, and kinesthetic perceptions of the piece by using the imagination.95 This

creative approach to practicing multiple-percussion can be advantageous, especially when

rehearsing specific passages that require consistent and repetitive gestures.

Creating Fluidity Exercises

Many concepts discussed in the previous sections on snare drum and keyboard percussion

cover most of the ground necessary to perform efficiently on multiple-percussion. A continued

focus on stroke-type, direction of the sticks or mallets, and overall musical gesture proves helpful

in developing fluidity as one learns a new piece for multiple-percussion. Given the fact that playing

multiple-percussion is similar to keyboard percussion in that various surfaces are being struck,

many practice concepts can be shared between these two instrumentations. The following steps

may be used to facilitate the development of fluidity within a specific passage of multiple-

percussion music.

1. Analyze the passage.

a. What stroke-types or techniques are required to carry out this passage

effectively?
b. What are some sticking options that could help this passage flow the best?
c. Are there sections of this excerpt that could benefit from hyper-shifting
practice?

95
Larry Snider, “The Logic of Swatting Flies,” Percussive Notes 41, no. 2 (April 2003): 54-56,
http://publications.pas.org/Education/0304.54-57.pdf.
 76

2. Break the passage down into its basic elements. On multiple-percussion, this
could include:

a. If playing in a large set-up where varying body placement is required,

defining one’s “home base” during the passage and writing this in the
score.
b. Separating the hands and training their individual stroke-types and/or
paths from one note to the next.
i. Practicing stroke-type coordination between both hands.
c. Checking the sticking to enable the most fluid execution of the passage.
d. Utilize hyper-shifting motion between each note or at least any section
with large leaps between instruments.
e. Analyzing any moments of awkward wrist angle or body positioning and
determining the most comfortable or realistic scenario.

3. As practice is being done on the elements from step three, spend time focusing on
the following questions:

a. Is there any tension present in the fingers, wrist, forearm, shoulders, or

other parts of the body as the passage is being played? If so, adjust to
release the tension and continue.
b. Is the motion of each stick or mallet as efficient and fluid as possible?
c. Is the motion and sound consistent between both hands?
d. Does the time feel relaxed and steady, or on edge? If necessary, slow the
tempo down to one that feels comfortable until ready to speed it up.
e. What is the desired sound of this passage, and is it coming across? If not,
what elements can be adjusted? Are all instruments being played in
balance with one another?

With these questions as a foundation, the following few examples are various excerpts from

Iannis Xenakis’s Rebonds b.96 Each of these excerpts aim to address a few of the problem-solving

steps listed above in step two.

The first three measures of Rebonds b (fig. 3.32) demonstrate the two-voice dialogue that

occurs throughout most of the piece. Because these voices are separate, and should be heard as

such, it is advantageous to define how each voice will be approached in order to convey this

96
Iannix Xenakis, Rebonds: pour percussion solo, (Paris: Editions Salabert, 1989).
 77

separation. Considering the revealing power of stroke-types once again in this instance proves

helpful both in aurally and visually separating these voices into two distinct layers. Figure 3.32

below illustrates the stroke-types performed in each hand during this passage, which may be

practiced and mastered separately before combining.

Figure 3.32. Opening measures of Rebonds b, separated into stroke-types.

As indicated above, the right hand primarily performs tap-strokes, whereas the left hand

primarily performs full-strokes. This simple, yet stark contrast in motion will serve the purpose of

clearly distinguishing each of these voices. However, one particular issue to note with this passage

is that even though there is a clear separation of the two- voices, it is still necessary for the left

hand to “help out” with the right hand’s voice in order to properly execute the isolated grace-note

figures (beat three of measure 2, for example). In the example above, these notes have been

indicated by parentheses on both parts. The challenge in approaching this from a separate stroke-

type standpoint is that the left hand’s consistent pattern of full-strokes must be interrupted in order

to perform the required softer notes in the right hand’s voice. Because a downstroke may produce

an undesirable visual motion (and sound) in this instance, the issue of how to rapidly transition the

left hand from a full-stroke to a tap-stroke becomes apparent. The solution used here is to employ

an invented “cushioned” or “curved” stroke, in which the mallet rebounds fully upward, but then
 78

is “cushioned” and carefully lowered with the arm in order to execute the tap-stroke. Because this

motion can feel somewhat unnatural, it is worthwhile to practice in isolation from the other hand.

When this motion has gained a substantial amount of comfort and fluidity by itself, adding it into

the context of the other hand’s music will have a much greater effect.

The next excerpt to consider is the first moment in the piece where the woodblocks are

used (fig. 3.33). One of the reasons this section is difficult is because the sequence of notes is

irregular, and the tempo is brisk. In order to help train fluid consistency and accuracy within this

passage, one helpful exercise is to once again separate the hands and train each hands’ individual

path through hyper-shifting. This may be helpful to perform in one or two beat chunks, as well as

completely strung together. The main concept of this exercise is that if each hand can perform this

motion completely fluidly on its own, then performance with both hands combined will be much

more fluid and consistent in both rhythmic and note-accuracy.

Figure 3.33. First woodblock passage, as written.

 79

Figure 3.34. Woodblock passage, hands separate (notated as 8th/16ths for ease of reading).

Another instance in which practicing with hyper-shifting proves very useful is during any

type of rapid movement back and forth from the woodblocks and the drums. The first occurrence

of this begins in m. 75-76 (fig. 3.35).

Figure 3.35. Rapid movement between drums (bottom stave) and woodblocks (top stave).

Because this passage is very fast and requires precise placement of the mallets on the drums

and woodblocks in order to produce the desired sound, practicing using hyper-shifting allows the

performer to be extremely meticulous about where each instrument is being struck, as well as

making sure the motion between each instrument is efficient and relaxed. As always is the case

with this method, care should be taken to start at an extremely slow tempo to ensure precise and
 80

efficient movement. Once comfort and repetitive consistency is attained, the tempo may be

gradually increased towards the goal tempo.

One final passage of this piece to note occurs in the final section and consists of two voices

(drums and woodblocks) being played simultaneously in opposing cyclical motion (fig. 3.36). The

cyclical patterns are divided into two segments, which are diagramed below. The fluidity of this

passage is difficult to master for a number of reasons, including the fast tempo and coordination

of the hands within the opposing patterns across two sets of instruments. Because each of the two

voices contain different numbers of notes in their respective cycles (woodblocks have five, then

four; drums have four, then six), this passage can be very difficult to master because the conflict

between the groups of notes can be confusing to perform.

Segment A

Segment B
Figure 3.36. Opposing cyclical figures on woodblocks (top stave) and drums (bottom stave), divided into two parts.

The first thing that may be helpful to consider while practicing this section is simply to

focus on each hand’s cycle within each segment. Because each voice has its own clear line, making

sure that each hand can perform its line fluidly is paramount. To help develop a fluid performance

of each line, one can envision the larger gesture that each limb performs while executing each of
 81

these segments. The shape of each gesture is diagramed in the images below, indicating the

direction of each limb and which surfaces it strikes along the way.

Figure 3.37. Segments A and B on the drums, using the left hand.

Figure 3.38. Segments A and B on the woodblocks, using the right hand.

If the performer has a clear perception of the overarching gestures of each limb, the fluidity

of motion between each note will be informed with that larger shape in mind rather than simply

focusing on striking instruments in a certain order. Practicing these gestures both in the air

(Snider’s method) and on the instruments themselves will help to ensure fluid motion of each

cyclical line.

The next challenge of this section is being able to coordinate the two conflicting gestures.

A simple way to approach this is to once again use hyper-shifting to practice and become
 82

comfortable in the kinesthetic experience of playing these lines simultaneously. This can be

accomplished by chunking both lines in groups of four notes (in accordance with an eighth-note

pulse), and gradually memorizing the feeling of the coordination within that smaller chunk. Once

every set of four notes is comfortable and completely fluid, they may be combined into chunks of

eight notes, twelve notes, or any other variation of notes depending on the performer’s preference

and mental experience of the interlocking patterns. It is also important to keep in mind that once

the size of each chunk is expanded, the performer should continually reference where that chunk

fits in with each limb’s overarching gesture in order to ensure that this motion is being maintained

through the process. With this approach, one can slowly but steadily work on the coordination of

the entire passage in pieces, then gradually work to put it together as one section.
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Conclusion

As many musicians, artists, dancers, athletes, and the like would agree, technique is only a

means to an end. All of the carefully planned, focused attention given toward this long and arduous

process of practice is simply aimed at this one higher purpose: performing music effortlessly,

beautifully, and with complete freedom of self-expression. Rudimental drummer and pedagogue

Bill Bachman summarizes this point well in his book, Stick Technique.

Technique is just a means to an end, and that end is making music without having
to think about technique. If you’re thinking about technique on the gig, you’ll sound
that way to the audience. If you’re playing from the heart, you’ll sound like you’re
expressing yourself openly—as long as your technique is at a level where the
execution (or lack of execution) of your ideas doesn’t ruin the experience for the
listener. Technique leads to ability, and ability leads to vocabulary. Having more
than enough technique, ability, and vocabulary is a good thing, since the more you
have, the more you’ll be able to draw from when the time is right.97

Percussionists can work toward this end by intentionally developing their technical fluidity.

This can be primarily accomplished by purposefully engaging the kinesthetic sense; practicing

using informed, deliberate practice techniques; and by patiently taking the necessary steps to

ensure consistent, fluid, and efficient strokes on any percussion instrument being played. These

steps will guide the student toward technique that is in service of every note played on any

percussion instrument in the future. Not only will approaching technical development in this

manner ensure that the percussionist plays in a relaxed, healthy manner, but it will also facilitate

pure musical performance, eliminate technique as a distraction, and allow the performer total

freedom of musical expression.

97
Bill Bachman, Stick Technique: The Essential Guide for the Modern Drummer, (Cedar Grove, NJ: Modern
Drummer Publications, 2011), 33, Kindle Edition.
 84

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