Fife & Drum Educational Section
7 Stroke Roll, Long Roll
June, 2023
The 7 stroke roll starts almost every fife and drum tune as well as appearing within the body of many songs.
The most important approach to mastering this rudiment is to keep your hands loose, not tightened up.
The seventh strike is hit a bit harder, that is, it is accented.
When counting the time for this rudiment in your head, you say "and one". On paper sheet music, players might write "+ 1" beneath the 7 stroke roll.
Like most drumming movements, the idea is to rotate your wrists, not raise your forearms up and down.
Once the 7 stroke roll is perfected, the 11 and 15 stroke rolls follow easily.
Drum Re-Rope 1
March 27 - December 30, 2020
Drum Maintenance
Drum Maintenance and Re-roping
Over time, drum heads wear out and become soft. In addition, the rope stretches and becomes loose. Here are some videos on how to go about loosening a drum rope in order to replace heads as well as how to go about 'pulling a drum' in order to replace the rope.
Drum Re-Rope 2
Drum Re-Rope 3A
Drum Re-Rope 3B
Drum Re-Rope 3C
April 2020
Paddy on the Handcar - Ripparger Version for Snare
I teach this lesson in several sessions. The first lessons will be for part A only. As always, the first lesson is done very slowly. The second lesson will be at normal speed. The final lesson should be played along with the music from the two YouTube links provided.
First, print out a copy of the music, page 1 only, from this link:
Paddy on the Handcar for Snare & Bass
I chose the Ripparger version because it is easy for new snare drummers to learn. As you listen to me play, play along. You should be reading the music at the same time. Try not to ‘play it by ear’ only because not being able to read the music will eventually hamper you as a drummer.
I also chose the Ripparger version because it has music for ‘doubling’, basically striking the drum nearly twice as often when the song is played a second time. We’ll cover that in the future.
Bass drummers will play the same music hitting two strokes for the 7 stroke roll and single strikes, no flams, for all other notes.
Paddy is a fast tune! Before and after you get up to full drum speed, listen to to the music. Here are links to 2 of the many renditions of Paddy that appear on YouTube:
This first one, although very fast, especially for the fifers, gives a great sense of the accent energy that bass drums can have on a fife and drum song. Are you paying attention Damian and Fabian?! :)
This second one is included here because the speed of the song is a bit slower and may be easier to practice with. I also like this video (in spite of the baby and the wobbly camera) because it demonstrates the amount of enthusiasm that a fife and drum corps - like the Cobras - can elicit from a crowd of onlookers!
Paddy on the Handcar - Part A - Slow
Paddy on the Handcar - Part B - Slow
Paddy on the Handcar - AABB - Regular Speed
March 2020
Playing the Rope Tension Snare Drum for Beginners
Lesson 1
Drum Practice Pads and How to Hold Sticks
This lesson will get you started. My narration in the video, as you will hear, is not slick, lol. But I think I get the main points across.
As to drum pads, it is a personal choice. It’s my opinion that an 8” pad is sufficient to start with. The drum pads, which last forever, are reasonably priced on Amazon. There is one double sided 6” pad by Evans that seems promising for both normal and apartment-quiet sound, although I have never used it.
Drum sticks are also a personal choice. Because we play outside using larger drums, I recommend a thicker, heavier drum stick as opposed to normal drum kit sticks. One needs more force to make a sound. One set of sticks that look good on Amazon - although I don’t know what they are really like - are Promark TXR2BW sticks.
So have a look and ask questions anytime!
Cobra Fife & Drum Practice Notes
November 24, 2019
Lesson 25
This is the one that sounds like you are knocking on someone's door. The first stroke can be a single note or a flam.
Flamacue
The key to this rudiment is learning how to give a very strong accent on the second stroke.
TC Fife & Drum Street Beat
This is our current street beat.
For Fifers and Drummers:
December 4, 2019
The newest song will be Welcome Here Again. Why? Well, as a fife tune, it is easier to play than British Grenadiers. And since an MLK parade is on the horizon, it may be better to attempt Welcome.
Drummers! You are not actually off the hook. Because Brandon, Nate and Severen did so well this past Monday, you are still charged with learning British Grenadiers as well as starting Welcome Here Again!
Here is a link to how Welcome sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMncA0yfsBU
Below is the sheet music for fife and for drum:
British Grenadiers
December 18, 2019
For drummers, sheet for British Grenadiers.
For fifers and drummers, a link so that you can hear the music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS5NjIsPkNY
British Grenadiers Drum Part A, played twice, played slowly.
British Grenadiers Drum Part B, played twice, played slowly.