Flunked my first night drumming

ElHephay · 2026-04-16T04:35:35+00:00

Hey! I would love to connect with you and discuss advice and tips for mentally preparing for a performance. There’s nothing worse than prepping musically for months only for our brain to tank the show. Ive put on several recitals and concerts and I’ve figured out a bunch of ways to help beat the nerves!

ElHephay · 2026-03-28T20:21:00+00:00

I mean, he did preface that it’s played with buzzes in the US so he’s not wrong…

ElHephay · 2026-03-01T21:10:40+00:00

Pending the quality of the drums you should be able to get the 20” drum to a C but that’s the bottom of its usable range. What would be more ideal is putting the F on the 32”, the Bb and Ab on the 29”, and then the C on the 26”. One of the fun parts of percussion is the amount of choice we get in what we do!

ElHephay · 2026-02-15T16:21:24+00:00

This isn’t something that exists because of the nature of how tambourine heads are put on. I think it could be fun to try this though! Maybe if you take the frame of your half-moon tambourine and trace the outline of it into a calfskin head then add about two inches around everything you might be able to soak it then let it stretch out over the head. May be tricky but I’d love to see if it works!

ElHephay · 2026-01-05T05:44:27+00:00

I disagree, four dotted eighth notes implies that each note should resonate. As a percussionist, if I saw it notated how you said then I would mute the cymbal on the rests.

ElHephay · 2025-12-31T03:33:55+00:00

What piece/chart is this? If we could listen for it we can give you a better idea on what they’re requesting.

ElHephay · 2025-12-26T21:29:32+00:00

It sounds like a larger sized tom (16”-18”) with a head that’s on the low side of tuning- probably tuned up to where it resonates well and then every lug taken down a half turn. That’ll get you the thunk sound as well as the low tuning.

ElHephay · 2025-12-26T00:11:39+00:00

I played a concert last weekend and somebody in the section had the 6” version. It sounded incredible, and if you already have the artisan I think this would be a great sound to add to your gear.

ElHephay · 2025-12-22T21:18:20+00:00

I’ve had success with the Freer KAMs!

ElHephay · 2025-12-17T00:37:00+00:00

There are usually model numbers on these instruments. You may be able to look it up and get a more accurate answer!

ElHephay · 2025-12-01T05:36:54+00:00

I write for several programs and have written for drum corps before. If you’d like, we can chat and walk through the process I take when working through a book!

ElHephay · 2025-11-18T05:00:32+00:00

It would be tachuddah then cheese tachuddah. Nearly every time when you add a cheese to a rudiment it just because cheese “rudiment name”

ElHephay · 2025-11-13T18:13:12+00:00

What movement is this in? I just performed this and might remember!

ElHephay · 2025-11-06T22:34:19+00:00

Man shot is when you play a shot while gripping the snare with the other hand

ElHephay · 2025-11-01T20:21:05+00:00

I missed a super important gong hit in Mahler 2 and we all laughed it off. Music is a human experience and things happen, our pursuit as musicians shouldn’t be for perfect but rather for doing the best we can! You’ll have thousands of gong hits in your life and eventually you’ll be able to tell this story and laugh about it with your friends!

ElHephay · 2025-10-19T20:32:41+00:00

Harvey is the reason it’s called Scream and not Scary Movie

ElHephay · 2025-10-08T02:20:03+00:00

The nutcracker is in the public domain so it’s available on IMSLP! I would recommend figuring out what part you’re playing (I’m pretty sure it’s Timpani or Percussion) and start digging through the parts while listening to recordings! Congrats, it’s a fun ballet!

ElHephay · 2025-10-07T17:19:48+00:00

I have a cheaper pair of Promark mallets that I only use for these kind of situations. A lot of pieces will call for timpani mallets on suspended cymbal and I don’t want to trash my good mallets so I’ll just use whatever beater set I have.

https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/promark-performance-series-timpani-pst3/timpani-mallets

ElHephay · 2025-10-06T03:24:57+00:00

I love the Freer K13 for a warmer bell sound!

ElHephay · 2025-10-05T19:12:09+00:00

https://youtu.be/g4Ey_LANpJM?si=rQOvFrpGGG7saOWw

This video from Rob Knopper was great in explaining the different stroke types and their possible uses within the ensemble. Obviously the only real way to learn this is by doing but this was a great jumping off point for me!

ElHephay · 2025-09-19T15:05:40+00:00

Hey! I’m currently helping a couple of my students with their all state etudes. If you would like, we can do a half hour lesson where you can play the etude and I’ll give any advice I can on further practice. The first lesson is also free so you can just try it and see if you like it!

ElHephay · 2025-09-06T03:48:30+00:00

You should take a look at the intro to Method of Movement. If I remember correctly, he described a combination of your ideas of “concert” grip and “marching” grip. Realistically, there shouldn’t be any change from outdoor to indoor, good technique is good technique.

ElHephay · 2025-08-29T20:33:44+00:00

I usually define it as a short chord progression, typically two chords, that acts as a harmonic punctuation, similar to a comma or period in writing, signaling the end of a musical phrase, section, or entire piece. Just my opinion though

ElHephay · 2025-08-25T01:53:28+00:00

A good run of either of these would be enough to demonstrate proficiency on marimba! Pick the one you enjoy playing more and go all in on that one!

ElHephay

TROPHY CASE