the official blog of the Percussive Arts Society

“No matter what level of players make up the ensemble, the challenge of playing together with a unified sense of pulse usually separates these groups into different levels of excellence. If rhythms are not lining up correctly, the strength of their chops and intricacies of the music will not be appreciated unless certain timing issues are addressed.”

Check out this August 2000 Percussive Notes article about the value of timing exercises within marching ensembles.

“Why wrap your own mallets when there are so many companies producing fine mallets today? Because you can save a lot of money by recycling your mallets, and you can produce a more customized wrap. Some people are daunted by the idea of wrapping their own marimba mallets, but it only takes a little practice and patience to learn the art of mallet wrapping.”

Check out this June 2000 Percussive Notes article about the process of wrapping your own mallets!

“The biggest problem with trying to put together an ensemble on a football field would have to be sound delay. Sound travels approximately 1,100 feet per second at sea level, and it is 105 feet from the back hash to the front side line. Therefore if you were to put a snare drummer on the back hash and a bass drummer on the front side line and have them play quarter notes at 160 at exactly the same time, it would sound as though they are 1/5 of a beat apart from the front or the back of the field.”

Consider the solutions proposed in this December 1990 article about sound delay from one of the greatest in the field of marching percussion education!