by
Rhythm Scene Staff
| Aug 01, 2015
The title for this month’s Rhythm! Solo comes from the fact that it was composed in June and inspired by second-line music heard on the streets of New Orleans. The piece utilizes rudiments that can be considered “common,” as well as a few that are interesting but are sometimes overlooked among the 40 PAS Rudiments. Special attention should be given to the following rudiments when preparing this solo:
Single-Stroke Roll Rudiments
• Single-Stroke Four
• Single-Stroke Seven
Double-Stroke Open Roll Rudiments
• 5-Stroke Roll
• 6-Stroke Roll
Diddle Rudiments
• Single Paradiddle
• Paradiddle-diddle
Flam Rudiments
• Flams
• Flam Tap
• Flamacue
• Single Flammed Mill
Drag Rudiments
• Drag
• Single Drag Tap
• Lesson #25 (shifted version; accent on the down beat)
• Drag Paradiddle # 2
Helpful hints for learning juNO:
The sixteenth notes in mm. 17–20 should be swung. This section of the piece (Letter C) is meant to give the performer an opportunity to be creative and explore other accent patterns or embellishments within the “second-line” style. Please BE CREATIVE, HAVE FUN, and don’t be afraid to play a little “sloppy” or “dirty” in this section. But first, listen to some second-line drumming to become familiar with the genre.
Be sure to focus playing “straight” once you return to the top of the music after letter C. Practice the transition (a couple of measures before m. 22 to a couple of measures after m. 1) several times to be sure the change in rhythmic style happens in the correct place. Repetition will also help you become more comfortable with the switch between swung and straight sixteenths.
Form is an important component of every piece of music, and you must thoroughly understand the form or “road map” of a work in order to perform it. This piece is to be performed from top to bottom observing all repeats, and once you reach m. 22, you will see “D.C. al Fine.” This tells you to return to the top of the page and play from the beginning until you see “Fine.” In “juNO” this is located on beat four of m. 8.
One last thing, I should give credit to a couple of other composers for the writing style I used at letter A. I was certainly influenced by Charley Wilcoxon’s The All-American Drummer and John S. Pratt’s 14 Modern Contest Solos from using their books as a student. If you are unfamiliar with these books, you should check them out. Happy drumming!
Dr. Joe W. Moore III is a percussionist, composer, and educator. He serves as Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville Campus). An active composer, his music has been performed at PASIC, FMEA, SCMEA, TMEA, the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and at several other conferences and events. Dr. Moore is a member of PAS, ASCAP, and TMEA. R!S