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LEADING THE SYMPHONIC PERCUSSION SECTION: Reducing Threat, Regulating Emotion, Resolving Conflict, and Regenerating Ourselves

Principal percussionists are leaders of a team of percussionists. That being said, symphonic music schools primarily train percussionists to win auditions. In our training, less attention is paid to two other areas: the organizational aspect and the leadership of people. Apparently, it is assumed that one learns these skills on the job, or perhaps peripherallyContinue reading “LEADING THE SYMPHONIC PERCUSSION SECTION: Reducing Threat, Regulating Emotion, Resolving Conflict, and Regenerating Ourselves”

ORGANIZING THE SYMPHONIC PERCUSSION SECTION: The unseen work of the Principal Percussionist

In addition to performing difficult and exposed music parts, the job of the Principal Percussionist involves organizing the percussion section: determining the extras to be hired, compiling instrument lists, ensuring unusual instrument requests will be available for the concert, plotting the map of where instruments go on stage, making instrument assignment choices, ensuring assigned musicContinue reading “ORGANIZING THE SYMPHONIC PERCUSSION SECTION: The unseen work of the Principal Percussionist”

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR RHYTHM – Strengthening Beat and Subdivision

I believe that “rhythm is a muscle” and it is possible to perform “rhythmic weight lifting” in order to strengthen this muscle. There are many aspects to improving rhythm: strengthening beat and subdivision; learning to avoid “rhythm traps” – transitions where you might unintentionally speed up or slow down; practicing odd meters; learning about theContinue reading “HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR RHYTHM – Strengthening Beat and Subdivision”