Percussion Orchestration Tips

This article contains a collection of tips & techniques for percussion orchestration & instrumentation. Develop your palette through listening and imitation!

Percussion Arranging Seminar

Outline & notes of a Percussion Arranging Seminar by Thom Hannum, sponsored by the Alabama Music Educators Association, Jan 21-23, 1999.

Interview with Thom Hannum

This interview is reprinted from Percussive Notes, Journal of the Percussive Arts Society, February 1999 and was conducted by Chad Wyman.

Check Patterns & Reading Skills

This article assists educators in helping the percussionist by using rhythmic building blocks as a means of improving music reading skills.

Excerpt from UMass Cadence

Here are a few measures of Oye Tu Conga, as performed by the UMass Drumline. It combines open rolls, flams, and syncopated rhythms. Step 1: Basic Rhythm – First, start with just the rhythm. Remove all the accents and additional “stuff” and just learn the basic pattern.

Excerpt from “Oye Tu Conga”

Here are a few measures of Oye Tu Conga, as performed by the UMass Drumline. It combines open rolls, flams, and syncopated rhythms. Step 1: Basic Rhythm – First, start with just the rhythm. Remove all the accents and additional “stuff” and just learn the basic pattern.

Updates on Virtual MPS 2020

MPS Virtual 2020 Cancelled.

We regret to announce that our plans to hold a virtual Mobile Percussion Seminar during the July 25-29 time period have hit a few unexpected challenges. As a result, we will be unable to offer a program for summer 2020. Throughout the process of organizing a virtual seminar, we have learned many valuable lessons we hope […]