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Vic Firth Marching Percussion 101: 11 Essential Drumline Warmup Exercises Recorded with the VF All-Star SoCal Drum Line 00:12 LEVEL 1 Bronze 02:00. LEVEL 2 Silver 03:25. LEVEL 3 Gold 04:32. LEVEL 4: Platinum 05:29. LEVEL 5: Diamond ABOUT EXERCISE #1: “8-8-16“ This exercise works on full rebound strokes, making it a perfect way to begin each practice session. Here are a few things to look for during your daily rehearsal: • Work for a full, relaxed stroke (stick height = 12”). • Practice with the video, starting at the slowest tempo (Level 1: 90bpm) and progress through each level until you reach the maximum speed that you can play with a relaxed stroke. • There should be no “stopping points” in the path of the stick as it travels up and down. The motion of the stick should be smooth on each stroke. • Keep the hand that’s not playing (the free hand) in the proper playing position. • Also rehearse at a piano dynamic level or “tap height“ (3 inches). At this height, the wrist will direct the stroke because of the decrease in the stick’s natural rebound. Strive for a full sound even at a low height, always keeping the wrist relaxed. ----- DOWNLOAD THE EXERCISE PACKET (SCORE AND PARTS): ----- Are you or your drumline in desparate need of a great fundamental program?The exercises included in this project are specifically designed to provide the beginning to intermediate drumline with a solid foundation for building individual and ensemble technique. We've assembled an “all-star“ battery percussion section to not only demonstrate each of the exercises at 5 different tempos, but present them with video and audio tracks so that you and your percussion section can play along to help establish great tempo control and match the sound of a high quality ensemble. To make it even more fun to practice, we have added backing tracks to each of the exercises in the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond levels so that you can test your current abilities and continue to aspire to improve!
