Category: Percussion

Every percussionist needs a simple way to organize and carry their tools.  A stick and mallet bag is used to protect all of your drumsticks and mallets and make it easy to access them during rehearsals and performances.  Which bag you choose depends on your needs and your style.  In this article, we take a […]

Instrumental ensemble training began, for me, as a child in my school’s “Beginners Band.”  Every aspiring fifth-grader got to pick the instrument which they were attracted to.  I chose the snare drum.  My mother was not a fan. Little did I know, she had already conspired with the instrument salesman to explain to me that […]

Indoor percussion ensembles have evolved from something for marching band musicians to do in their off-season into stand-alone careers for aspiring musicians of all ages.  These ensembles, made up of battery percussionists, pit percussionists, and sometimes even flag corps members, create stunning visual programs while performing some of the most difficult musical pieces written for […]

One of my absolute favorite sounds at the start of a halftime show, or at the beginning of a marching band competition is the distinctly familiar tap tap tap of the Drumline. The percussion line in marching band has always been the glue that helps keep the marching band together with a steady rhythm and […]

When I was a kid I enjoyed going to orchestra concerts with my best friend and her family. While I enjoyed every bit of music I heard I always wondered what instruments were hiding in the back behind all the strings. Well that my friend, was the orchestral percussion section. One of the most fascinating […]

The most interesting sounds and often the spice in the percussion section tend to stem from some of the most unique and fun instruments. This includes many different types of hand percussion instruments! Hand percussion instruments are that are held in your hand. They can come in many shapes and sizes and can be made […]

Being a percussion player is never boring. There are so many different percussion instruments to learn you have a never-ending arsenal of sounds and instruments to choose from. If you have learned all the basic instruments and want to learn something more challenging, you may wonder which percussion instruments are the most difficult to learn. […]

Beginner band percussion is fun and challenging.  There are hundreds of instruments in the percussion family that you can learn and multiple ways to participate in the percussion section of any beginner band, orchestra, marching band, or percussion ensemble. Learning a musical instrument at any age has educational and personal benefits.  Playing in beginner band […]

The xylophone is one of the oldest melodic instruments in the mallet percussion family. It differs from the drums, shakers, tambourines, and a long list of effect-creating tools that percussionists use to color orchestra and band music. The xylophones’ sound is sharp, hard-hitting, and distinctive and there is a science and design behind that sound and […]