speed test

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Matus
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Re: speed test

Postby Matus » Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:42 pm

Looks like a mistake, definitely. It just doesn't make sense within the page, all other tempos are pretty easy in comparison and drags at that tempo are kinda hard to pull off properly.
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moose
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Re: speed test

Postby moose » Mon Nov 04, 2013 2:53 pm

Doesn't make any sense to me either. I can keep the "drag and stroke" mostly clean on the pad for a few bars at 100bpm, after which it falls apart. Can't even get close to 140. I guess some dedicated shedding might get me to 120 but I doubt they'd be particularly admirable. The "drag paradiddle" is a total mess at tempo.

Can't see any relevant errata on the Trinity site either. Very odd.
percusski
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Re: speed test

Postby percusski » Mon Nov 04, 2013 4:39 pm

well it seems you guys, me included, have substandard hand technique or have been deluding ourselves about our level for too long.
Had a fairly surly and dismissive reply from those concerned saying stuff like:
'The tempi indicated are progressive throughout the 8 grades and are there as guide. With correct preparation, they should be attainable. I seldom find that these are played under tempo in the exam room by a prepared candidate.'

All I can say is there must be some unbelievable drummers here in the UK..


Are there any drum corps guys on here who can comment, I just can't believe that this is correct,possibly with 1/2 note = tempo?
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moose
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Re: speed test

Postby moose » Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:20 am

The most mystifying part for me is the 30bpm increment from G7 to G8.
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Re: speed test

Postby Matus » Tue Nov 05, 2013 7:30 am

I have never been in drum corps (no such thing around here), but I have spent enough tine working on my hand technique and it's well above standard. I can play the exercises at those speeds but not for too long and, again, it's not coherent with the rest of the exercises. Maybe they meant 8th note tempo? It just makes no sense (like most of the Trinity).
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Re: speed test

Postby matthughen » Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:25 am

percusski wrote:well it seems you guys, me included, have substandard hand technique or have been deluding ourselves about our level for too long.
Had a fairly surly and dismissive reply from those concerned saying stuff like:
'The tempi indicated are progressive throughout the 8 grades and are there as guide. With correct preparation, they should be attainable. I seldom find that these are played under tempo in the exam room by a prepared candidate.'

All I can say is there must be some unbelievable drummers here in the UK..


Are there any drum corps guys on here who can comment, I just can't believe that this is correct,possibly with 1/2 note = tempo?

I am a "DCI guy." I was 3rd in 1991 DCI snare individual solo competition. I played rudimental snare professionally for Disney from 1996-2010 including being in the first contract of rudimental drummers sent to Tokyo Disney in 1996 and 1997. I played in Disney's Future Corps including a tour of southern japan. Not to toot my own horn, but I am more than qualified to make certain judgements about rudimental snare drumming. Modern DCI / rudimental snare is a very specialized and esoteric art form. It is has a great potential for developing technique and excellent listening skills. That said, DCI style drumming is often OVER-RATED in terms of it's usefulness within the real world of making a living playing drums, imho of course.

Those drag diddle cluster fucks are virtually impossible to play as notated at tempo. I suspect the teacher has another variation in mind and simply transcribed it incorrectly. If you asked that teacher to demonstrate it for you I do not believe they would play it as notated. Those tap stroke exercises are just as stupid and poorly imagined. I have never heard any person ever refer to a "drag and stroke," alternating roughs or alternating drags maybe. If I assumed the same type of transcription error occurred in 15 and 16, I could make those into somewhat useful exercises. Strangely, the "double drag and stroke" is more or less playable, but again, I have NEVER heard of any exercise like this or ever seen anything that even resembles it. But, like the others it is COMPLETELY useless and just as much a colossal waste of time. It has no business being considered in an evaluation of the skills of a young drummer. Unlike the other 2, I can't come up with ANY explanations for this one. I can't figure out what error might have lead to this notation or what might have been intended.

I dont care what tempo is chosen, all 3 of those particular exercises have so little value that they are not worth spending any time on developing. They are head-shaking, gob-smackingly awful. Nobody should be evaluated using those exercises, especially youngsters. The exercises are indicative of nothing except the ignorance of the person putting any value in them, especially in context of the other perfectly acceptable exercises. The teacher is failing by either choosing outrageous things to waste time on or by providing incorrect transcriptions. I have a hunch that the teacher is a horn player (non drummer type) who took a semester of percussion to get their education degree.
Last edited by matthughen on Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Matus
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Re: speed test

Postby Matus » Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:43 am

You'd be amazed by the ammount of useless stuff kids are forced to work on instead of, say, a proper height system.
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moose
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Re: speed test

Postby moose » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:18 pm

matthughen wrote:I suspect the teacher...
...except that these are not teacher exercises, they're graded examination exercises, from one of (if not THE) examination board that's considered most highly for entry into music in further education (Trinity). Specifically, they're from grades 7 and 8. This is why percusski's so worked up about them. Whether meaningless in the real world or not (and I defer to your expertise completely in that regard) students are expected to play them at tempo as written to get passing grades.

... drag diddle cluster fucks ...
:lol:
Julián Fernández
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Re: speed test

Postby Julián Fernández » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:27 pm

matthughen wrote:
percusski wrote: That said, DCI style drumming is often OVER-RATED in terms of it's usefulness within the real world of making a living playing drums, imho of course


Interesting you said that... Would you care to elaborate about it? Thanks!
chris perra
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Re: speed test

Postby chris perra » Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:24 pm

What does the C = mean?

To me I think at that level if you can play them clean and well your in...


In Canada... your working on quarter notes in grade 7 and 8 in public school ha ha


For a private music school at that level basic knowledge of rudiments is required.. but nowhere those speeds...

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