Coordination and control of instruments and body
- Play with complete independence between the hands and feet on the drum kit
- Use the full range of damping techniques as appropriate
- Develop efficiency and fluency of simultaneously playing one drum whilst retuning others
- Play with control and confidence, an extensive range of orchestral/Latin percussion instruments
On drum kit, ask learners to maintain a steady ride-pattern whilst adding phrasing on the bass drum, snare drum and tom-toms as appropriate (jazz comping).
By this stage, learners should be familiar with the whole range of different drumming styles.
Introduce learners to the basic playing techniques of a wide variety of auxiliary orchestral/Latin percussion percussion instruments.
Encourage learners to listen to other instruments in ensembles and discuss how articulation and legato phrasing are approached on different instruments, and what these consciously applied expressive qualities contribute to the overall effect of the music, e.g. making a dance movement seem more animated or a melodic piece more song-like. Explore ways for learners to recreate what they have heard in these examples in their own playing.
Listening to other instruments’ means of expression can broaden learners’ musical awareness. Some instruments have a more natural capacity for legato, i.e. through playing several notes in one bow or breath, and non-legato, i.e. through changing bow or tonguing between notes. Internalising different phrasing characteristics through vocal imitation is a good place to start, followed by playing short passages by ear.
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