/r/percussion
This is reddit's home base for all things that can be hit to make sound. We like to discuss everything from orchestral to marching to world percussion.
Welcome to /r/percussion!
This is reddit's home base for all things that can be hit to make sound. We like to discuss everything from orchestral to marching to world percussion.
Friends:
/r/percussion
Hello there!
I'm a professional marimba player, practicing every day for 2-5h minimum, and regular concerts every month.
It's already more than 1-2 years that I had a light pain in my left wrist (attaching a photo):
But never caused any trouble for my playing, so I overlooked on it and let it go. Interesting point: my right hand is completely ok; I stretch always for 5-10 minutes before practicing and before a concert.
2 months ago it started causing me some trouble while practicing, so I bought some little exercise toys for strenghthening the wrist and fingers, which eased the pain instantly. Specially squeezing a rubber egg.
So then I let it go again.
However, this January was pretty intense in work, and even though I played all concerts and rehearsed without any pain, I woke up two days ago unable to bend the hand, with that area in pain.
I still have pain while moving the hand. The photo I uploaded is in fact my right hand but in reverse, as my left hand has a wristband and some kinesiology tape on, and I wanted to show the exact area in pain.
I finally have an appointment with a traumatologist in 10 days, but still wanted to ask here in case this was a common type of pain among percussionists/mallet players.
Thank you so much!
I’ve been trying to look for this piece but I can’t find it online, does any have the pdf version that they can share?
Copy of my post in r /drumline
I'm a senior in my hs drumline which hasn't had a proper coach since my freshman year, so I've mostly been teaching myself things. She taught me Burton grip (because I was on vibes at the time) so I've been using that for anything four mallet related on any mallet instrument. However, we got a new coach this year and she wants me to learn stevens grip, but I just cant get the outside mallets to stay up and in my palm. They start drooping forwards whenever my play (or even when I'm just holding them) and inevitably end up too far down. I understand the technique and everything behind Stevens, but I just can't get it to stay in the proper position. I've tried adjusting the strength of my grip, where my mallets are placed in my hand, the angle I'm holding them at, but nothing's working. My coach thinks that it's because my hand isn't "fleshy" enough, but I'm not really sure and I really want to get this right. Have any of you guys struggled with this, and if you have, how did you fix it?
Does anyone know what this instrument is called , it looks like some sort of tubular bells but doesn’t sound like them and aren’t laid out like them and a lot smaller 😂
Hello all,
I am looking at preforming Unchained Melody and I have the music, but I have had a hard time finding a way to set up to start learning and practicing it. The main problem is the glockenspiel bars - I can find plenty of auxiliary percussion instruments easily, or other random objects, but I have no way to play the glockenspiel bars, aside from flat on a table/trap table, which seems like they would just sound dead. Does anyone have any experience of advice for how to mount/elevate the bars so they will ring, or perhaps a product I could order for this?
In my music I try to make the marimba the central piece, using it alongside synths and other electronic gear. This is also my first music video. What are your thoughts?
I have a group that wants to take a percussion quartet to a middle school contest. I need to find an easy one, but I don’t want to do buckets/trashcans/boomwackers like all the ones I am finding. Only one of these guys is an actual percussionist and he is pretty limited. The other 3 are good musicians and can read well, but I don’t have time to teach them all good technique in addition to their parts. Any suggestions?
I am going on vacation to Flordia and have a solo that I need to work on so I am thinking about buying the Mccormicks practice pad (photo attached) and am also contemplating just brining my marimba without the resonators to save space but j was wondering if anyone has used a practice pad like the one pictured.
My list?
I love chops on the snare..mostly to increase my accuracy in the soft snare drums playing. So if stick control is my bible wrist twisters is where i gather all my sins and swear like hell! Other advices? I would like a book where each excercise is something like couple of bars and then u repeat it endlessly.
I have to play Douze Snare Etudes #2 and literally looked at it for the first time today, I got 4 out of 11 lines down pat in an hour and a half-ish, am I cooked or am I cooking chat
Hi, I play lead pan and want to learn to play with four mallets. I know it’s not traditional but I’ve seen it done well and have been inspired. Anyone know where I can find information to help me learn? Website, books anything?
Heyy calling all fellow kit drummers 18 or older in the Northeastern Region of the United States (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)! If you have 5 minutes or less to spare, could you please fill out this survey for my AP Research project? https://forms.gle/65mUZKRvSuqoNoRv6 It will investigate the factors that influenced your decision to drum and correlate it with the passion you currently feel for drumming. Thank you for your time!
So I am planning on building my own drum. It's a massive thing. Outer diameter of 7 feet and about a 1.5 inch thick shell. Well I was originally thinking about using rawhide as the drum head. But I have unfortunately not been able to source a peoce large enough for it. So what other substances can I get in a sheet that big that would sound good? I was thinking leather even faux leather but I'm having the same issue and I don't know if it would even make a good drum head. For tuning im using rope and wooden rods to tighten the rope. Think hand drum but scaled up. Any suggestions?
My first mallet percussion item
Help! I use this Pearl bag for a year of 5 now, it works okay but gets to big after moving over to digital sidereading.
Do any of you have recommendations on other bags where the following things fit:
+/- 6pairs 5a(extreme)/7a sticks 3 pairs mallets 14,6" Ipad (Optional) K&M 19973 Ipad stand
Thanks in advance
I’m not sure if you all can help me, but I figured what I am looking for is way too specific and nuanced than Google can deal with, haha. I played an instrument over twenty years ago, so my music knowledge is extremely limited at this point, which is why I am seeking your expertise.
I am buying a gift for a very close friend who has been through a lot but is graduating soon with a music degree despite deep mental health pain/setbacks. He is a percussionist, and is more passionate about music than anything.
Part of the gift is an engraved whiskey glass or two. I don’t want to do classic initials or anything, but instead I wanted to put maybe a music symbol related to percussion, like a specific symbol/notation or something like that.
My question to you all: are there any symbols that could be interpreted in a metaphoric way, that is related to percussion specifically? I know vaguely about symbols for sustaining a note (like the idea of keeping going?), but that feels a little lame, haha.
If there’s anyone who knows percussion intimately and might be a bit of a romantic to delve into the idea of connecting the intended purpose of a symbol with a characteristic or meaning, or along those lines, I would be incredibly grateful!
ETA: Thanks so much to everyone in this sub who’s been weighing in! You guys are awesome, and I really appreciate it!
Hello, I'm looking for a 18" Zildjian spiral cymbal, they've been discontinued and I would really love to find one! Does anybody know of any shops or individuals looking to part with one?
How can I add some rhythmic variation to make this marimba part more interesting without taking away from the pulse of the music? I don't write (or play) percussion or keyboard parts often so I'm a little lost on how to make those kinds of parts interesting while also allowing the person to rest every one in a while.
Hi there! Composer here,
I would like to buy 4 triangles of different sizes (and therefore fundamental pitches) to give to each register of the choir I am currently composing for (1 for bass, 1 for tenor etc etc). My question is, I would like to order different triangles based on their fundamental pitch so that I can compose with them spelling out a particular chord together as well as functioning as a type of overt tuning fork for the vocalists. Is there a way to do this? My understanding is that fundamental pitch is dependant on size and material of the triangle. Is there any kind of conversion one can do to know the fundamental pitch of a triangle before ordering?
Would love to hear more
What do percussionist want to see more of in music, both ensemble, chamber, and solo?
I've heard that you guys prefer smaller set ups, but are there any instruments or musical ideas that you wish were inployed more? Are there any assumptions composers tend to make about your instruments or your job in a group that are just wrong?
Also, I wrote a piece for orchestra and the best compliment I got was a percussionist who told me "thank you for making this playable unlike the rest of the pieces [on the program]" just thought I'd mention because it made me smile.
I am conducting a piece (Folksong of Midu by Li Chan) for band and it calls for a percussion instrument called "rings." I have asked around and no one in my circle can identify what it could be.
Recordings seem to sound like bowed vibes or something to that effect.
I suspect it could be a mistranslation from the publisher? Anyone have any leads/advice?
Thanks!
I finally got around to uploading this piece to YouTube! I rehearsed it with a HS group in 2020 but the performance was cancelled due of Covid. A good friend of mine conducted this piece with another HS ensemble in 2022. Glad finally uploaded it in 2025 😅
Hey Reddit, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I ordered Malice by Caleb Pickering for an upcoming competition, but it keeps getting delayed due to the weather conditions. If anyone has this piece, would you be able to contact me so that I can give you my email for pictures of it? The competition is coming up very soon so I really need to be able to learn it. Thank you all.