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Drums & Percussion/Questions Answered by Expert Justin Robards
| Subject | Date Asked |
| rolling traditional style | 1/27/2010 |
| Q: ive been having trouble trying to roll with traditional style sticking. im in marchinging band ... A: Jonathan, the best way to fix your left hand is to simply practice. Also, you can use a double beat ... | |
| drum tracks | 10/20/2009 |
| Q: I've been playing drums for over 40 yrs and have never used drum tracks. I'm being asked to set the ... A: Bob, this is a very vague question so if I do not answer completely please send me more information. ... | |
| Tuning Timpani | 10/10/2009 |
| Q: I've noticed that most timpani have tuning gauges on them, but why is it still recommended to tune ... A: Geoff, since Timpani are more of my forte, I believe I can answer this answer completely. 1. It is ... | |
| Starting on mallet percussion | 10/10/2009 |
| Q: I'm a drumset player, but recently I've been loving classical music, and I'm playing timpani in ... A: It would be much easier in the long run (in my honest opinion) to start on a larger instrument such ... | |
| Tuning my snare drum | 9/3/2009 |
| Q: I have a pearl Custom Alloy SensiTone Steel snare drum with the stock 1-ply drum head for the bottom ... A: Jake, here is a great website for tuning. ... | |
| Marching Drum Line For Beginners | 8/6/2009 |
| Q: I have a durm line and the age is from 7 years old to 16 years old All of my older drummers play ... A: Butch, The best thing I can suggest is to email as many drum and bugle corps directors and see if ... | |
| Jenco Vibraphone | 7/24/2009 |
| Q: I'm in the process of cleaning one up. My questions are: 1. What cleaner can I use to clean up the ... A: 1. Goo-gone. It's a simple cleaner that is not very abrasive. My opinion (and it is only my opinion) ... | |
| Battery/Pit Warmups | 7/19/2009 |
| Q: I'm captain of a very small percussion section, and I'd like to know if you have any advice on ... A: Allen, Just write something easy, yet fun that will help stretch out each players hands the same ... | |
| Timing Issues! | 7/13/2009 |
| Q: Robards, I have an issue in my drumming that I would like to get fixed as fast as possible, and ... A: playing with a metronome over time will help you more than anything else. I would play 30 minutes a ... | |
| drums | 6/13/2009 |
| Q: are westbury and CB percussion good quality brands A: I have not heard of Westbury but CB percussion has some nice drums. They are generally a mid-level ... | |
| electronics | 5/19/2009 |
| Q: Hey, I asked this question to a different expert, but I received and e-mail stating that he was no ... A: This was all "tv magic". Hypothetically, a notation program such as finale or sibelius accepts midi ... | |
| reading matierals | 5/18/2009 |
| Q: Hey, I am about to be a freshmen and I just made tenors for my high school drum line. I was wanted ... A: Those are the two best books to buy in my opinion. There is a blue devil book called The Blue Devils ... | |
| Snare drum | 3/10/2009 |
| Q: My so just started drum lessons and I am looking to purchase my son a snare drum to practice on. I ... A: Hey Veronica, sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner. I went to submit and it must have not gone ... | |
| Bowed Vibraphone | 2/21/2009 |
| Q: In my high school Symphonic Band, we are playing this piece called: "Shadows of Eternity". It's a ... A: Aryien, you are precisely right, it is a bow from a violin. To perform this technique, apply rosin ... | |
| Brass Snare Drum | 1/29/2009 |
| Q: I just received a Nickle plated Brass TAMA 4in Snare Drum. I took the bottom snare head off since ... A: CD, If the shell is not flat, brass, wood, or etc., there is a warping problem. With brass, however, ... | |
| session drumming | 1/26/2009 |
| Q: im looking into the field of session drumming what would be the best and first thing to do to start ... A: Dave, first thing I would suggest is to pick up some method books for sight-reading study. One of ... | |
| micing my drums with triggers | 1/25/2009 |
| Q: What is the reason behind using a mic on a drum when you use triggers. Like both on a snare or a ... A: Glenn, although I cannot tell you precisely why they do that, my guess is that they sometimes switch ... | |
| through or out | 1/15/2009 |
| Q: I've heard a lot of professional drummers say that they either play through the drums or out of the ... A: I'm not really sure what they mean by out of the drum, but through the drum means to strike past the ... | |
| drum corps | 12/27/2008 |
| Q: I would like some information on drum corps. I am 14 and live in a suburb near Oklahoma City. ... A: If you get accepted into SCV, you do NOT automatically move to California. Most drum corps sites ... | |
| snares | 12/11/2008 |
| Q: if my snare head is on right how do i make my snares touch the head because everything is on right i ... A: Hey Chris, the obvious thing to look at is the snare mechanism. If you tighten the knob, the snares ... | |
| groove drums | 11/29/2008 |
| Q: i want to buy groove derum set at sam ash model gpv16blk-p 5 piece withcymbals and hardware reg 799 ... A: For the money it is definitely worth it. I do not think it would be worth it for more than $500 but ... | |
| Marching Snare Exercises | 11/28/2008 |
| Q: I am planning to try out for the Concord Blue Devils in a few years, so I have been working on ... A: Daniel, The best advice I can give you is to simply work on the basics and ram them until they are ... | |
| ludwig snare | 11/7/2008 |
| Q: I have a snare metal 14x5.5.the serial no is 462140; it as 10 logs and the rim under is coming out ... A: Michael, try to find a local antique music store...that is your best bet on the snare. As far as the ... | |
| Drumlines and Physical Science | 10/27/2008 |
| Q: How do drumlines and physical science relate A: Angel, this is a very loaded question. I will give you one scenario for you to study and let you ... | |
| flam notation | 9/27/2008 |
| Q: Is a flam tap always notated with an 8th note grace note? If I'm writing in the context of four ... A: You can manually put the flams in using 2 different ways: 1. You can manually put it in through the ... | |
| sticks and mallets | 9/12/2008 |
| Q: I am shoping around for drum sticks and mallets for my 11 year old son - he is a 6th grader that ... A: Peter, first, thank you for being a great father by taking an interest in your son's music...I teach ... | |
| marimba mallets | 8/31/2008 |
| Q: Currently at my high school I play Snare drums, Quads, Timpani, auxiliary percussion, and just about ... A: A good starter set of Marimba mallets that you can buy are the Giff Howarth Series Marimba mallets ... | |
| Pit set up | 8/26/2008 |
| Q: What would be a good way to set up a pit that consists of 2 marimbas, 3 vibraphones, 2 xylophones, ... A: From left to right, I would set it up this way in an arc: Vibe, Marimba, Xylo, Vibe, xylo, marimba, ... | |
| 4 Mallet Solos | 8/12/2008 |
| Q: Wow, I have so many questions, thanks again for your help! So, I have the standard four mallet ... A: Heather, Sorry it took so long to respond, I have been doing band camps all week and it has been ... | |
| Front Ensemble Warm-Ups | 8/11/2008 |
| Q: I have a bit of a dilemma when it comes to warm-ups with my section. We have 6 people, four on ... A: Heather, The best advice I can give you is to write parts for the timpanist and auxilary players. I ... | |
| Marching Bass Drums | 8/8/2008 |
| Q: My son's band director mentioned that he has seen two marching bass drums stacked on top of one ... A: one of my best friend's has kinda instituted using this as a viable means of having multiple drums ... | |
| Mallet Choice | 7/26/2008 |
| Q: So I have one more question unrelated to my first one. I am in the Front Ensemble in my school's ... A: Sorry for taking so long Heather, things have been bust here. The best set of mallets I have used ... | |
| Instrument Clean-Up | 7/25/2008 |
| Q: The mallet percussion instruments at my school are old, and really need a good clean up. We've ... A: Heather, this is a very tricky question. The resonators help with the overtones produced by the ... | |
| how to read music for the quad/quint drums | 7/11/2008 |
| Q: I've played the drums in school band for the last 4 years. Now I'm going into high school & I want ... A: As far as reading percussion music goes, it is not too difficult. The rhythms are the same as any ... | |
| Battery Setup | 7/2/2008 |
| Q: Do you have a good setup for: 5 snares 3 tenors 5 basses 4-5 cymbals More than one would be great. ... A: for an arc, I would do the following patterns: B-bass, S-snare, T-tenors, C-cymbals ... | |
| Battery Setup | 7/1/2008 |
| Q: Do you have a good setup for: 5 snares 3 tenors 5 basses 4-5 cymbals More than one would be great. ... A: To be honest, I am not quite sure what you mean as far as setups go. Do you mean for lot rehearsals? ... | |
| Old military Band instruments | 6/5/2008 |
| Q: I have inherited 6 different musical instruments which I would like to know if they are worth ... A: I think you have inherited a small fortune as far as instruments go. I would NOT get the instruments ... | |
| my dream | 6/4/2008 |
| Q: my dream is to make the snare line. i prac any chance i get and i have tons of exercises what do u ... A: The best thing for you to do is to practice with a metronome and a practice pad, moving your feet, ... | |
| Timpani Dilemma | 6/4/2008 |
| Q: Greetings, from Brooklyn NY,my name is Edward and I have a dilemma pertaining to buying Timpani. ... A: Edward, BUY THEM! I can tell you that I have never actually played on fiberglass timpani, but from ... | |
| Percussion Tech | 5/4/2008 |
| Q: I wake up thinking about marching percussion(battery). I am very interested in becoming a high ... A: the best advice I could give you is to just get your name out. Try teaching at as many different ... | |
| Timpani Questions | 4/29/2008 |
| Q: When I play timpani, I find that my rolls are uneven. How do I make them more even? Also, do you ... A: To make sure that your rolls are even, you must check three things: 1. Make sure you are using the ... | |
| chime tuning | 4/15/2008 |
| Q: t sound great. maybe they need tuneing. how do they tune chimes? is it hard to do ? can i do it/ A: Unfortunately, I do not know how you would retune chimes. After a while, they simply get out of ... | |
| mallets | 4/11/2008 |
| Q: i've got some musser goodvibe mallets and i saw some other Goodvibe mallets from a long time ago ... A: The best answer that I can give you is that, a long time ago, mallets were all handmade. Their ... | |
| Recovering materials | 3/24/2008 |
| Q: I have line of pearl championship marching drums. They were professionally recovered once in an ... A: here is what I came up with for your question. I do not know where you could get the actual drum ... | |
| yamaha sfz marching snare sound/ tune | 3/18/2008 |
| Q: Hey there Justin, I really need help and a tutorial on how to get a Series Sfz Yamaha Marching Snare ... A: For the Top head: Definitely do the star pattern, any other way will warp the rim. I use four ... | |
| how do u avoid people? | 2/28/2008 |
| Q: i play in a middle school drumline and im almost the best one around. and people keep telling me ... A: You tell everyone who opposes you to grow up! Seriously, I've known some awesome female ... | |
| Percussion Audition | 12/13/2007 |
| Q: I am planning to major in music. I am in process of preparing for my audition. I want your ... A: A good marimba piece for auditions that is not too hard is Rain Dance. Buy the portraits in rhythm ... | |
| Percussion Audition | 12/7/2007 |
| Q: I am planning to major in music. I am in process of preparing for my audition. I want your ... A: Abigail, The best thing to do in your situation is to go online to the college of music at whatever ... | |
| Marching tenors | 11/26/2007 |
| Q: I currently march bass one in my high school's drumline and I am VERY interested in marching tenors ... A: As far as tenor pads are concerned, the quadropad is the best pad in my opinion. It might be a ... | |
| quad tuning | 11/8/2007 |
| Q: I play a set of quads in a high school band and i need recommendations on how to tune a set that has ... A: I truly believe the remo suades are the best. They are incredibly durable and they sound great at an ... | |
| quad tuning | 11/7/2007 |
| Q: I play a set of quads in a high school band and i need recommendations on how to tune a set that has ... A: I spoke to a buddy of mine in the industry and he said the best way to tune your size drums is as ... | |
| quad tuning | 11/7/2007 |
| Q: I play a set of quads in a high school band and i need recommendations on how to tune a set that has ... A: I personally have never tuned the drums to a certain pitch, especially for quads, but I have heard ... | |
| Drumset to Marching band? | 10/31/2006 |
| Q: I have been a drummer for 3 years now, and I am pretty good. How hard would it be to join a marching ... A: It is not very easy at all to switch from drumset to marching drums. The technique involved would ... | |
| Single Stroke roll | 10/12/2006 |
| Q: Hey, I find that my single stroke roll keeps getting uneven and flamming alot. Especially when i ... A: The best way to improve your single stroke roll is to simply play passages fast. What I have my kids ... | |
| Playing traditional grip | 9/11/2006 |
| Q: Even when playing fast singles is it still all wrist? Because i was watching some DCI videos and ... A: Once you get to a certain speed, it is easier to let your fingers do all of the work...it is almost ... | |
| Playing traditional grip | 9/10/2006 |
| Q: Hey, I've joined the marching band this past summer and made it on snare. I can play traditional, ... A: Joe, using your wrist is vital! From what you have said, you are playing 100% correct. To get more ... | |
| gut wires on ffx snare | 7/9/2006 |
| Q: Hey man i have just brought a new pearl ffx marching "camp"snare drum and i was just trying to find ... A: To get a good snare sound, I usually tighten the snares to where they are 1/4 inch past the head, to ... | |
| Marimbas | 6/28/2006 |
| Q: A 2-parter: a) I am a music teacher who is going to purchase a marimba for my high school program. ... A: sorry for the delay. As far as 4.3 versus 4.5 octave marimba, the difference is definitely not worth ... | |
| Sheet music | 6/8/2006 |
| Q: Are there any sites on the net you know of where there are free downloads of percussion music/scores ... A: Honestly, do a search if you really want to find some music for free, but realize that people who ... | |
| tips | 5/12/2006 |
| Q: alright dude hows it going hope u have been well i was just wondering if u could give some tips ... A: The only thing that will make you more consitent volume wise is to just practice tapping your feet ... | |
| marching band drum and concert drum | 3/31/2006 |
| Q: I want to buy my kid a snare drum. He already have one year of school band experience. I want to get ... A: Sorry for taking so long to respond, my computer has been caput for some time and I just realized I ... | |
| hello buddy hows it going... | 3/13/2006 |
| Q: hows it going i recently just bought a double bass pedal as u probably know coz i emailed u before ... A: That's wierd. The only thing i can suggest is to take it back where you got it and have someone ... | |
| double bass pedal | 3/9/2006 |
| Q: I was just wondering on my double bass pedal the left pedal that goes next to the high hat keeps ... A: Hey Gary, Wal-mart has some anti-slip stuff for furniture that you can use which would help keep the ... | |
| Drum Techniques | 2/19/2006 |
| Q: Robards, I have two questions. They are completely unrelated, but nevertheless they are two ... A: sorry for the late reply, my email has been malfunctioning lately and i just got over a month's ... | |
| Single Marching Tenor drums | 11/7/2005 |
| Q: I'm looking for a pair of mallets for what weknow in the UK as a "tenor drum" (a single drum). We ... A: http://www.vicfirth.com/products/corpsmaster_tenor.html Go there. I would get either the MT2 or the ... | |
| marching snare | 9/11/2005 |
| Q: I just put a newer bottom head on my pearl 14" marching snare. i tried putting the snares back on it ... A: Brian, it sounds like you either have not tuned the snares or you are using the wrong head on the ... | |
| Single Tenor drums | 7/11/2005 |
| Q: Where can I find a decent single tenor drum and mallets for use in a show style drumline? A: best place I can think of is to go onto www.columbuspercussion.com or maybe even ebay for the simgle ... | |
| mallets and purchasing | 6/25/2005 |
| Q: I am pitt captain in a high shcool band. I want to buy my own mallets. I was wondering which brand ... A: I would suggest you buying the ensemble series of mallets from vic firth ... | |
| tubular bells | 3/28/2005 |
| Q: I am an amateur composer and would like to know if it is possible to cause a tubular bell to ... A: my best answer to give you is that it is theoreticlaly possible, but you'll never know until you ... | |
| choosing a concert snare drum | 3/13/2005 |
| Q: I'm a student, 21, who does orchestral percussion as an 'extra', but I now seem to be doing a lot ... A: Hey Dan, I would suggest using the Pearl Symphonic over the Yamaha for a few reasons. 1, Pearl only ... | |
| traditional grip vs matched | 2/10/2005 |
| Q: When I was a high school and college drummer (back in the 60's), the snare drum was still carried ... A: I have asked myself this question many times. Most concert percussionists (including myself) play ... | |
| Drums Inquiry | 1/17/2005 |
| Q: Do you know where I can find out more about a drum that I just bought. It is a Slingerland 28" red ... A: The only thing I can think of is to do a search on google. If that doesnt work out, try going to ... | |
| about snare drumming competition | 1/11/2005 |
| Q: basically i'm a drumset player, i read a lot of snare drunmming article and watch some clips from ... A: Gita, I do not know of many snare drumming competitions. The biggest 2 that I know of are the ... | |
| cheese its and flamadiddles | 10/22/2004 |
| Q: what are the differences between a cheese it and a flamadiddle... and how you can better at playing ... A: This is actually a pretty easy question... A cheese it is a flam and a two-stroke diddle on one note ... | |
| Snare Sound | 9/20/2004 |
| Q: Hey Justin, I have a pear ffx, 14/12 snare with Evans MX Gold standard for batter head and Evans MX7 ... A: Hey Matt. First of all, good choice with the hardware....I really enjoy the Evans heads and with ... | |
| quad drums | 9/4/2004 |
| Q: What brand would you suggest for a eight grader for a set of quad drums? Also any hints for getting ... A: sorry about taking so long to answer questions, I am running off of a generator since I have no ... | |
| Marching snare drum heads | 8/28/2004 |
| Q: What kind of drum head would you recomend for a high school marching snare line. We use Yamaha SFZ ... A: after extensive use of both heads (the drum corps I taught were experimenting with both) I have come ... | |
| Bass Drum mallets, Mahler's 3rd Symphony | 8/10/2004 |
| Q: I am a student and my youth orchestra is performing Mahler 3 in London at the end of this Month. I ... A: I must first mention that i have never played Mahler 3 (I dont believe I've ever heard of it before ... | |
| Pit percussion | 6/24/2004 |
| Q: My name is Megan and this is my 4th year in marching band. I have played pit percussion every year. ... A: The best way to fix yourself is to simply use the correct technique. By using just regular wrist ... | |
| Modern percussion notation | 5/19/2004 |
| Q: I'm a rudimental drummer from way back. Recently I have become re-invovled with marching percussion ... A: John, this is definitely the toughest question I've ever had and to be honest, the best answer I can ... | |
| quad drums | 5/4/2004 |
| Q: i'm 15 and im one of the lead drummers in the highschool, and i've been playing for 4 or 5 years, i ... A: 8" or high drum should be at around an F, 10" should be an E, 12" should be a D, and the bottom 13" ... | |
| Drumming | 4/10/2004 |
| Q: I was watching a marching performance and was really interested in the Snare? drummers. When I ... A: This is a fairly simple question. There are MANY different types of snare drums, depending on the ... | |
| Drumline | 4/4/2004 |
| Q: here's what i have, we started a drumline this year, well about 3 months ago. We went to the DAC ... A: As far as this year goes, Just set the example of how they should be, call sectionals as much as ... | |
| Sound of the drum | 2/19/2004 |
| Q: I just recieved and put on Evans MX heads about 4 days ago. but my drum does not sound like a drum ... A: Hey Matt, first things first, my e-mail is pitcap1@netscape.net. Second thing, You can tighten them ... | |
| Drum heads | 2/8/2004 |
| Q: I have been deciding whether or not I should get a new head. When I got my Pearl FFX it just came ... A: Matt, I personally think that the clear heads are the most horrible thing for a marching ... | |
| Pearl or Yamaha | 1/28/2004 |
| Q: I am looking to order either a Pearl FFX marching snare or a Yamaha SFZ marching snare. Which one ... A: Alright, I have used both Pearl and Yamaha Drums so I'll give you the best opinion I have. This ... | |
| Getting started | 11/7/2003 |
| Q: My son is 15 and plays trombone in his marching band. He also, would like to learn to play the ... A: The first thing I would recommend would be to get a metronome. That is a universal tool since it ... | |
Drums & Percussion
Answers by Expert:
Justin Robards
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions on any marching or symphonic percussion instruments. I can give ideas for pit setups, battery setups, practice procedures, or anything else marching or symphonic percussion-wise. I can pretty much cover all percussion categories but I am not as strong as I`d like to be in latin and african percussion. Marching percussion is my forte. PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME HOW MUCH A VINTAGE DRUM OR MALLET INSTRUMENT IS WORTH. I AM NOT AN ARCHIVER. ASK A LOCAL MUSIC STORE FOR THIS. Thanks!
Experience
I am currently a High School marching percussion instructor and I was an instructor for the Kiwanis Kavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, the Magic Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Teal Sound Drum and Bugle Corps. In addition, I have been the cymbal tech of the WGI Independent Open line Paradox Percussion Theatre and am currently the front ensemble coordinator for the WGI Independent World line Infinity Percussion (www.infinitypercussion.com). I have 8 years of drum corps experience, 4 years of high school experience, 4 years of college (symphony), three years teaching at a Div. I drum corps level, four years teaching indoor drumlines, and I've had the pleasure of meeting many prominent instructors in the drum corps and marching percussion categories. I can help you with marching equipment, techniques, how to start playing, pretty much everything in the marching and Symphonic world of percussion.
Organizations
PAS
FMEA
Education/Credentials
4 years high school
AA in Music at Indian River State College
completing my BA in Music at the University of Central Florida
Awards and Honors
Endorsed by Vic Firth sticks, Yamaha percussion, and Zildjian cymbals.
Past/Present Clients
Many high school, drum corps, and WGI groups
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