Category Archives: Experienced

Blustering Home

Inspired by the judges recital at this years Copenhagen Winter Competition, the drum score of this week is a drum score written for Michael Grey’s tune Blustering Home. Michael Grey played it at the recital, and I immediately recalled the first time I heard the tune. The first time I heard the tune was in 1999 at the dorms around Strathclyde University in the week leading up to the World Pipe Band Championships.  Peel Regional Police Pipe Band from Canada, led by Michael Grey and Jeremy Keddy, played it as an opener to their medley. I remember very clearly how fascinated and excited I was (and still am) about this 6/8-9/8-12/8 type march. I think the tune is very bright and has an uplifting feel to it.

Ten years later, in 2009,  I wrote a drum score for the tune to be played by an experienced grade 4 drum corp. The technical level of the drum score is not to challenging, however some of the single runs in there would require some repetition and exercise. The most difficult pattern in the drum score is probably Continue reading →

Clachnaharry

This shared drum score of the week was written back in 2006 for a Scottish grade 3 band for their medley selection. The score was written for the experienced level drummers. The endings might seem a little simple, however this simple movement suits the melody very well – I think. One of the tricky’er movements in the drum score is the Continue reading →

PM Sandy Gordon

Score of the week this time around is for a 2-parted strathspey for the experienced drummer. When it was written more than 15 years ago it was to fit into a medley selection following last weeks shared drum score. We played the same selection a year later, and this score was slightly modified with a variation in bar 2 of both parts. This was done to make the Continue reading →

Rodney Hull QC

This score of the week was written back in 2000 for a medley selection for Holbæk Pipe Band, whom I was the leading drummer for at the time. The level of the score is for the experienced drummer. This strathspey followed the intro tune to the medley and therefore, establishing a good ensemble vibe right from the start, was important. Especially the first part was written to fit the the tune very closely to help establish a nice strathspey idiom and ensemble. In the second part Continue reading →

Banjo Breakdown

A new year – 2016 – and a new shared drum score of the week is up. This time it’s for a 4-parted jig for the experienced drummer, looking for a challenge. The drum score was written over this last month for a local Danish grade 4 band with an experienced drum corp. I think the tune was challenging to write a drum score for, because of the Continue reading →

Wilhelmina Elizabeth Scott

This weeks shared drum score was written more than eight years ago for an experienced drum corp of a grade 4 band. It was written to be the opener of a medley selection. In the first line, I focused on maintaining a good solid beat – for the walk in. The drum score is structured in the way that line 2, 3 and 4 of part 1 is also played as line 2, 3, and 4 in part 2 – as you hear it on the drumming recording attached below. The few challenges in the are more so challenging on the musical aspect than from a technical view. They way I see it, it’s all about Continue reading →

6/8 March

This weeks drum score was written back in 2010 – and inspired by all of the different impression I’d gotten from playing in various bands and listening to so many great bands. It was written as a warm up drum score for the Balagan drum corp. This score could also be played by the experienced drummer in a solo competition, as for example Copenhagen Winter Competition which is now up and running again. In Balagan we ended up playing it to the piping tune Continue reading →

Monymusk

Due to my absence last week, there will be two scores of this week. This first drum score of the week was written back around 15 year ago for a Scandinavian combined group of different bands. The bands were too small a group to compete on their own, so they gathered up and competed together as The Scandinavian Mayflies. This score was written to be their strathspey in their MSR, and also to be an easy drum score to memorize. As you can see in the drum score there’s quite Continue reading →

Glenfinnan Highland Gathering

The theme of Octobers “Score of the week” will be 4 parted tunes for the experienced drummer.

This drum score was written just days ago for an MSR for a Danish grade 4 band, where the drummers needed a good challenge. I think this particular tune was a bit hard to write a score to, because of the many tachums in there. However, I wrote it, and here’s the end result. For the endings I decided to break up the last Continue reading →

McGuires Jig

Since I failed to upload a drum score last week – I’ll be sharing two drum scores this week.

This last drum score of July (yes, I know it’s now August), is following the theme of July – 4 parted competition type drum scores – is a one of my first drum scores I wrote. It was written back in 1999 to play in a medley with Holbæk Pipe Band and is presented on the CD “Debut” of the same band. Since writing it I brought it to Piping Hot Summer Drummer as part of my drumming gear – scores, sticks, pads and all. I had the chance there to get some help, tips and inspiration from J. Reid Maxwell with the score about places in there, that I wasn’t really pleased with. It was a really great experience. Since then I’ve often used other drummers (and pipers) opinion about drum scores and ensemble when writing a drum score. Especially the 4th part was spiced up a bit from the original version in for example Continue reading →

A Dram Before You Go

This two parted jig followed last weeks jig in a medley of a Scottish grade 3A band. This drum score was written to make a nice flow with the melody as well as being easy to control and memorize.  There’s quite a few short roll movements in there that could be opened up to spice up the drum score or to simply challenge yourself in playing swiss-ruffs instead of rolls. When arranging the drum corp with a piper from the pipe corp, he (the piper) came up with idea of Continue reading →

Tripping Up The Stairs

Following last weeks 2 parted intro hornpipe – the theme for this months drum scores will be 2 parted tunes to fit in a medley. The drum score for this jig was written in 2006 for a Scottish grade 3 band for their medley. The jig was the first of two traditional jigs in that particular medley (the second one will follow next week). The drum score has quite a few challenging flam movement that could be made easier (if needed) by for example Continue reading →

Heather Grant of Strathyre

The theme of the scores for the month of May will be medley openers. Although this drum score was originally written as an intro to a march set. This 9/8 score was written to be easy to walk in to for the corps and to give a nice steady yet uplifting introduction to the march set. This tune could of course also work as an intro to a medley. Very few things has changed in the drum score since it was written back in 2006. For example we would now play Continue reading →