Category Archives: Score of the week

Rattle & Hum

This drum score was written a few days ago for a group of students, suggested by one of the students, who had heard the tune played by Balagan in the end of the medley. Since the drum score played in Balagan was too much of a challenge, I wrote another drum score, who better fit the level of the experienced students, yet not on the advanced level. The drum score is made much to support the rhythmic feel in the tune as well as being very rudimental in the way it’s written with for example the Continue reading →

The Wellington Police Pipers

This drum score was written back in 2001 for a Danish grade 4 band with a strong drum corp. The piping tune, The Wellington Police Pipers In Australia, is very nice and uplifting, so the idea with the drum score was to bring out the same feeling. The volume should be gentle throughout when playing the drum score – this will also allow some dynamic range to bring out the accents. Notice that there’s no Continue reading →

Lochanside

This drum score was written for a grade 4 drum corp and for a very nice tune – Lochanside. The idea was to make the drum score very ensemble secure. For example the first two bars are very much on the beat and in sync with the piping tune. My favourite part of the tune is the transition from line 1 to 2 in the last part, so of course I had to highlight that somehow in the drum score. I decided to make Continue reading →

Three In A Row

This score of the week was written back in 2003 for a 4-parted 6/8 jig written by Bernard Bouhadana, now PM of Balagan. The piping music for this lovely jig and other great compositions can be found in the tune book Northern Lights Book One – which can be purchased here or you can of course contact Bernard directly and ask him for the piping music. I wrote a drum score for this tune, because I really like the tune – it’s so melodic and lyrical as if it tells a story. I find it to be a less ordinary jig with a few nice twists which are nice for a drummer to jam to – for example the Continue reading →

Mrs Lily Christie

The drum score of this week was written for a grade 4 drummer who was looking for something specific to play to a 6/8 march, that wasn’t “just” the standard 6/8 drum score. Yet, it was important that it’s not too difficult to play as this was one of his early experiences with the 6/8 march idiom. There’s a few movements in there which can be tricky for beginners, such as Continue reading →

Hønsefødder og Gulerødder

This drum score was written back in 2008 to be part of a set of traditional Danish folk tunes. It ended up being slightly modified and used as the ending tune and drum score of a grade 4 band medley. In the Danish set it would typically follow a slow air called “Den gamle skærslippers forårssang” and a march “En yndig og frydefuld sommertid” (the drum score for this one can be found in the archive). The level of the drum score was made to fit beginner drummers as it would often be something the band would play at gigs or during concerts. Notice that each part is not repeated – however it sounds nice when played through the entire tune twice. It works very effective for the overall presentation with a drumming break in part 1 when repeating the tune, and with a nice drum layering uptake to part 2. One thing that can also make this rather easy jig drum score work very nicely is, if you keep the Continue reading →

Steamboat

This drum score was written in 2008 for a grade 4 band who wanted to give it a go with a different 6/8 than the standard 6/8 drum score for the tune Steamboat. The score was written for experienced drummers already knowing about accented rolls and drag movements. The key to succes with the drum score is Continue reading →

En yndig og frydefuld sommertid

The drum score of the week shared this time is for a Danish folk tune called “En yndig og frydefuld sommertid”, which means something like “A lovely and joyful summer time”. It’s fitting the weather these days, which is approaching summer like weather.

The drum score was written last year for a Danish grade 4 band who plays this tune as part of their Danish set of different Danish folk tunes. The level of the score was supposed to be for the lightly experienced drummer with most of the technique Continue reading →

Itchy Fingers

This drum score for Itchy Fingers was written for a medley selection for a grade 4 band with a stronger drum corp. When it was played, it was however to hard for the pipers to play to, because of the off beat rhythms in the drum score. I’m guess that this drum score would be a better fit for a stronger pipe corp, that doesn’t necessarily needs a drum corp in order to keep the beat&time. The drum score can also be challenging for Continue reading →

The Battle Of The Somme

This weeks shared drum score of the week was written back in 1999 in some of my first years of writing drum scores. It was written when I was leading the drum corp of Holbæk Pipe Band and is featured on the “Debut” CD of the band. One very important dynamic volume thing to point out, in order to make the drum score work nicely, is the Continue reading →

The Keel Row

This drum score for the reel version of The Keel Row was written back in 2008 for a grade 4 band to be the ending of their medley – see the fancy ending of the drum score. The level of the drum score was meant to be challenging for the medley drummers of the grade 4 band without being unachievable. The level of the drum score could be made more difficult by Continue reading →

Compositionally Challenged

This drum score was written for a tune called Compositionally Challenged composed by Iain Currie. The hornpipe was a part of a hornpipe set with the early Balagan concert band back in 2007/2008. However this tune and drum score was taken out just before the first concerts in February 2008 to give room for other stuff in the concert. The drum score is straight forward to the melody and was written not to take too much attention away from the very melodic tune. A place to really go for the dynamics would be in the Continue reading →

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 →