This weeks shared drum score was written back in 2006 for a Scottish grade 3A pipe band to compete in the MSR competition at the World Pipe Band Championships. A Danish piper who was playing with the band got in touch with me, and asked if I could write some drum scores for the band. I actually then met up with Continue reading
This weeks shared drum score was made for the tune Lady Lever Park back in 2010. We played it with the Balagan concert band in a concert after the Copenhagen Winter Competition 2010. This march was the 2nd of two in a set of traditional marches. In the first march we only played rope tension drums, and then for this one, we had a regular pipe band snare join in. We did some call & response in the Continue reading
Following the statement I made on the facebook extension of this webpage, I decided to share a drum score meant to be played on a rope tension drum this week. The drum score was written for the Balagan concert band back in 2010 for a set of two traditional marches. In the first, this one, we only played two rope tension drums and the bass drum. For the second one, which I will share next week, we had one snare drum join in, and we also did some cool call & response with the different types of drums. The level of this drum score is at the beginner level. I find that when I write drum scores for the deeper and softer rope tension drums, it makes sense to make the beats simple for greater clarity and effect. My favourite part is the Continue reading
This weeks drum score was written for the traditional tune Mairis Wedding. It was written for a beginner drummer to be played with his grade 4B parade band. The aim of this drum score was to make it simple, yet fitting for the tune. It’s pretty straight forward and it should be drum-able for any beginner drummer knowing the basics of Continue reading
This weeks drum score was written back in 2007 for the Balagan concert band medley. It was the opener of the medley. The tune is written by Chris Armstrong. I wanted to create a big impact right from the get go, that’s why I wrote those two big flams for the beginning. The drum score was written for the advanced level, and suited the drummers of the drum corp at the time. In the 3rd part it’s meant to be very quiet on the repeat in the first couple of bars. We’d have the bass & tenors make a Continue reading
This drum score was written back in 1999. It was written for a tune called The Big Surprise composed by Bernard Bouhadana, named after, when Bernard discovered that he was going to be be an uncle. I believe that this tune was also played by Maple Ridge Pipe Band back in 2001 or 2002, when Bernard played with them. I know that the tune appears on the Debut CD by Holbæk Pipe Band from 2000. Write to Bernard directly, if you’re interested in the piping music for this beautiful tune, or find it in Ann Gray’s Collection – Music for the Great Highland Bagpipe volume 2.
The tune is very catchy, and has a good swing to it. A perfect tune for marching down the streets. The drum score was written early on in my drum score writing journey, so there’s some stuff in there that I would write differently today. For example I can’t believe that I wrote that drag stuff in the 4th part. However Continue reading
This weeks shared drum score was made for the Cross Borders MSR to be played in 2020. However that never really happened, due to the world turning upside down. I wrote this one with lots of inspiration from Jacob Jørgensens drum score. I would say that this is probably 70% or so his score and then I removed some stuff and re-composed some stuff to make it fit the level of my own comfort and the level of the drum corp. With the permission from Jake himself I’m sharing this drum score. If you wish to view or learn the original drum score from Jake, then get in touch with him directly. One of the things I really like in Jakes original drum score is the composition of the Continue reading
This drum score was written for a grade 4 band for the tune 79th Farewell to Gibraltar. It was meant to be the first tune in their MAP MSR. The tune was chosen because it seemed easier overall than some other tunes the band had tried on.
The level of the drum score is somewhat around the experienced level. It was meant to fit drummers coming off the standard scores and beginning to be presented Continue reading
This weeks shared drum score was originally written for Balagan to play in an MSR. It was written by myself and the LD of the band Louise Overgård Lindhardtsen. Since then I have made a few minor changes to the original drum score to make it fit the new drum corp that I will be leading soon. Sometimes it a great opportunity to revisit and re-arrange a drum score after having played it for a whole season, been listening to recordings and gotten feed-back from fellow drummers and judges. One of the things I like the most about this arrangement is the Continue reading
This drum score was written a little more than a year ago for a grade 4B band. This is the intro to their medley – quite a challenge I would say. Here (underneath) are the instructions I sent them along with the drum score.
Keep all the background strokes
This drum score was also for a tune composed by Michael Grey. It’s named after two german pipers both of the name Lisa. One with dark hair and one with blonde hair.
The level of the drum score for this hornpipe was meant to fit the level of experienced drummers and includes a lot of basic pipe band drumming rudiments, such as Continue reading
This drum score was written for a Danish drum corp earlier in the year for the 2/4 march High Road To Gairloch. It was meant to fill out a spot in a competition march set for beginner drummers. The level was made to beginner to allow every drummer in the corp to play along. To me the key of the tune is the ending of each part – therefore I wrote the drum score to follow this part of the tune very closely. The most challenging part of the drum score is probably Continue reading
This drum score was written for an old traditional american folk song called Old Susanna. It was written to make it possible for beginner piper and drummers to play together at an early stage. Usually the tune would be played twice through with no repeats of each part.
The drum score follows the tune very closely (I hope you’ll be able to hear that and hum along) and is fairly easy, yet leaving a bit of space for some challenging parts, such as Continue reading
This weeks shared drum score was written in 2015 for the introduction of the medley of Balagan to compete at the World Championships. It’s made by myself and the LD Louise O. Lindhardtsen some late night after a band weekend rehersal with the band. I really like this tune and the drum score as well. It has a really nice swing to it and at the same time comes across as something very traditional. As we wrote the drum score, the PM of the band gave us some ideas for breaks and accentuations throughout the drum score. I really enjoy the lift of the endings as well – although a little bit tough to execute – if played nicely, I find that the Continue reading
This drum score for the tune Lucy Cassidy, was written a few years back for myself to play at a solo competition in Luzern in Switzerland. A piper friend of mine was going to Switzerland visit a common friend of ours and asked if I wanted to come along, and also play a competition there. I accepted and had to come up with an idea for a hornpipe. So, I came up with this. I wanted the first couple of bars to be very much in sync with the tune, therefore it’s very much on the beat in the first part. The endings can be a little risky because of the Continue reading
This drum score is another one for the tune Sweet Maid of Glendaruel and was written a few years back for a grade 4B to compete at the World Pipe Band Championships. This one is written directly to fit the tune all the way through, but it’s also a bit more daring in the sense of being a little jazzy on the endings. In the first line of the drum score, it’s very much following the beat of the tune – suitable for marching in. Again – like in the other shared drum score for this tune – there’s loads of space to Continue reading
This drum score of the week was written for a Danish grade 4 band to be a drum score for everyone to be able to play. It’s based around a standard 2/4 drum setting with 3rd&4th bar and the ending being repeated throughout. Therefore it was evident that the remaining bars would follow the tune very closely to create good ensemble. The important issue when playing this drum score is to be able to express the Continue reading
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 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
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