A Percussionist's Notebook

I started to think about the design for a different triangle holder in 2008 but the first version of the Nickster didn't appear until 2014. At the 2013 Winter Concert a percussionist in the younger band of the Y/S was trying to remove the triangle from his music stand. It almost looked like a comedy routine as he tried to release it with 1 hand and then both hands and was still struggling nearly missing his entrance. At the time we were using the traditional small glue clamp purchased at a hardware store and modified to hold a triangle. I was proud of his persistence but I also realized that he should  not have to go through all of the contortions to play a triangle. For the next 3 nights I would wake up at 3AM and spend about 2 hours thinking about this issue and started drawing some ideas in my notebook. I wanted to design a holder that was stable on the stand, easily removed with one hand and isolate the vibrations to the music stand if needed to play mounted. The picture a...

This is a project that very few may find interesting. It's time intensive with a long learning curve, but it's fascinating how much I learned about jingles. When I started coaching for the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony there was only one tambourine. It was the $15 step up from a toy variety-a loose skin head with the tone quality of cardboard, thin stamped steel jingles that you could almost see through and had a sound like someone running with a pocket full of loose change. One of my first purchases was a Black Swamp and later a Grover was given to us by a generous donor. I kept the old tambourine in the inventory and eventually it received some of my first jingles. Materials: 1 5/8" or 1 3/4" discs (copper, brass, bronze, or German silver) 22 or 24ga. I drilled holes in the center of the discs. Using various sockets and a bench vise I  pressed the center raised portion. A second pressing using different sized sockets created the upward flange. Using a dri...

I've been watching the  Tour de France this week so I decided to write about one of my own bike trips. In 1996 I rode the historic trail El Camino del Diablo or The Devil's Highway in Southern Arizona. This was a trail that I first heard about during a bike ride from San Diego to home in 1984. I had become obsessed about riding it for 12 years. This trail follows the border of Mexico and Arizona on the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge and has seen human activity for over 10,000 yrs. There are many ancient trails, sleeping circles and shrines left by the Paleoamericans (or First People). It was first used by Europeans (the Conquistadors) in the early 1600's and was a popular route to the California goldfields in the 1800's. There are estimates of over 2,000 deaths along this trail from Ajo to Yuma. Temperatures easily go over 120 degrees and the only water for the near 100 miles of track is found in the occasional tinajas, depressions in the rocks where rain water colle...

Broken and lost instruments happen. It's a fact that has to be accepted, but can be minimized with certain precautions. When I first started coaching for the Youth Symphony the accessory percussion was stored in a large plastic container. It was affectionately known as 'The Toy Box'. In their defense there was almost no storage space, just a large plywood square structure big enough to roll in the set of timpani and of course 'The Toy Box'. I bought 2 suitcases at a thrift store and foam sheets from a hardware store. I cut the foam to hold the various instruments and labeled the contents on the top of each suitcase. The original pictures were lost but the one shown is for another group that I coached. Eventually we moved to a location with more space including closets just for the percussion. I made separate wooden cradles for the hand and suspended cymbals. Another trip to the thrift store provided various holders for tambourines and triangles.           ...

Ratchet with modified mount I’ve had issues with the ratchet since my high school days. The mount on the typical ratchet only fits on a drum set bass drum counter hoop. Yes, under normal circumstances it should be held up for its visual impact but too often the percussionist doesn’t have the time to make the switch from another instrument. I removed the nut on the end of the crank handle, the 6 screws at the base and removed the back plate. The original mount was tack welded and easily removed by placing it in a bench vise and twisting it off. A 1 ¼”x 1 ¼” perforated square steel tube cut slightly under 1”. Enlarged the hole for the mounting eye bolt to ½”. The 2 holes for an accessory post were enlarged to 3/8”. 3 small holes (opposite the mounting clamp hole) drilled to accept ‘pop rivets’. Drilling the same size holes in the back plate I attached the new mount with the ‘pop rivets’. I installed the back plate using the 6 screws and the crank handle n...

I have been making triangle beaters for years but success rates have been mediocre at best. I eventually designed a tubular beater that met my criteria*. Materials: 1. Handles- fiberglass wire running rods. 3/16" in dia. cut to 8". 2. Beater heads- 'spring pins' in 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8"  lengths of 1 1/2" and 2" (using the 1/4" pin required a 1/8" steel rod) 3. Adhesive- Shoe Goo® or silicone adhesive. 4. Handle grip- various diameters of vinyl and rubber tubing. Over time the fiberglass handles could be nicked or chipped causing small splinters that could be embedded in the skin so I covered them with nail polish or used heat shrink tubing (added benefits here is they could be color coded). * My criteria is: 1. Make it as close to a 'professional' sound as possible. 2. Simple and straight forward to use. 3. Use materials that are readily available with simple hand tools.

After years of urging from my brother (also my first drum teacher), I have decided to start the blog experience. As the title and sub-title suggest I will be posting thoughts about my teaching, coaching, performing and percussion repair/construction. But just be aware that I reserve the right to include archaeology, bicycling, fly fishing and anything else that my mind wonders upon. My intent is not to cause controversy but rather to share these thoughts with whomever is interested. I don't sell anything and I ask that you do the same if you use any of my ideas, just reference this blog if you pass them along. * This is not a DIY blog. Many of my posts will discuss what I have made and the materials that I used but not how.  I learned woodworking from my father using hand and power tools. As a bicycle mechanic for 22 years, I learned to use metal working tools including cutting torches. If you have no experience in using these tools you should find a skilled teacher. T...