A Percussionist's Notebook

Normally the cow bell should be handheld controlling the amount of ring with the fingers and palm, but I've found that too many times it has to be played mounted on a stand. Using Moon Gels© at different places on the cow bell controls the ring nicely. Much better than using a wadded up handkerchief which tends to fall out. There are times when I've had to play Tambourines mounted. Again the Moon Gels© work well. They can also be used to change the timbre when handheld. The problem with Moon Gels© (I call them Drummer's snot) is they tend to leave a greasy imprint on plastic and skin heads if left on for any period of time. On plastic it eventually disappears but I wonder if it could damage a skin head. Regardless, I always remove them soon after they are used.

Dampening Percussion instruments can be a divisive topic. Let it ring completely Dampen it How much dampening Where to place the dampener What to use for dampening I'll start with the last part. In so many schools, I've seen wallets, credit cards, cell phones, books, towels, socks (yes) used. Essentially anything handy at the time. Different instruments, situations and affects require different solutions. For the most part a snare damper is used to remove all or part of the higher partials of the vibration.  High dynamics require a snare drum damper to stay in place without moving around the head. It also needs to be placed in different locations on the head depending upon the tuning of the drum. It needs to be readily available at all times. The best solution that I have found is based on the Black Swamp designed damper. This is a thin piece of split leather shaped to match the contour of the drumhead arc. A piece of looped cord is placed around the tension ro...