WGI World Championships Recap

WGI Percussion World Championships were held in Dayton, OH this past weekend. I unfortunately didn’t make it out so the event (no indoor shows for me at all this year) but I did follow the performances through the live blog, which was a pretty cool feature. Following the live blog while at the actual show would be very cool as the commentary offered great detail and insights into each group’s shows as well as pieces of WGI history.

Congratulations go out to Woodbridge? HS for obtaining the highest score ever at a WGI event (including color guard I believe). They scored an incredible 99.6! Three out of four judges gave them a perfect score. A high school group!

The Sport of the Arts (also known as indoor drumline, indoor percussion, winter percussion, etc.) has evolved quite a bit over the years. The most recent rule changes allow the use of video projection and lighting effects, which several groups including Rhythm X used to their advantage.

I’ll do my best to round up some sheet music for some of the best shows, including Rhythm X, Riverside Community College, Music City Mystique, and North Coast Academy.

Click here to see the completescores from Championship weekend.

2012 WGI Show Video Update

We're in the midst of the 2012 WGI season and I have yet to make it to any shows (though hopefully that will change soon) so I've been trying to keep up with my favorite groups through YouTube. I've uploaded a couple of videos below.

Rhythm X 2012 MEPA 2/11/12 "Enlightened"

Northcoast Academy performing their 2012 show "Lose Yourself" February 11th at Troy Athens High School

Riverside Community College (RCC) 2012 Full ensemble 2-11-12 opener

Music City Mystique 2012 Premier | Nü Tribe

Northcoast Academy 2012 Drumline Exercises

Looking for drumline sheet music? Are you looking to audition for an indoor drumline? Northcoast Academy recently released their audition packet for the 2012 line. Download the exercises here for snare, bass, tenor drums and cymbals.

APPLYING GRIPS TO PLAYING POSITION

Start by standing away from the drum, sticks in hand, and arms relaxed at the side. The
arms should feel like a heavy, dead weight. While maintaining a relaxed, heavy weight
from the shoulder through the elbow, lift the left forearm. The elbow shouldn’t move
from where it was while relaxing the arms at the side, and the forearm should be nearly
parallel to the ground, with the hand being just below the elbow. The wrist joint should
be locked so as to not have a broken wrist. Rotate the forearm counter-clockwise
While maintaining a relaxed, heavy weight from the shoulder through the elbow, lift the
right forearm. The elbow shouldn’t move from where it was while relaxing the arms at
the side, and the forearm should be nearly parallel to the ground, with the hand being just
below the elbow. The wrist joint should be locked so as to not have a broken wrist. Turn
the thumb toward the ground so that the back of the hand is nearly flat. Moving the
elbow away from the body slightly, bring the bead of the right stick in toward the bead of
the left stick, reaching a ½ inch away from the left bead (as you move your elbow away
from your torso, don’t let the wrist break).

In this position, walk up to the drum and put the beads over the center of the head. If the
beads aren’t a ½ inch above the head, adjust the stand/carrier so the drum meets the beads
with the proper distance between the two. Each stick should be a two finger-width
distance from the rim (this can vary depending on the bead style of the stick being used).
From here, the “V” position of the sticks should be at about a 90 degree angle. In a
horizontal sense, the right and left fulcrums should be aligned. Using traditional grip
means that the left hand will actually be lower than the right hand, because the left is
mostly under the stick whereas the right hand is mostly on top of the stick.
It is absolutely imperative to use these guidelines in order to have a perfectly symmetrical
look and sound. If the fulcrums aren’t aligned, if the beads aren’t in the center of the
head, and if the two finger-width angles of the sticks aren’t accurate, the sound CANNOT
be produced similarly from hand to hand.

Technique: How to hold a pair of drum sticks

This is taken from Northcoast Academy's 2012 Battery Percussion program.

Right Hand Grip

Start by holding the right hand palm up, fingers together and thumb

open (creating an “L”). Place the stick across the hand so that 1/3rd of

the way up the stick, the shaft lies on the middle knuckle of the index

finger. Next, the shaft near the blade of the hand should contact the

palm about a ½ inch below the pinky knuckle. From here, curl the

fingers around the stick and follow that by pulling the thumb into the

stick, effectively closing the hand. As you look at your grip, your thumb

should be just slightly to the left of parallel with the shaft of the stick.

The space between the thumb and index should be minimal, if there is

any space at all. The back of the stick should never slide into the crease

in the middle of the palm near the wrist at any time.

Left Hand Grip
Start by holding out the left hand, as if shaking someone else’s left
hand. Place the stick as far back into the pressure point between the
thumb and index finger as it can go; squeeze the thumb toward the
hand, gripping the stick. The stick should be gripped at this point 1/3rd
of the way up the stick. Curl the index finger on top of the stick, and
place the thumb on the index finger. The thumb should contact the
index finger either on the 3rd knuckle or between the middle and 3rd
knuckles. The index finger (from tip to middle knuckle) should be just
about perpendicular to the thumb (The position of the index fingers and
thumbs of both the right and left hands should be nearly identical, with
the exception of the space between the thumb and hand). Next, curl the
middle finger next to the stick in the same manner as the index, with
the tip of the finger sitting on top of the stick (the middle finger should
never be used to produce a stroke). The ring finger should be curled
under the stick and support it from underneath, with the stick sitting
between the 3rd knuckle the cuticle. The pinky curls in next to the ring
finger and is always relaxed. Looking at the grip palm down, there
should be little or no space between each finger.

Northcoast Academy 2011 online workshop/audition

NorthCoast Academy Percussion Ensemble just posted this on their Facebook page:   

Dear friends, online workshop/audition RSVPs will be up by the end of the week! In the meantime, share this page and help us break 2,000 fans! 

We're pleased to announce the date for the annual NCA Workshop!

The Workshop is NOT a part of the audition process. It is a no-pressure event geared towards prospective auditioners who are looking to learn NCA's approach to technique or get a feel for the NCA audition and rehearsal process.

All positions are open! We are looking for snares, tenors, basses, cymbals, marimbas, vibes, 2-4 rack/oil drum, guitar, bass guitar, 2 synth, and movement line. Members of the movement line should have some gymnastics and movement background.

Online RSVP will be available at northcoastacademy.org in a few days. Please "Like" NCA's Facebook page to stay updated. 

All dates will be held at Reese High School from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
1696 S. VanBuren
Reese, MI 48757

Fee is $40 and covers all three weekends.

Visit the link below to submit any questions to director Diane King.
http://www.northcoastacademy.org/contact

Like Northcoast's Facebook page today!

WGI World Championships PIW and PSW Finals Review

I know it's been awhile but, finally, here is my review from WGI World Championships held in Dayton, Ohio at the University of Dayton arena on Saturday, April 16, 2011. I was actually able to attend the Percussion Scholastic World and Percussion Independent World finals, which started at 5pm and lasted through 11pm. Parking was $5 and general seating tickets were $40 which is kind of steep (though it makes Cedar Point/Kings Island amusement parks look cheap in comparison). I think this was the first indoor drumline show I was able to go to in three years.

PSW
Milton HS had a bunching of spinning things and played "Like Spinning Plates" by Radiohead. I really enjoyed Walled Lake's show "Barriers" and thought it deserved a higher score as it was more entertaining than many of the others Walled Lake Central (MI) (8th- 90.950). Center Grove probably had the best all around synergy with their theme of a snake and I really liked the idea of the parents in the crowd with shakers imitating a rattlesnake. The PSW winner was Arcadia HS (CA) (Gold Medal- 97.525) and deservedly so. I thought they had the most innovative drill I've seen in a long time. They did a lot ofplaying on their knees, turning around, standing up and down. Their show "Rise" was really challenging and demanding on their bodies. They could play really well too. I would've liked to see more emotion and facial expressions but that's my only complaint. "The line displayed an amazing level of body control, as members were continually in kneeling or crouching positions with perfectly sculpted angles from person to person, and racing around the floor at warp speed velocities when moving. " You really need to watch this show!


Read other reviews here.

Aside: what is with all of the talking shows? If you need someone to explain what your show is about then it is too complicated in my opinion.

PIW
Blue Knights and Northcoast Academy had the most entertaining and crowd pleasing shows (stuff non-drummers in the audience could appreciate). I thought Rhythm X was bkind of boring this year. I felt bad for them that they had to perform after the two highest energy shows of the night. Riverside Community College and Music City Mystique definitely had the most musical and cleanest shows. After watching MCM in the lot videos, them cats can play!

One group played a horrible cover of Jonsi's "Go Do" but I don't remember which one it was.

Sorry, since it's been so long since finals I got a little lazy and shorthanded this review. But, if you have any specific questions or want to know what I thought of any groups please comment below and let me know and I'll gladly discuss it. Thanks.

Official review found here at wgi.org

NorthCoast Academy 2011 - "Balance", Full Community Show Performance

NorthCoast Academy 2011 - "Balance", Full MCGC Novi Performance

The cymbal solo is pretty badass.

Snare Drum Sheet Music: NorthCoast Academy Lick of the Week #5

It's time for North Coast Academy's Lick of the Week. This is lick number five, another snare drum masterpiece. View the sheet music above and watch the video below. Take the challenge! Download the sheet music and respond with your own video!

Tenor Sheet Music: NCA Lick of the Week #4

Above is the drumline sheet music for North Coast Academy's Lick of the Week #4, this time featuring the tenors. Below is a video to play along. Enjoy!

Snare Drum Sheet Music: Northcoast Academy Lick of the Week #1

Northcoast Academy indoor drumline has started an excellent YouTube series called "Lick of the Week" where they post a short video of a sweet drum lick. The best part? The sheet music is included and they encourage you to post a response video of yourself playing the lick or making up your own. How cool is that? Posted above is the snare drum sheet music for Lick of the Week #1 as well as the video embedded below. Subscribe to NCA's YouTube page for more!