Hi folks,
Here is the sheet music for the piece. It has some specialties regarding notation that you might not be used to; however I think you can adapt to it pretty fast. The right hand is written above the line, the left hand below. Instead of regular flam notation there is a little line attached to the notehead (‘). A note with the right hand (above the line) having this attachment on the notehead will therefore be a flam “left/right” and vice versa. Got it? That is a pretty common way how the Swiss notate flams.
It takes a little while until you are used to it but then I think it becomes easier than reading regular flam notation with the little note plus having to read the sticking. Notating in two different levels instead of indicating stickings is another typical Swiss thing that can also be found in Scottish Drumming as well. Some of the very first American Drum Manuals (like Charles Ashworth’s 1812 book) is also written this way – however with the left hand on top and the right hand on the bottom. O.K., so read along with the video and check out what goes on.
In the next post I might explain a little more about typical Swiss ingredients and some more “hybrid-like” patterns. Have fun and feel free to throw any questions in!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE PDF!
7 Comments
Fantastic post, Claus!
It’s really interesting comparing and contrasting the vocabulary of Swiss Basel drumming and the American/British traditional styles.
I’m assuming that in both cases, most of this was rote learning, so stylistically, the Basel drummers had much more interpretive aspects in their rudimental vocabulary. In the 5 strokes alone, there are at least 4 different interpretations!
I do wonder about the use of finger-oriented patterns.. Lots of singles though out. That’s so unlike traditional American rope drumming styles where fingers play a role in the quality of the rolls, but not so much in the speed of singles. Also, the single stroke 4’s – which is on our basic list of essential rudiments, but I’ve always interpreted as 4 stroke ruffs. That rudiment seems to be much more a part of the rudimental vocabulary than what it is here in the states.
Sorry to obsess on the details. It’s just fascinating to go beyond the couple of Swiss Basel drumming books that’s I’ve studied from to see a real-world application!
Thanks again, Claus!
Hi Mark,
. Your are right; I also think that the Basel drummers use more much freedom in their interpretation as we usually do. There is also a number of very typical Swiss rudiments that are used quite frequently: Inverted Flam Taps (or Doublé as they call it), Flammed rolls (like 5 stroke rolls beginnning with a flam) or certain combinations that you don’t find at all in American Rudimental Drumming (like the combination of an accented flam plus another accent – which is called a “flammed Coup de Charge”). You find one of them on the very end of my piece. It is one of the oldest Swiss patterns; people say it was usually played when Swiss mercenaries attacked (or charging) their enemies with spears.
glad you like it. The single stroke four is quite a common ingredient on french style rigodons – so I stole a little bit there as well
The Swiss also use another special system of notation (developed by Dr. Fritz Berger) that is however under a special copyright, therefore you are usually not allowed to use that system unless you have permission of a Basel Publisher. Therefore I did not write in the absolutely traditional Swiss way … I’ll elaborate on some passages in my next post.
Claus
Hi Claus,
Nice playing and thanks for offering the sheet music. I competed as a Scottish snare drummer so reading the notation wasn’t a problem, though there are some interesting and challenging figures in the piece. How does this piece rate in terms of difficulty compared to other Basel style pieces?
Did you use Finale for the notation? If so, is that flam note head custom or part of the program? I use Finale but haven’t noticed that particular symbol.
Shouldn’t the quintuplets in the second and fifth lines be 1/16th note quints rather than 32nd note quints? You’re fitting five sixteenths in the space of four, so if they’re really 32nds, wouldn’t you need a longer release tap or a rest at the end? As I read it, you’ve only got four eighths in those measures. It’s a small point, but I want to make sure I understand that what you mean is play a quint that ends on the third and sixth eighth notes in the measure.
Thanks again,
Brad
Hi Brad,
glad you like it. It’s hard to compare it with other Basel style tunes for several reasons (e.g. some of the phrases I used will traditionally not appear in 6/8 time etc.). In terms of difficulty I would say it is definitely a pretty challenging piece; also in comparison to traditional Basel tunes. For a comparison I would recommend to check out any harder traditional Basel 6/8 piece like the “Radac Tagwacht” (Radac Reveille) or a (more french style) “Rigodon Panache”.
My rendition of the Garryowen has certain ingredients of both. Check out those – great stuff!
For notation I used Finale, the flam sign in the notehead is an articulation sign that I created out of a regular little “l” from any writing font.
Regarding your rhythmic question you are absolutely right; it should rather be 16th qintuplets than 32nd (bar 5 in part A and bar 3 in part B). The quintuplet happens during the counts of 1 and 2 respectively 4 and 5 – the closing eight note of the phrase falls on the 3 and 6. Good point – have to fix that!
Claus
Great piece Claus. I bought some snare etudes in various styles from around the Western world at PASIC last year and the phrasing is tricky as it is here.
I have always found that getting the finesse to make it lilt along is the hardest part, which takes far longer than just figuring out the slightly awkward subdivisions.
I shall have to come bother you for a history lesson some time and bring a snare.
Also, sorry, you mentioned the flammed Coup de Charge. One of my old teachers had me play similar but simpler ideas where the flam was essentially backwards with the accent first. I think he called it a Charge note and I’m certain he said it was french rudimental vocabulary. Do you have any more insight on this?
Jim,
thanks for your comment. In fact it seems to be hard to separate certain Swiss and French influences. Some patterns (like the “Pataflafla”) are used by both (“fla” is the french term for “flam”). The “Coup de Charge” pattern in its basic form as the Swiss use it is just two accented notes very close together. The “Flammed Coup de Charge” still has an additional grace note on the first of the two strokes. The term “Charge” in that context comes from charging or attacking the enemy. I guess a one-on-one question/answer situation would indeed be the best to clarify any misunderstandings. And yes, making it sound like music is the hardest part
Claus