Percussion tip of the day: The pursuit of a consistent buzz roll is a never ending endeavor. But there are a couple of things to consider when trying to find the consistent sound of a buzz roll. First and foremost is the amount of pressure from hand to hand. There are two main types of pressure when creating a buzz: the pressure into the head and the pressure created by your hand holding the stick. You may want to try to clone (or play with both hands at the same time) your buzzes and examine how they feel from hand to hand, and you will find that you have certain tendencies. For most people there will be more pressure being exerted in the dominant hand. Cloning will help to create the same pressure and sound from hand to hand. The above exercise is to show buzz rolls at all dynamics. I am of the personal opinion that in general the softer the dynamic is the slower the roll base should be and there should be more notes per hand (somewhere between 5 and 7 notes). And it is just the opposite for loud dynamics, the louder it is the faster the roll base should be and the less notes per hand (3 or so notes per hand if forte and above). While this exercise is quite basic in nature and those roll bases will not work for every situation, it is a great starting point to experiment and find that consistent buzz sound. Feel free to try new things and different techniques, as you can see in the video I prefer to play with a lot of arm while at loud dynamics, but you may find that wrist works better for you. And the great thing about this exercise is that you can do it with or without metronome! Happy practicing my friends! #adamsstate #adamsstatepercussion #adamsstatemusic #percussiontips #percussiontipoftheday #percussion #percussionist #percussionlife #drums #drummer #drumming #drumroll #buzzroll #classicalmusic #classicalmusician #orchestra #artmusic #chambermusic #concertpercussion
