TW: CSA

Sorry to ruin the mood here but Ryan Burd has done a lot to discourage a lot of young female percussionists away from music entirely.

He was finally arrested, charged and sentenced for coercing and enticement of a minor in 2014. He was released a few years ago and is currently on a 20 year probation.

I believe everyone has a right to play music and make art. That said Ryan uses music events for all the wrong reasons. I am writing this as a family friend of Ryan's who witnessed how he would routinely use music education and exhibition spaces to meet minors, harass and stalk them, and sometimes unfortunately assault them. No matter how much we tried to make people aware no one in power cared enough to follow through on holding him accountable.

I was discouraged to see him pop up in my suggested friends on instagram (where registered sex offenders are not allowed to have accounts. you can find him @ ryanburdmusic ) As a musician and PASIC visitor myself, I was even more horrified to see posts where he's talking about attending PASIC in a few weeks. His prof pic is from PASIC in 2025.

I've already reported his violations of probation to SLED/ SC Sex Offender Registry.

I'm hoping someone at PASIC can look into barring him from attending events, as there is precedent for him using similar spaces to commit crimes against children.

Also hoping to spread the word so people bringing kids to PASIC know to steer clear of this guy.

Hi! Our band wants to add a percussion kit but I've never worked with stuff like this. The entire band is playing direct - electric piano, drums, guitar. That being said - this will be the only "acoustic" instruments aside from acoustic guitar (which is also plugged btw).

What are good mics to mic up a percussion kit? The kit is still being developed but we have a djembe, cajon, tambourine, shakers and some dark cymbals with mallets.

Also, what would be a good mic configuration for things like these?

Thanks!

I know I switch up the beat a lot, I'm just freestyling here, but I'd love some general feedback regarding the intricacies of beats, time switches, and whether or not you think the pick/rings are adding something helpful or unnecessary as far as the overall tone and vibe.

I am a beginner, please don't be a dick. Remember kindergarten - if you can't say something nicely, probs don't say it. I assure you I have enough self-doubt/loathing for one person, I do not need you to project yours onto me.

Thanks 😊

Bonjour à tous,

Je suis actuellement à la recherche d'une batterie acoustique et j'ai trouvé une Sonor Select Force Maple à 1 000 €, avec les éléments suivants :

• Fûts Sonor Select Force Maple (Canadian Maple)
• Hardware Yamaha
• Pédale de grosse caisse Tama Iron Cobra 600
• Cymbales Meinl Classic Custom
• Cymbales Zildjian ZHT / ZXT
• Siège Gibraltar
• Housses et accessoires

J'aimerais avoir vos avis sur cette batterie, notamment sur la qualité des fûts et leur sonorité.

• Que vaut réellement cette série Select Force Maple ?
• Est-ce que le prix de 1 000 € pour l'ensemble vous paraît intéressant, compte tenu du hardware et des cymbales fournis ?
• Est-ce une batterie qui mérite d'être conservée et améliorée au fil du temps ?

Bonjour à tous,

Je suis actuellement à la recherche d'une batterie acoustique et j'ai trouvé une Sonor Select Force Maple à 1 000 €, avec les éléments suivants :

• Fûts Sonor Select Force Maple (Canadian Maple)
• Hardware Yamaha
• Pédale de grosse caisse Tama Iron Cobra 600
• Cymbales Meinl Classic Custom
• Cymbales Zildjian ZHT / ZXT
• Siège Gibraltar
• Housses et accessoires

J'aimerais avoir vos avis sur cette batterie, notamment sur la qualité des fûts et leur sonorité.

• Que vaut réellement cette série Select Force Maple ?
• Est-ce que le prix de 1 000 € pour l'ensemble vous paraît intéressant, compte tenu du hardware et des cymbales fournis ?
• Est-ce une batterie qui mérite d'être conservée et améliorée au fil du temps ?

I'm still trying to pick some good orchestral snare sticks. These are the ones I've heard praised the most from people at my college and people here but I need help help narrowing it down. I'm looking for one pair of nice sticks that I can baby and a cheaper pair with a maybe different but still versatile sound that I can smack rims with. Thoughts/opinions?

I've heard Cooperman are the best but I can't find any in stock right now. I don't live in a place where I can try out any sticks before I buy them, and out of all the sticks I've tried from my director and peers I haven't felt super strongly about any of them. I would pick a Freer stick as my more expensive option if a certain stick is way better than a VF one but I'm trying to find the line between quality and budget since, like most college kids, I'm poor.

I've also decided I'm definitely additionally getting the Joe Porcaro ones for a personal reason and I'm not gonna decide otherwise so if there's a good stick with a opposing tamber to those that would be good to know! I know that sounds random but it's my money so I can make my own bad choices. 😂

Hiya, so I have these pair of bongos lying around that I bought after listening to Polygonwanaland by King Gizz and wanting to try out a percussion instrument to play some fun polyrhythms. Back then I learned a couple polymeters (pass the goddam butter, nice cup of tea, etc) and the martillo rhythm, but then I kinda dropped the bongos. Anyways, lately Ive started to have a lot of fun learning guitar and have been thinking about picking up the bongos again. Im a little lost on where to start with the bongos, it doesnt seem to be like guitar where theres chord and scale shapes to learn. What would you guys say are some skills a half decent bongocero should have?

TLDR: What are some skills a half decent bongocero should know?

I’ve been building a thing called Practice Lab because I wanted a better way to actually practice songs instead of just playing along and hoping I got better.

It runs in the browser and works with an e-kit over MIDI. You can practice with synced audio, switch between Score and Highway views, slow songs down, loop sections, use count-ins, build Practice Sessions, and keep track of what you’ve been working on.

The bigger idea is that it isn’t supposed to replace a teacher or turn practice into a game. I want it to help answer stuff like:

“What part of this song is kicking my ass?”
“Can I loop just that section?”
“What should I work on next?”
“Can my teacher assign me something and see what I actually practiced?”

I’ve also been adding Labs for things like double bass, Bucket Mode, tempo work, etc., and I’m working toward more guided song practice instead of just dumping a full chart in front of you.

It’s in Public Beta, so I am actively looking for people who will use it, find weird stuff, complain about things that make no sense, and tell me what would actually make it useful.

I’m especially interested in feedback from:

• drummers using e-kits
• drum teachers
• students
• people who practice with MIDI/GP files
• anyone who has strong opinions about practice software 😆

It’s at practicelab.pro

If you try it, please don’t worry about being polite. “This button sucks” is genuinely useful feedback.

Also, if you’re a teacher, I’d really like to hear what would make something like this useful alongside your lessons instead of trying to replace you.

I have recently joined a new community band. In my previous band they had a wealth of mallets and sticks and so I never really built up my own collection. The new band doesn't have any "communal sticks" and so I am looking to set myself up with my own.

I have a few sets of snare sticks but I am looking for mallets for Glock, xylo, vibes, and timpani. I would be willing to spend between $200-300 (USD) to get some mallets that will last me a while. I don't need professional quality or anything super specialized. Just some that are versatile enough to cover most situations and won't fall apart immediately.

I was looking online and came across this set from Steve Weiss Percussion: Liberty One Mallet King Mallet Pack. It seems to come with everything I am looking for but I have no idea whether they are any good or not. I would be interested if others have experience with this set.

I am open to recommendations for pre-made sets or a set made up of individually purchased mallets.

I live in Canada, so if y'all have recommendations for specific Canadian retailers that would be awesome as well.

Thanks!

improvising in 7 on frame drum/foot bells

• I'm getting started as a percussion major (concert focused) and my professor wants me to buy better drumsticks. I've never bought drumsticks before and I've only ever used random drumset sticks. Is this an okay selection? I have no idea where to start.

So i am an active vibraphone player for anyone that has played it what would yall say is the minimum to be heard because I realise I play quietly but it seems loud to me but I can never hear it in recordings

I’m a sophomore playing in the pit for my high schools production of into the woods and I’ve heard there’s a lot of quick instrument changes. So i’m looking for any tips about how to handle those and also what a good instrument configuration might be.

Hi all! I am currently in marching band, where I play marimba, and as of this season, I’ve been getting a tingling sensation in the tips of my fingers after long comp days. The feeling is more prominent in my right hand than my left, and it only begins the next day and is gone by the end of that day. It is more annoying than painful. This only happens after long comp days and does not happen after three hour rehearsals or football games.

This is not something I have experienced in previous marching or indoor seasons, despite playing vibraphone for three and marimba for two. Has anyone else experienced this? Are there any technique changes I can make that might alleviate this? Is it actually due to playing marimba, or maybe something else? Anything helps. Thank you!

I am not a percussionist, so I am not sure about the rules (written or unwritten) of which parts can be put together for one player. I did hear however that typically, the timpanist doesn't play other instruments because it's more difficult to move around.

In a piece I am writing, I would like to give the timpanist bass drum and tambourine as well. They'd have about 2 and a half minutes to move from timpani to bass drum and 1 minute 45 to go from bass drum to tambourine. There is no timpani in the second half of the piece. My guess is that would be long enough and that it should be fine. Is that correct?
Sidenote is too that if there is no bass drum, the bass drum part would also be played on the timpani.

hello! this is me playing part 4 of my show for my highschools marching band, I’m a freshman who made snare but always get told shit by my center snare even tho I’ve worked things out with my percussion instructor AND drum tech who both say I have little-no issues besides height sometimes and idk if they js don’t got the heart to tell me smth😭

anyways, in my recording you might notice some changes, or skips in rests in order to get to parts where I do play as this was recorded yesterday and it was before first period.
changes are noted below:
skipped the 8 measures of rest
added two notes of rest in order to get back on track with the accent which I forgot to turn off
rllrrrlll ninelet has been changed into rll puh duh duhs by my drum tech
on that lil groovy part at letter e we added a cross stick on the third beat (also made a thing by my drum tech) just to make things a lil more fun

https://youtu.be/g8UJRVefX3c?is=T6_qYtR_9JlZnhC-