Black River Music Word

Hello Everybody, In 2006 I nominated Nick Attanasio for the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. Some of you might be saying "there is no place for a rudimental bass drummer in the PAS Hall of Fame," but I’m going to try to persuade you to support my efforts and get this inspirational man recognized on a stage like never before! If you ask a dozen people who the greatest drumset player in the world is, you’ll probably get a dozen answers. If you ask who the greatest marimba player is you’d have the same results. In almost any category you pick the results would be the same. If I ask 100 people who the greatest, most influential rudimental bass drummer in history is, I’ll bet 99% would say Nick Attanasio! (We’ll save one percent for those who live on another planet!) In the late 40′s and early 50′s, Les Parks and Bobby Thompson became friends with Nick. They were charter members of Brooklyn’s legendary Sons of Liberty fife & drum corps and it became their mission to get Nick into the corps to anchor the drum line on bass. When he finally joined they became what many people consider to be the finest drum line in any form of rudimental drumming…period! Les & Bobby were two of the top drum corps instructors of the day. After drumming with Nick for only a short time, Bobby Thompson’s drum lines went from only having bass drums that kept time to adding rudimental bass. Les’s lines also followed this trend. And so did everybody else’s drum lines. That means that Nick Attanasio influenced the direction that the modern marching percussion section would follow for years to come. From a professional drumming standpoint, where have Nick’s students gone? His students have been performers in The Old Guard, The Hellcats and The Disney Corps. They are college professors, music educators and college students. His students coordinate and present work shops and clinics promoting the art of rudimental drumming. They are rudimental drumming composers and teachers. And the champions? Let’s just say that Nick’s students have more championships than should be allowed. It is an unwritten rule-if you are serious about studying with Nick, you will win! When guys from Switzerland come to town they go to Nick for lessons. When Risto visits from Finland, he wants to drum with Nick. When the military wants guidance, they call Nick. When Disney needs a bass drum feature, they call Nick. When ANYONE receiving this letter wants to know how to breakdown rudiments in the correct manor or learn the art of bass drumming WE all know we must call Nick! Whether it is a formal lesson at his home or a private bass drumming lesson in his hotel room at PASIC or drumming in the parking lot at a parade, Nick is the man! If you are still not sure I suggest you immediately contact PAS about purchasing the video of the Drummers Heritage concert featuring Nick Attanasio as a soloist. Upon hearing him play you will have no choice but to write the letter! Nick Attanasio should be in the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame! I contacted Michael Kenyon, the executive Director of PAS and asked him for advice on getting Nick into the hall of fame and here is part of the message he sent me. I have found the more information the better as long as it is pertinent and does not get into specific events or get too detailed. If you are able to garner support from others and they send in nominations or letters of support, I believe that always has an impact. I hope this helps and I look forward to seeing you in a just a few weeks.Michael This is something I am passionate about and truly believe is a worthwhile effort. Please do not waste time and say I’ll do it when I get a chance. DO IT NOW! Write a letter and mail it to me at: Dominick Cuccia PO Box 46 Bethlehem, CT 06751 Thank you so much for your time and support on this important topic. Nick Attanasio has been the greatest for a long time, now he should be recognized that way! I have a list of the people who have written letters of support. In a future blog I will post some of the names to give you an idea of who believes he belongs. And trust me, they aren’t all bass drummers! Enough of my talk…get writting!!!!!!!!!!!! In the spirit, Dominick Cuccia http://www.dreadeddrummer.com/

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As many of you know there is a great site www.rudimentaldrumming.com hosted by Rick Beckham. To be honest with you, their forum is the only one I check on a daily basis. I enjoy the characters who post, am entertained by some of the bickering, and am truly educated by some of the topics that cross the board. Recently there was a topic that lead to some discussion about Mitch Markovich. This has led to my thinking about his influence on me. I was in high school and taking private lessons with the late Jeff Funnell from Pouquag, New York. Mr. Funnell changed my life by introducing me to the music of two drumming legends…George Lawrence Stone & Mitch Markovich. Stone wrote the incredible book Stick Control and to this day I practice from it. The truth is it took me a few years to realize how valuable it was to my drumming. On the other hand, Mitch Markovich had an immediate impact on me and changed how I viewed drum solos forever! (NOTE: My music is nothing like Mitch, but his influence has been INCREDIBLE!) As a rudimental drummer I think my initial exposure to the music of Mitch Markovich might be the equivalent to seeing Niagara Falls for the first time, hearing the Beatles (or your favorite band) for the first time, or watching the New York Football Giants win the Superbowl! This may seem extreme, but if you are a "rudimental nerd" like me you probably understand. TORNADO by Mitch Markovich…This was the first piece of his I played and the one I will focus on for this blog. What was it about this music that affected me so dramatically? Everything. It was challenging, musical, fun and an eye opening experience! Most rudimental drumming I had played at that point in my life had a very military or traditional feel to it. The first thing I felt was a moving away from everything I knew, with a basis on a lot of what I knew. The rolls were mostly 16th note based (not so traditional) but there were tons of ratamacues (traditional). So I immediately learned that the ancient and contemporary worlds could co-exist. 16th note flams, 32nd note paradiddles, Swiss army triplets and fast 16th notes on one hand. I was aware of these patterns, but never thought of taking them to the extreme like Markovich. And the tempos he had written? Lets just say that playing those speeds in a fife and drum corps was unheard of!!!!! But this music wasn’t just ramming as fast and loud as you possibly could. Everything is written with the utmost attention to combining challenge and musicality. Prior to this music I played lots of music both loud and soft, but the thought of crescendos, decrescendos and sforzando’s never really crossed my mind. Truthfully, they aren’t the most important aspects of drumming when you are trying to keep fireman (many of whom are not the most coordinated) in step for two miles. But when I heard Markovich utilize these musical ideas it made me rethink how I wanted to approach drumming. (NOTE: This was the same period of time that I first heard the incredible sounds of the Connecticut Blues, so many of the ideas I learned from Markovich & the Blues went hand in hand with my development as a drummer!) In my late high school years writing my drum music became one of my biggest hobbies. My book covers, the back of tests, all of my notebooks and anything I could get my hands on had some sort of musical scribble. In the early stages it all had a "traditional" feel (whatever that means?) but with the music of Markovich in my veins I now began incorporating what I believed to be a more "musical" style (whatever that means?). I don’t mean to compare myself with Mitch Markovich. His impact on the drumming community has changed the lives of many. However, I am comparing his impact on me with the impact others have had on me. In my book I have a dedication to many of the legendary rudimental drummers. Some have influenced me by their playing and others by their writing. When you look at the list of drummers included (see my earlier blog "Under the Influence") you can see Mitch Markovich is one of the drummers/masters with a radical departure in background from the rest. He may not be someone whose drumming you would associate with me, but there is no denying that the influence of Mitch Markovich on me has been tremendous. At PASIC 2002 I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Mitch Markovich for a few minutes. I gave him an original copy of my book The Beat of a Different Drummer and thanked him for the incredible influence he has had on me. We haven’t crossed paths since, but if I saw him all these years later I would share my admiration for him again. He is truly one of the giants in rudimental drumming history and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to study and play his incredible music! In the spirit, Dominick Cuccia

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I initially considered the idea of writing articles on, considering that I am a member of that demographic, stick exercises for geriatric drummers. Furthermore, I thought, since I have always struggled with my drumming skills; have witnessed many great drummers in my life (and thereby know what drumming should be) I can give, possibly, better insight to nuance than naturally talented performers. I guess that falls into the area of: "those who can’t, teach!"

But looking over the exercises that I have learned over the last few years, I realize that they are universally applicable to drummers of all ages, genre, and skill level.

The first few exercises will be ones that I used with my short stint with The Connecticut Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps. The drills were extremely helpful for me in achieving some ‘dexterity’ for my left hand and certainly better speed. John Moynihan, the corps’ drum instructor/arranger, packaged these exercises with the drum line repertoire. Some of the pieces have their authors listed, which I will present with their publication. The ones without displayed authorship I will acknowledge John Moynihan as the source.

I have an incredibly poor left hand skill for a drummer. Without constant practice it can happen that I can barely repeat striking the correct spot on the drumming surface. And even with much practice the left-stick has a tendency to wander. This is most apparent when executing a two-stroke open roll..

So I have particular interest in the my first entry to the series of drumming exercises:

The idea of cleanly performing a double-stroke roll at speed is to quickly and evenly play two fast beats alternately on each hand. The problem lies in the need to strike a beat, then quickly recover whatever bound is resultant from that beat and immediately strike the second beat. At increased tempi, this becomes difficult for the weak hand. The first exercise I present below addresses the problem of the weak hand. Beyond that, it incorporates the ultimate target for the drill, the two-stroke roll.

(The exercise, in the copy I have, lists it as an “independence” type. Although I understand the implication of it being the exercise of the hands, independently, I changed the title for my first contribution to ‘isolation’ so as not to be confused with four-limbed independence as practiced for set drumming.)

The isolation exercise, also know as Singles-Doubles-Triple Combo, begins by isolating the hands starting with eight beats played by the right-hand for the first measure, switching to the left-hand for the second measure. The two measures are repeated.

The next two measures, or the ‘doubles’ section, have the hand executing sixteenth note figures to give the doubling effect. Again the hands switch when moving from measure three to measure four and the two measures are repeated. These two measures, alone, address the requirement for performing a quality two-stroke roll.

The next two measures are the most difficult. Here we are required to execute three quick bursts on each isolated hand. Besides being the most difficult, it is arguably the most beneficial. As can be seen, this section is very helpful in improving ones three-stroke rolls.

Measure seven (7) begins to put it all together with a four-count, sixteenth-note roll going directly into the thirty-second note rolls of measure eight (8) which, as indicated, should be played as a crescendo to the accented quarter-note of the first beat of the last measure.

Although this final measure shows rests for the remaining time within, I usually make the final beat of the thirty-second note rolls, the first beat of measure eight (8), the first beat of measure one (1) for the next time through. However, I present the etude below as written. Perform it whichever way is comfortable for you.

The suggested time signature of 80 BPM is rather slow but for the first time through, it’s a good start. I advise using a metronome. It provides discipline and lets you know where you are in your line of progress. Obviously, as the piece feels comfortable at a specific tempo, gradually increase the metronome setting. Although it is a bit to fast for me, I suggest 128 BPM as a goal.
Practicing Rudiments:
 I don’t intend to present this and other future published exercises as substitutes for actually breaking down the rudiments. For example, still the best way to master the long or two-stroke roll is to start slowly, gradually and evenly increase speed to just where execution falters and then decelerate back to the starting speed, again, gradually and evenly until stop. A minute-and-a-half in and a minute-and-a-half out is a good timing consideration for this roll and all other rudiments. This method should be repeated attempting to gain more speed and quality execution.

The exercises should be considered adjunct to practicing rudiments. For example, with this article’s exercise, the double and triple beat hand isolated drills will develop the skill to quickly and precisely recover between beats that will lead to better speed and accuracy when executing rudiments.

 A good practice regimen might be to perform the list of exercises, then close and open the two-stroke roll followed by whatever rudiment that you may feel needs the work.
 I have added audio player capability for the exercise (a play button is located below the notation). The audio was generated from the notation software and it is obvious that the snare sound for the thirty-second note roll in the last measure is not a two-stroke roll. It is a crush-roll sampled from a percussionist in the London Symphony by the software company. It was expedient to use the audio available rather than recording my own version. I may reconsider the audio issue with the subsequent articles. I might consider creating videos.

I thank the Connecticut Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps and specifically, John Moynihan for this exercise.

I hope this and the subsequent exercises will helpful in improving your overall drumming ability. They have helped me considerably.

Please leave any comments or suggestions in the space allocated. I will be happy to hear from you.

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Hi,

This coming weekend Black River Music Plus will be setting up shop at the American Patriots Rudimental Drummers Club convention in Harrisburg, PA. This year the convention will be held at the Harrisburg Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, April 18 through 20.

This year the club will introduce, on Friday night, percussion individual and ensemble competition. There will be two major categories, rod-tension and rope-tension.

As every year, Saturday will have the non-competitive exhibitions by the membership. But this year there will be fifers to perform with the drums in some extremely progressive arrangements. This will be apparent in a clinic held by the members of the champion Connecticut Patriots drum line with the fifes of Bill Hart, Tishka Musco and other fifers. They will also play some selected pieces from the "Madison Street Project’ CD, ‘The Last Hour’. All very cool!

Technically, the convention performances are for the enjoyment of the membership, but if you are an interested drummer or percussionist and in the area, I’m fairly sure paying the small membership fee will allow you entry. You’ll see and hear some great stuff there!

-Joe

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So this past winter my sister Cat put together a myspace page for me. www.myspace.com/DominickCuccia This week I found an audio recording that Jason Malli did of me playing in my basement a year or two ago. It is a solo from my book titled SALAMANCA. Cat put it up on myspace and you can listen to it when you visite the site. (THE BIG DISCLAIMER…this does not represent my best playing. It was a one time through recording experiment!) SALAMANCA was written for Therese (then my girlfriend, now my wife!) when she was in college. She was leaving for Spain to study at the University of (you guessed it) Salamanca. This solo is a lot different than many of the others I’ve written and I can identify some of the influences just by listening. If you want, leave this blog right now, listen to the recording and then return to read about them below. ——————————————————————————- Did you listen? ————————————————————————— 1. First and formost I hear the opening bars and Chuck Mangione comes to mind. The opening phrase (which returns again at the end) is definitely reminiscent of Children of Sanchez, one of his great charts 2. The Connecticut Blues…yes, I’m sure you all could see that one coming a mile away! Actually it is not a rudiment or rhythmic figure that they influenced, but the silence. I remember as a teenager hearing their drum quartet play this piece that had these perfect blocks of silence. It was a genius idea to put all of that space in and then be able to come in perfect off of all that rest. The funny thing is it wasn’t written that way for the drummers at all…it was for the fifers. Their quartet was an old contest piece called COUNTY DANCE and all of the silence was there for fife solos!!!!! Makes no difference to me. I always thought it was great and I was definitely influenced by them! 3. TORNADO by Mitch Markowich. I didn’t realize it until I listened to it today, but it sounds like I "borrowed" two measures from Mitch when I wrote this. Towards the end when you hear the 1 measure of roll with an accent on the downbeat, followed by a drag figure with a crescendo…that was it! That is a definite touch of the influence. I’m sure there were others but those are the obvious ones. If you don’t have my book THE BEAT OF A DIFFERENT DRUMMER order it here http://www.blackrivermusicplus.com/drumming-literature/from-dominick-cuccia/cat_21.html And if you do have my book, please share your thought or feel free to ask questions. I’d love to talk with you. And if you record it please send me a recording. I would definitely enjoy hearing your interpretation of my music! We’ll talk at y’all down the road! In the spirit, Dominick Cuccia

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Hey everybody, Yes it has been a while since I’ve posted. Time hasn’t been on my side, but I will do my best to get on here a little more often. What is on your mind? I’ll share a quick dilemna of mine. During the day I’ll be driving to or from work and it will hit me, "This is a great topic for the Black River Blog." I come up with tons of them. I’ll get home, sit down at the computer, even go as far as login, and then it hits me…that massive wall of writers block! What would be really awesome is if you could send me your thoughts from time to time. Let me know what you’d like to hear or talk about. Is it a corps, or rudimental interpretation, or a specific piece of music, why I love the Connecticut Blues or something else? Let me know what you’re interested in and I’ll do my best to accomodate. Email me at dominick@dreadeddrummer.com with your ideas and I’ll try to get my thoughts up for the whole world to mock…I mean read! I do have a topic I will follow this up with, but please feel free to email from time to time. Even if it isn’t to suggest a topic and you just want to touch base or say hello, that is fine. Stay well everybody and we’ll talk at y’all soon! In the spirit, Dominick Cuccia

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After almost two weeks away, the Black River Music Plus Store has now been on-line at its new host server for about a week. The bugs appear to have been rousted out and the performance of the store is superior.

This blog, Black River Music Word is hosted with the store software at the new server and it as well is working so much better that previously.

With the new, fast hosting I hope to do more with this blog. Prior to the upgrade there was little sense to develop too much content and/or gadgets within the application when the performance of the hosting service was so poor.

I have talked with drummers about what they would like to see here and have been given some great ideas. Please, anyone, let me know of things you would like to see on Black River Music Word.

-Joe

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