Practicing Drum Sticking with Musition
If there was ever a group of students who have been traditionally overlooked by assessment technologies in a music program, it’s the drummers. One of the main reasons for this is that it is almost impossible to get accurate assessment results for non-pitched instruments. Our own performance assessment software, PracticeFirst is working diligently to try to make that happen but it is likely still in the future. That said, there are some wonderful activities in the MusicFirst suite of content and software that can engage your drummers and percussionists with meaningful assessment activities. One of my favorite is the Drum Sticking section of our award winning music theory software, Musition. This simple yet effective section not only teaches aspiring drummers how to read music and rudiments along with the correct sticking, but also assesses them in a very innovative and fun assessment interface. Here’s how to access this amazing content:
If you are accessing Musition from the MusicFirst Classroom, you’ll need to click on the Software tab and then click on Musition (see above). Once Musition has launched, you will see the Drum Sticking section on the right side of the main content menu. Remember that there are 3 levels of content here which can be selected by clicking on the down arrow next in the upper left corner. The three levels include: MusicFirst Introductory, MusicFirst Beginner, and MusicFirst Intermediate. There is a LOT more of this content available in the Full Cloud version of the software.
Once you click on Drum Sticking you will be redirected to the Drum Sticking section of the software. Here you can either click on Take Lesson or any of the levels that are listed.
The Take Lesson section is a self-guided set of informational slides that teach students the how and why of sticking and why it is such an important part of proper technique - much like fingering when playing a piano. Each section of the lesson includes notation and audio examples. Students can progress through these lessons by clicking on the left and right arrows in the top right corner of each lesson.
Once you’ve gone through the lesson, you can assess your understanding by clicking on any of the different Levels. For this example, I have selected Level 2.
The first question that came up for me had me use the F and J keys to Tap Left and Right. The question asks to tap (in tempo) a group of 4 sixteenth notes 4 times in a row using the correct sticking - in this case RLRR. After a few attempts, I was able to tap this exercise correctly (although I did get one mistake). If you perform the task perfectly, Musition will move on to another example instantly. If you make any errors at all if will let you know and ask you if you’d like to give it another try. Here is what the feedback looked like when I tapped an extra tap:
The green arrows represent correct taps - in time with the correct “sticking”. The blue arrow indicates that I used the incorrect sticking, and a red arrow shows any actual errors - in this case I tapped one extra beat. I LOVE this feedback and I think your drummers will too. Here is what a completely wrong response looks like:
Musition it INCLUDED in our new Performance Bundle and should be something that you use with all of your young musicians. I hope that you find this exercise useful! We are currently running a 6-month deal at MusicFirst that allows you to purchase the Performance Bundle at 50% off the full-year price. You can also ADD Musition to your existing MusicFirst Classroom implementation if you don’t already have access to it. Get in touch with your Education Manager today, or sign up for a FREE 30-day trial. Enjoy!