Theme and Variations for Snare Drum (2013) is a short theme with five short variations. The variations are somewhat abstract, which might make it difficult to hear the theme within them. The theme is concise; it's only the first bar of music, and the three bars after it complete the phrase.
Rhythmic Rectitude (2014) is a short timpani etude for four drums. The main challenges of this etude are rhythmic expertise, paradiddles and their inversions, speed, accuracy, dynamics, and feel. It’s a good idea to try playing the etude on marimba or piano at a higher octave in order to hear the harmonic intentions.
Intimacy Versus Isolation (2014) is a short etude focused on extreme dynamic contrast, rhythmic expertise, and metric modulation. The loud dynamics can be thought of as moods during times of isolation, while on the other hand the soft and peaceful dynamics are a reflection of intimacy.
Etude and Exercises for Schuman’s Symphony No. 3 (2014) is an advanced snare drum etude aimed at achieving a smooth transition from a triplet feel to a sixteenth note feel and vice-versa.
· Stickings: The stickings provided are not the only options; they're just a suggestion. The reason there are two right strokes before flams is for consistency in sound and technique; this is also a personal opinion and not the only possibility.
· Repeats: The exercises inside repeat signs could be played many times in a row. For a challenge, the exercises can also be played back to back without any repeat signs.
· Tempo: The ultimate goal tempo should be quarter = 112. It would be beneficial to start at quarter = 60, and then work your way up.
· Dynamics: Strive for pp. It should also be practiced at p, mp and mf.
(Written in Fall, 2014)
Warm-Up No. 1 (2014) puts stretching, basic technique practice and calisthenics at the forefront. There’s purposely not much rhythmic variation; the reason for this is to make technique easy to focus on. This warm-up is different from most warm-ups: its 24 bars long whereas most warm-ups are 2 bar exercises. If desired, Warm-Up No. 1 could be treated as a traditional warm-up (the reader could pick out however many bars they want and repeat those bars for as long as they please).
· Stickings: The stickings provided are not the only options; they're just a suggestion.
· Tempo: With the stickings I suggest, bars 15 and 16 are very difficult at faster tempos; the tempo of the warm up should be based on how fast bars 15 and 16 could be played comfortably. The stickings of bar 15 and 16 could be modified to alternating strokes so that the entire warm up could be taken at a faster tempo.
· Dynamics: The piece should be practiced at all dynamic levels. For the purpose of building strength and stretching it should be played at mf and f dynamic levels.
