The Alarm: A Long Roll or To Arms?
For a long time, Revolutionary War re-enactors have assumed that the Long Roll was used as a signal to ‘sound the Alarm’. This assumption is referenced in multiple drum manuals…
Cease Firing: British & French Influence in the American Army
For scholars of American fife and drum duty music, a hugely important question is: Where did American duty music come from? Understanding how the music changed, how to interpret questionable…
Double Strokes & Rhythm Exercise: Control your Triplets
In this post, I want to focus on some practice tips for two things many drummers don’t often put together: Double Strokes and Triplets These exercises will challenge your sticking…
The Preparative: Re-enactorisms on the Battlefield
There are two major “re-enactorisms” that, in my opinion, damage the usefulness and credibility of Drummers at battle re-enactments: Prime & Load and Make Ready Firstly, the drum beating re-enactors…
Talking to the Public: Mission Statement to Focus your Demo
You might be invested in this hobby to perform with your Fife and Drum corps, to build a community of historic researchers, to hang out with your friends, to have…
High Hand or Grace Note: How Do You Name a Flam?
When you play a flam, both sticks strike the drum at nearly the same time. One stick will always be the high stick and the other the low stick, or…
Why Was Old Drum Notation Up-Down?
And why was the left hand on the top line? Have you ever looked at 18th and early-19th century drum manuals, like Charles Ashworth’s A New, Useful and Complete System…
What Does it Mean to be a Functional Duty Drummer?
If you're interested in becoming a drummer for American Rev War reenacting, congratulations! The hobby absolutely needs more dedicated drummers and fifers. It's important to know however that musicians play…
A Neck Sling or Shoulder Sling? Which Should You Use
If you want to take your authenticity up a notch and open up your drumming technique, chances are you should be wearing your sling around the neck and not over…
Was the Tattoo played during the American Revolution in North America?
There are some questions whether or not The Tattoo was played in North America. This is an important question to explore as we try to reconstruct the duties of British…