Blog - Historic Drumming

Cease Firing: British & French Influence in the American Army

By stix1845 May 8, 2021American Duty Calls – Revolutionary War, British Duty Calls – Revolutionary War, French Duty Calls

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

By stix1845 May 8, 2021Practice Tips, Snare Drum Rudiments

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

By stix1845 May 8, 2021American Duty Calls – Revolutionary War, British Duty Calls – Revolutionary War

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

By stix1845 May 8, 2021Talking to the Public: Interpreter's Guide

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?

By stix1845 May 8, 2021Historic Drum Manuals, Snare Drum Rudiments

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?

By stix1845 May 8, 2021Historic Drum Manuals

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?

By stix1845 May 8, 2021American Duty Calls – Revolutionary War, British Duty Calls – Revolutionary War

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

By stix1845 August 19, 2020Uncategorized

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?

By stix1845 August 13, 2020American Duty Calls – Revolutionary War, British Duty Calls – Revolutionary War

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…

Why were drums used in war?

By stix1845 August 5, 2020Uncategorized2 Comments

Today, the modern snare drum tends to act as the driving cadence for marching bands and snare drums are still used in some military contexts to keep the soldiers marching…