The Poing Stroke is an historic British and American stroke whose performance has continued to baffle and confuse researchers.
A Bang by ye Hoop
The earliest reference appears in the English March in the 1632 Warrant by Charles I.
Notice the final stroke in each line is marked ‘poung’ and has a fermata over the note.
We find the first definition of the poing stroke in the Douce MS (c1650), as cited in Byrne, ‘The English March’, p.53.
The symbol ‘L’, which appears in the position analogous to that of the poing in the 1632 Warrant. The ‘L’ is defined as ‘a Bang by ye hoop’.
This ‘L’ symbol appears in the English March and several of the duty calls displayed in the Douce MS. The stroke typically appears at the end of phrases, suggesting its use to denote the end of a phrase or line.
In a contemporary French source, Arbeau’s Orchésographie (1636), he mentions that the final stroke of his marching phrases is ‘with both sticks at once’, or a flam. The flam would serve a similar purpose of creating a naturally hard stroke that would be distinct from the rest of the phrase.
On a calfskin head, a strike by the hoops sounds quite different from a ‘plain’ stroke struck in the middle of the head.
A strike near the center of the drum head creates a sharp, snapping sound, engaging the snares fully.
A strike near the hoops, by contrast, has very little snare, but a lot of reverberation.
The use of a poing stroke to end a phrase makes sense with this interpretation, because the reverberation echoes, creating the impression of a held, final note.
By the 18th century, both Young Drummers Assistant and ‘Drum Beatings’ MS include a poing stroke. Unfortunately, neither defines how to perform one.
They both use the poing much like in the Dounce MS, where the rudiment ends the lines.
For example, in Young Drummers Assistant‘s Drummers Call, the final note of the first and second part are poing strokes.
Based on use, Young Drummers Assistant and ‘Drum Beatings’ MS probably also played them as a strike by the hoops.
Lovering’s The Drummers Assistant for the Art of Drumming (1818), an early 19th-century American manual, defines the Poing Stroke similarly to the Douce MS:
“The Poing Stroke: Is beat in the following manner. Strike the head about three inches from the lower side with a smart sliding stroke; throw up the hand as directed in the First lesson.”
Interestingly, Lovering also uses a fermata (like in the 1632 Warrant).
Accented Strokes
Some early-19th century American manuals list Poing Strokes, though their use suggests they are simply played as an accented stroke.
Ashworth’s New System of Drum Beating (1812) uses the term ‘Poing Stroke’. He places it beside a regular stroke (defined as ‘hard but not so hard as poing stroke’) and faint stroke. This suggests the Poing Stroke is an accented stroke, as opposed to a regular or soft stroke.
This appears to be the same as Rumrille & Holton’s The Drummer’s Instructor (1817), though he uses the term ‘paying strokes’.
When we look at the use of Ashworth’s Poing Stroke and Rumrille’s Heavy Paying Strokes, we see they are generally used as an accented stroke, and not a final stroke to end the phrase.
For example, Rumrille’s Accent No. 1 (a modern Lesson 25) shows the first and last note is a heavy paying stroke, matching the typical performance of a Lesson 25.
Similarly, we see Ashworth use the Poing Stroke liberally throughout beatings. In the Retreat, for example, all strokes except the drags are Poing Strokes – in this case certainly accents and not the Poing from Young Drummers Assistant.
Note, this is distinct from Young Drummers Assistant‘s Retreat, where the Poing Stroke appears only as the final note.
This is the definition that survives into the mid-19th century.
Overall, the term Poing Stroke disappears from most manuals. Klinehanse (1854) and Nevins (1862), who both use a similar notation style as Ashworth, use the term ‘poing stroke’ the way Rumrille uses the term ‘paying strokes’.
They show Ashworth’s notation for an accented stroke.
Flam + Rim Shot
Other early-19th century American manuals list Poing Strokes as a mixture of the original Poing Stroke (a strike near the hoop) but more elaborate with a flam and rim shot.
Hazeltine’s Instructor in Martial Music (1817) describes a Poing Stroke:
“Poing stroke, is beat by giving a light flam and strike each stick nigh the hoop of the drum, lightly touching the hoop at the same time.”
Robbinson’s Massachusetts Collection of Martial Musick (1818) describes a Poing Stroke:
“Poing Stroke is performed by giving a flam and striking each stick upon the head of the drum, lightly touching the hoop at the same time.”
In both cases, their Poing Stroke is a flam struck near the hoop, similar to the original poing stroke.
The note to ‘lightly touch[] the hoop at the same time” implies one of the sticks performs a rim shot at the same time – where the head of the stick hits the drum, while the body of the stick connects with the rim.
Despite describing the rudiment, Robbinson doesn’t use it in any of his music. Lovering only uses it for the beating ‘To go for Wood’:
‘To go for wood, is poing stroke and a ten stroke roll’.
The description of Lovering’s beating matches Ashworth’s and Rumrille’s ‘Wood Call’, both of which notate the first stroke as a Poing Stroke / Heavy Paying Stroke.
Note, the first note is a Poing Stroke.
It is also the same description as found in von Steuben’s Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States (1779) under ‘Signals’.
The inconsistent definition of the Poung Stroke and its use in this simple duty call calls into question how The Wood Call should be performed.
Did its performance change over time and with these different manuals?
Or, was Lovering using the older language from von Steuben without updating its performance based on his more ornate poing stroke?
It’s unfortunate that Lovering and Robbinson don’t include a beating that demonstrates how their poing stroke was incorporated into beatings. I imagine it was likely more popular in quicksteps and probably as the final stroke of phrases or lines.
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