Any drummers about?

[Derek Conley]

I was asked by a local pipe band if I'd be willing to learn tenor drumming, to which I enthusiastically replied "YES"...

So, any tenor drummers out there willing to give some pointers/tips/etc...?

[pipe23]

Depends on what they mean by tenor drumming, is it rhythmic, flourishing, or a combination of the two that they are looking for. Rhythmic tenor is much easier, basically complementing the snare and bass sections with syncopated beatings. You have to have a fair amount of co-ordination and rhythmic ability, you'll generally be playing a lot of off-the beat riffs and such.
Flourishing tenor is a whole other can of worms, that consists of a lot of aerial work with the tenor sticks, lots of practice, an excellent sense of timing, spatial awareness and lots of practice! A good flourishing tenor is often the center of attraction when a band plays, being the only real visual element in many bands.
www.bobdunsire.com and www.tenordrummer.com are two good sources, there are also some DVD's out there for instruction, and youtube has lots of flourishing vids, either band videos or tenor drummers showing moves.
It all gets back to what the band is looking for, are they a street band looking for a little variety to the drum section, are they a competing band who needs a tenor in the mix to fulfill minimum requirements of competing, are they a graded band with current tenors you will have to complement and co-ordinate with, are they going to teach you??
I thought you were learning pipes, if you still are a budding piper will tenor cut into your bagpipe practicing, the drums can be a slippery slope for many, I know of many aspiring pipers who either give up trying and drop down to drums to assist the band somehow and never get back to learning pipes.
Good luck and check out those sites.

mic

[Derek Conley]

Thanks for the advice!

I'm still learning piping; I take lessons weekly with that but due to learning how to play the "regular" drums about 15 years ago, keeping rhythm for me isn't a chore at all. The PM is looking more for a rhythm tenor with a small bit of flourish here and there, which I think I can pull off. The benefit is that many of the pipers learned from my instructor, and have told me that they'll also assist with my piping practice weekly.

I figure it can't hurt to try, regardless! I still manage to find time daily to practice the pipes, and jam on my guitar (20 years on that instrument now) so I think (hope) I can pull this off with minimal initial effort.

[pipe23]

Great, with your experience you shouldn't have any trouble , go for it!
Will someone be teaching you flourishing or do you have to figure that out for yourself?

[Derek Conley]

Good question. As I understand it, I think someone can teach me a bit of it... but then it's also been mentioned that another member has some instructional DVDs I can look at, so... we'll see; perhaps a combination of both.