The Secret to Heights and Dynamics in Marching Percussion

I would like to take a minute to demystify a common thing I have seen non percussionist band directors struggle with implementing. I think all band directors, at some point in their career, have witnessed a percussionist reference drum line dynamics through the use of a height system. Some have heard of different “levels” of playing: level one being very low and quiet and level five being obscene (and borderline offensive when not done correctly). Others I’m sure have heard of the height system that uses “inches” as a reference. My goal is to introduce what I use and give you tools on how to effectively implement these ideas in your ensemble. This may be a long post, because I plan on walking you through how to establish each dynamic level, starting with the lowest or most quiet.

Before we begin this journey, we need to get something straight. I clearly said “Marching Percussion” in the title. I did not say “drum line.” This is because any height system can be used with ANY part of the marching ensemble. The goal here is a unified approach in velocity from player to player within the ensemble, and to also have a unified verbiage for ease of instruction.

As I said, I would like to take us through my height system that I use, starting with the lowest. The lowest dynamic I usually define from the beginning is “three inches.” This is going to make up the majority of the notes in the piece of music we are playing. It also serves the height for music marked “piano.” In order to find this height, our “set” position (also called a resting or tacet position”) must be set up correctly. On all drum line (battery) instruments, I define this as a downward angle with beats in the appropriate playing zones for the instrument. This downward angle is further defined as a gap around the size of two fingers between the rim of the drum and the part of the stick closest to it. From there, our wrist must have NO BREAK in it. The height of the drum should be adjusted to find this height. From there, the downward angle should stop at the tip of the stick. The beads or ends of the sticks should be hovering as close to the head without touching it. Special care should be taken in the bass line to ensure they also have this downward angle. From here, we lift the stick to parallel to the drum head. This is the height we call 3 inches. It should never be above parallel to the head. The mallet percussion is a bit trickier. It involves perception by you as the instructor to make sure the mallet height that is parallel to the instrument is comparable to the battery.

The next level I like to talk about is the 6 inch height. I like to use a very stretched “thumbs up” to demonstrate the approximate height for 6 inches. This involves very little opening of the hand even at moderate tempos. It should usually be achieved by the turn of the wrist. This dynamic level correlates to “mezzopiano” in the music. While I let the front ensemble explore this range a little more in their literature, I very rarely call for anything but the accents to change dynamic levels in the battery. Unless your musical ear desires more volume from the battery, EVERY note should be played at 3 inches regardless of dynamic marking EXCEPT the accents. The dynamic marking only dictates the height at which the accent is to be played. Therefore, at a marked mezzopiano, only the accents will be played at the 6 inch height defined here.

The rules of dynamics applying only to accents carries on through the next two dynamic levels. The next of the two is a “mezzoforte” volume, and I define it as nine inches. This is achieved by mostly wrist, still with minimal opening of the hand. The stick should not be approaching perpendicular to the head. Remember, this is only three inches higher than mezzopiano. This is contrast to the “forte” height I define as twelve inches. At this point, the line in my instruction between twelve inches and higher becomes more dependent on the demand of the music. The louder the marking, the more arm is used. The slower the rhythm, the more arm we can begin to engage to achieve the desired height. At these larger heights it is important to never allow the stick to go past perpendicular to the head. If more height is desired, it is achieve through the use of the elbow hinge, incorporating more forearm. I always tell my students we will not go past perpendicular and become “back scratchers.”

There are four short points that must now be made to connect the dots and make application practical. First, there is often an agogic accent noted with a tenudo articulation on percussion parts. I define this as a half accent. As an example, an agogic accent at a forte dynamic level (nine inches) should be achieved with 4.5 inch (I like to relate it to my kids as a “sad” or “lazy” six inch height) accents. Second, an accent at the piano dynamic (three inch) level is equal to an agogic accent at the mezzopiano level. I relate this to the kids as just a “little bump” in the sound achieved by slightly higher sticks. Third, the only exceptions to the “all unaccented notes are always at 3 inches” rule are decrescendos and crescendos. These are begun at the notated level, then gradually increased or decreased in height into the next notated dynamic level. These are never done mechanically and even throughout the course of the (de)crescendo. I always shape these dynamic changes as I would a band: with a “bellcurve” shape, saving the biggest changes for the end of the (de)crescendo. Finally, all of these rules go out the window when the velocity of the stick changes drastically from height to height. The integrity of the placement of the note with velocity of a three inch height should be just as high as the twelve inch height. The only change is the height. We should always strive to avoid the extreme at both ends of the spectrum: a feather tapped or extremely heavy three inches, or an overly excited nine inch accent. To avoid these extremes, always practice all heights in a “basics strokes” exercise similar to the one I have on this website. This exercise is intended to be played at all heights to ingrain in the performers what it feels like to achieve them correctly. Only then do we truly have a unified language for ease of instruction.

This is, in the quickest and most stripped down way I can manage, is the height system I use in a nutshell. It is my hope that this can serve as a guide for percussionists and non percussionists alike. Of course there are areas I did not speak of, but it’s impossible to include every scenario in a post such as this. Please, as always, never hesitate to reach out about questions, comments or concerns that you have over any material here!