Frosty Roofs

Frosty Roofs is an explicitly Christmas-oriented parade cadence that takes inspiration from a couple of popular Christmas tunes. There is a dedicated sleigh bell part for that festive holiday sound, and all the music is relatively simple, so you can squeeze this in at the end of the year as needed. The run time is fairly short, but different segments could easily be repeated as necessary to stretch things out.

Sheet music is packaged as a PDF binder including separate scores for 4– and 5–bass arrangements, as well as printable battery parts.

Immortal

Immortal is an HBCU-style street beat that consists of a series of buildups that each feature a single section of the line, punctuated by hits or little licks in the other sections, and building up to release into the next section’s “feature.” Many of these little features are then reprised as accompaniment to other sections’ features. The final buildup takes us into the full battery groove at letter E, which hits you with everything I want in a cadence: a backbeat, nothing but rimshots in the tenors, sizz/sucks in the cymbals, and an excessive number of stick flips for visual flair. As described, it could almost be a parody of the way I like to write cadences, but I think quite the opposite—this piece is a quintessential representation of how I try to compose. Very old-school and very modern at the same time, with extensive focus on both groove and traditional rudimental fare.

It is arranged for 7 basses, but it is also not very heavy on bass splits, so that could easily be adjusted-for by any college line interested in this composition. The difficulty level may be pushing the upper limit of what counts as a “blue square,” but I truly believe that the rudimental content is far more reasonably achievable by college musicians than anything in the “black diamond” category.

Grand Train

Grand Train is a show style-inspired cadence that’s all about groove; whether it’s loud or soft, whether the licks are dense or sparse, whether it’s a section feature or an ensemble moment, there is groove to be conveyed… therefore, your rhythmic precision must be impeccable! The challenge of the written music is to play it so well in time that all the parts fit together, which is a greater challenge than is suggested by the somewhat standard rudimental vocabulary, thus earning this piece a “Challenging” rating. Make no mistake, though; this one goes hard, and the payoff is in fat beats more than hot licks.

Big Game Hunters

Big Game Hunters is a groovy street beat that’s all about textures. Snares and tenors play splits as separate groups in a couple places, so watch out for that when reading the score (I tried to draw attention to it). Also, there is a lot of visual flair written into the snare part; it repeats, so just get the motions coordinated, and you’ll be golden.

I was inspired to write this piece after seeing a college line in Utah rocking it with no cymbals and whose tenors had multiple toys (Agogô bell AND wood block!), so I am providing the original arrangement in this style, the “Wasatch Front” arrangement.

But what about those big Southern drumlines with plenty of power and size, whose performers have plenty of fun in their eyes? Enter the “Tobacco Road” arrangement, scored for either 5 or 9 bass drums, tenors with only one toy (an Agogô bell), a couple of other subtle changes, and definitely yes cymbals!

EDIT 21 February 2023: Fixed some noteheads in bars 2-4 of the snare part

Emeritus

Emeritus is a slamming street-beat that adds low-humming tom drums to the typical battery instrumentation, inspired by the extra bit of punch that a lot of show-style drumlines bring to the table. Creative use of triplet feels and transitions to duple feels create suspense and release while maintaining a strong pulse to march to.

Fun fact: the snare part in the first measure of rehearsal letter C is stolen from an early version of Murray Gusseck’s “Electric Wheelchair,” which had that lick in place of the loud 32nd-note singles that you’ll recognise in every later version. Great choppy 90’s notes to set up the rest of that snare soli. If you’d like, you can also view the first two beats of the following measure as an homage to the old SCV “Threes” exercise.

Baby Legs

Baby Legs is a more experimental street beat written for the cool and comfortable tempo of 96 BPM. It blends inspiration from Cumbia and Drum & Bass styles to create some interesting feels that come together at the end for some heavy grooving. 

EDIT 21 February 2023: Fixed errata in Measure 2 that had the snares and tenors playing the wrong rhythm in beat 4.

30 Under

30 Under is a street beat written at 90 BPM for a much more laid-back feel than the 120 BPM you're used to. I don't know who is prepared to march that slow, but if you are, these notes are for you!