An old dream, renewed with fresh energy: NARD

When I was a freshman in high school, I learned about the National Association of Rudimental Drummers, an organization devoted to promoting and recognizing education and excellence in rudimental drumming. It sounded totally geeky and cool. I decided to make it a goal.
I spent weeks practicing the first thirteen rudiments (slow-to-fast-to-slow again) and preparing a solo from the NARD Solo book ("Modern Syncopation," which remains a favorite today).

Unable to find a NARD member who lived close enough to me for an in-person audition, I arranged to do a a cassette audition, recorded and proctored by my band director. After weeks of practice and four attempts at a quality recording, we sent off the best tape, a completed membership application and a letter of provenance from Mr. Bish to the address on the membership application in late October 1977.
(Below: A blank application, just like the one I filled out)

And then I waited.
I waited so long that I feared my packet had gotten lost in the mail.
Almost a year later, I got back a thin envelope. I figured it was a rejection letter.

Instead, it was a letter informing me that NARD had been formally dissolved as of December 1977, and the former secretary was writing to offer his thanks for a “very good” audition tape, encouragement to keep drumming, and regret that there was no longer an organization to admit me into.

I was disappointed, and encouraged. If NARD had still existed, I would’ve been admitted.

(This was not the kind of encouragement I got from my nightclub musician father, who felt that rudimental drumming was a waste of time. He wanted me to become a jazz drummer or, better still,  a symphonic percussionist. I didn't want a career in performance, but in music education. He didn't really get it at the time, though in later years he would warm to it.)

In this letter, I was told by an experienced drummer that I was good and that I should keep drumming -- exactly the encouragement I longed for.
So I did.

Now, over forty years later, NARD exists again to encourage today’s drummers in the pursuit of musical excellence and beauty.

While talking about our shared geeky love of drum practice pads and rudimental drumming, I told my story to the president of the organization, Mark Beecher.
He'd seen some of my many drumming videos, and invited me to sign up as a member of NARD at long last. Today, my packet arrived in the mail, not so thin or small.



It’s not the same organization, and that's okay.
I’m not the same drummer.
And my reasons for wanting this have evolved as well.
I’m no longer interested in bragging rights — here in the lefty radical landscape of Portland, there's no point in bragging about ANYthing conected to military history — but instead I’m much more interested in the the musical and technical traditions of my chosen instrument, and in further democratizing drumming for anyone and everyone who wants to pursue it.
I’m humbled to be recognized by fellow drummers for my continued pursuit of the craft and love of rudimental drumming, and encouraged to keep rooting around this rabbit hole simply for the joy of it.

While COVID has stripped away, or muted, so many  of my other pieces of musical identity, it has given me time and space to return to MY musical roots and remember the joy. To remind myself that we don’t “work” our instruments, we PLAY them.

(From the NARD web site)
Mission Statement:

The purpose of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers is to protect and preserve a system of standardized rudiments as an anchor for all marching, concert and drum kit drumming.

As stated by Wm. F. Ludwig in the Spring 1936 issue of The Ludwig Drummer:

"It is the purpose, aim and object of the N.A.R.D. to standardize drum rudiments and to encourage their adoption by all earnest students of drums; also to dispel the erroneous idea that the rudiments are only for the drum corps drummer."

#playdrumseverday
#makemusic
#rudimentaldrumming
#diddleseveryday
#NARDdrummer

Old-school cool: "The Follies"

I got my first copy of the NARD solo book in high school, from a friend who was giving up drumming and gave me his old copy. Forty-two years later, that very same copy sits on my music stand. Since returning to rudimental drumming several years ago, I have returned to the solos in this book for pure pleasure. Each solo, written in the 1920's or 30's by a champion rudimental drummer and fouding member of NARD (National Association of Rudimental Drummers), is a little gem showcasing one or more of the original twenty-six drum rudiments. They provide plenty of inspiration for intermediate drummers and a solid challenge for more experienced players as well. The NARD book is legendary amount rudimental snare drummers; our answer to the Arbans trumpet book or Schirmer's edition of Italian art song for singers. It's a classic.

Still at home and on partial bed rest following eye surgery, I used some of my upright time this week to work up a solo from the book, "The Follies" by Jack Lynehan. It's deceptively simple to play, but timing -- and sticking -- are left up to the p;layer. There are no stickings indicated, meaning that you have to be familiar enough with traditional rudimentsl drumming to know which stickings make the most sense, and how many strokes to play in a roll (based on how fast you want to play it, and how clean your rolls are).

I had fun working this one up at a reasonable tempo today. As I tell myself regularly: Clean now, fast comes later.

When I was learning how to play, there were twenty-six officially recognized rudiments, keys to mastering the unique sounds and techniques of the snare drum. Today, thanks in large part to the influence of the modern Marching Arts, that list has expanded to forty rudiments (as codified by the Percussive Arts Society in the 1980s). Many of these are variations or expansions on the first twenty-six and others are licks best played on high-tension (Kevlar) heads. Strung together, these newer rudiments help to make up a growing library of technically demanding solo pieces whose musicality is often hard to discern by the untrained ear.

The beauty of these old-school solos is that, though they're still challenging, they have a musicality that is easy to hear and follow, with phrases and motives that make for satisfying pieces of music as well as technical training exercises. And that's why I never tire of diving into drum music from this earlier era. Because it's musical as well as technical.

Nearly ninety years after its first printing,  The NARD book is still in print and available through multiple online outlets. And it's worth every penny. If you're not familiar with this book, get a copy and have fun with it.
Happy Chopping!