[For Student Drummers] Pre-Festival Performance Spare Accessories Checklist

favorite_borderLast updated:2016/8/24

• drummerYamaguchi Gaku
  Drummer, Drum Tech: Gaku YamaguchiStarted playing drums in junior high school. In high school, he studied classical percussion under Shigeru Sato and Yoshitaka Kobayashi, and drum set under Makoto Hashimoto. While still in college, he began his professional career performing at jazz clubs in Tokyo.After graduating, he worked as a systems engineer, programmer, and IT consultant while performing with indie rock bands. In parallel, he continued drum studies with Masatsugu Tomikawa, receiving broad instruction in jazz, Brazilian, Latin, and funk styles.In 2007, he joined the progressive metal band Gonin-ish. He served as the opening act for international bands visiting Japan such as Slavior and Anekdoten.In 2013, he studied abroad at Drummers Collective in New York under Ian Froman. He also took lessons from Peter Retzlaff, Tobias Ralph, Frank Katz, and Kim Plainfield.He is currently active primarily with Gonin-ish and his own band Beyond to Cinema. CANOPUS endorser.Personal site: http://gaku5214.wix.com/gaku-drumsBeyond to Cinema: http://www.beyondtocinema.com/Gonin-ish: http://www.gonin-ish.com/Main.aspx?lang=1

Spare stick(s) (required)

I’m sure you always have your usual pair of sticks with you, but when you perform in front of people—in a real concert—your state of mind is different from usual, whether you feel nervous or not.

My hands shook with nerves and I dropped the stick, and I even gripped it too hard and ended up breaking it.

At times like that, I can’t stop playing to pick up my sticks, nor can I keep playing with a broken stick (lol).

A spare stick is a must.

If possible, I think using the same sticks you normally use—preferably ones that are nicely broken in rather than brand-new—will feel less strange.

If you regularly switch between several pairs of sticks in your practice and get each of them comfortably broken in to your hands, you’ll be able to play without discomfort even when you suddenly need to change sticks.

Reference:Recommended drumsticks: types and how to choose them

Tuning key (required)

http://www.pearlgakki.com/drum/KGT_100.php

Following the spare sticks, this is also something that any drummer would likely have without me needing to spell it out.

But it's also something we tend to forget. I myself often found myself thinking, “Ah, I forgot.”

The way to use it goes without saying too (lol).

It’s quite common to struggle when the snare, toms, and kick drum are left in the setup from the previous drummer, because the sound isn’t the way you want it.

Let's go ahead and tune it without being afraid!

Duct tape (required)

Gaffer tape (cloth tape) is something that almost everyone involved with the stage carries, not just drummers.

• The screw on the cymbal stand is getting loose, causing the cymbal’s angle to change while playing.
• The hi-hat stand keeps moving more and more while I'm stepping on it.
• The kick drum keeps rushing ahead.

…and so on

Duct tape is the best little tool for emergency fixes, no matter the use.

Also, if you roll it into a tube and stick it on the head, it provides a pretty strong muting effect, and if you're concerned about a tom’s sustain, sticking a tube-shaped roll of duct tape on the bottom head immediately tames the sustain—so it’s not only great for quick fixes but also works excellently as a mute.

You don’t need to buy any especially expensive ring mutes or gel mutes—duct tape alone will do the job perfectly!

Since they’re often lying around near the stage, you might manage even if you forget one, but it’s still one of those small items you really want to have on hand just in case.

Configuration memo (reassuring to have)

Drummers can’t be said to be blessed with as large a population as other instrumentalists.

As a result, it’s not impossible that you might end up playing in multiple bands at the school festival.

Then the issues that come up are things like “I can’t fully memorize the piece” or “there are parts I’m a bit unsure about.”

Even if you can memorize all the pieces and never mess up the structure a hundred times, the thing about humans is that the 101st time is when the real performance arrives.

If you feel even a little uncertain, you don’t have to write full sheet music—it's useful to make a structure memo for the piece, even if only you can understand it.

Things like “Hit the final accent at the end of the guitar solo!” or “Verse 1 has the A section twice”—even brief notes like these are worth making if having them lets you perform with confidence.

Keep it somewhere easy to see—like on the floor at your feet, on the shell of a tom where the audience can’t see it, or any other visible spot.

Stick bag (nice to have)

http://www.pearlgakki.com/drum/Stick_Bag.php

Even if you prepare spare sticks but have nowhere to put them except on top of the bass drum, the vibration while playing can make those carefully prepared spares fall off. Then when a stick actually breaks and you reach for a spare, it’s not there. That’s a tragedy.

If it might come to that, you should get a stick bag (one with hooks or straps that can hang from the floor tom). A small one that holds two or three spare pairs isn’t very expensive, and above all, it gives you a little boost in drummer vibes (lol).

Lastly

How was it?

These may all be the kind of items that go without saying, but on the day of the event it’s surprisingly easy to find yourself saying, “Oh no, I forgot that!”

What I’ve written here is really just the bare minimum, so please use it as a checklist!