Ceili Drummers? advice sought

[dean]

Hi,

Are there any ceili band drummers out there? I would like to get some advice please.

I played percussion in grade school a million years ago. I remember a lot but have not plyed a snare or kit since. I have seen a few youtube vids of various groups with only a snare being played with brushes. Is this sufficient?

Is it common to have a base drum, hi-hat & snare? Toms or cymbals?

The vids seem to all have people using brushes. Is it ever correct to use sticks?

Are there do's&don't's for ceili drummers?

Lastly, for now, since I have not used two sticks on a drum in such a long time i do not know anything about current drum makers or gear. I know this is an open ended question but, which makers and models of snares, heads, stands etc do you prefer?

[MTGuru]

You might PM Josh Dukes here, and ask him to join this thread.

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4310

Josh is a professional drummer, a multi-talented fluter, guitarist, bodhránista, and a nice guy. He also just took first place in Ceili Drumming at the Mid-Atlantic fleadh.

I'm curious, too. I've been fooling with a drum pad and rudiments for a few months now. I think just a snare and wood block are pretty much the basic ceili kit.

[joshD]

Well,

I pulled my hair out trying to figure out some of those same questions.

In ceili competitive ceili band drumming. The set only contains a snare, bass, and wood block. You use two drum sticks and control the bands starts, stops and tune changes. In ceili drumming for dances and other recreational playing, I have seen just about everything. Hi-hat's, toms, cow bell you name it, I've seen it.

Some of the do's and do not's in competition are:

1) Do not play the woodblock on the march.
2) Do play the woodblock on the first B of an AABB tune and on the B part of a single reel except for the last time through the tune.
3) Do bring the band into playing position with one block hit. Then start the band of with two block hit's(or three if it's a hornpipe). For the march you bring the band in with two, three beat rolls.
4) Do signal the band to change tunes with on block hit
5) Do signal the band to stop playing with two block hits aprox 8 counts from the end of the tune.
6) DO NOT be to load(out of balance) with the rest of the band.

There is a bunch of other stuff, but I am falling asleep at the computer

Let me know if you have anything else.

[FJohnSharp]

The ones I see on Comhaltas use sticks, which come in handy for doing rolls. I imagine I'd throw in a lot of rolls if I were improvising ceili music. I could easily play the ceili music on a snare drum but I started whistle so I could play a melody instrument. I've jokingly offered (threatened?) to bring my drum to session one week and everyone laughs and laughs then we go into Off to California.

I just did, however, buy a Latin Percussion mini claw for attaching a wood block onto my snare drum. I needed it for concert band season where we're playing no less than three marches that require significant wood block (in stop time no less), but in the back on my mind I was thinking how it's perfect for ceili if I ever needed it.

Also, reference this thread: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=67242

[dean]

Thanks for the info guys.

I went to my local, dedicated, drum shop and felt like Rip VanWinkle. Man, prices have skyrocketed since the late 70's.

Joshua, one of you "DO"s was to signal the band to stop "8 counts" before the end of a set. For a reel, as an example, do you mean: 2 bars (8 beats); 4 bars (8 down beats); or 8 bars -- the start of the last time through the last part of the last tune?

All the best,
Dean...K...

[FredG]

Message for JoshD; Josh, is there a recording of your playing which I might listen to/get a copy of/buy your CD...? If not your own playing, is there someone else I can contact or buy recordings?
It seems the ceili drumming competition criteria is VERY restrictive to the drummers playing and fairly regimented, in what you've mentioned below...?
Anyway, congratulations on your FIRST PLACE prize!! Well done!! FredG