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For those of you who wondered if the information presented in Part One really works, here are the results from a genuine field-test.
by Dr. Tony Oliver Okay, folks. For those of you who wondered if the information presented in Part One really works, I thought I would provide some genuine field-test results. My Mom, who is not a percussionist and had never held a tambourine in her life, gave the directions a try. (If you haven't tried the original instructions yet go back to Part One of this article.) I thought some of what we found out might help. Here is what we found: She got her thumb to bounce/vibrate on the table-top she was using. She found that a little moisture really helped (she breathed on her thumb). When she went to the tambourine it was very difficult to make any sound because the head was so smooth. Moisture on the thumb helped a little, but the big problem was that her hand and arms were not nearly relaxed enough.The tension caused by "trying to make it work" made the thumb too tense to bounce freely. When she was very relaxed, she got a small thumb roll. Not ready for the stage, but not bad for never having held a tambourine. She also found that when she pressed down (versus across) a LITTLE more, it worked better. Make sure you keep your "holding" hand relaxed, too. Remember, it just needs to keep the tambourine still enough to bounce your thumb against. I also noticed that she didn't hold the tambourine in "official tambourine fashion" (whatever that is) when she got her first thumb roll. She found that for some reason the thumb roll worked when she held the tambourine vertically. I suggest holding it however you need to hold it to make the thing vibrate during the roll. Once you get the hang of it, you can slowly get back to "normal" playing position. (when she did that later, her rolls were more consistent) Remember to move your thumb along and parallel to the edge of a tambourine--it will move along the curve. I had her envision her right hand on a car steering wheel at the two or three o'clock position and then steering the car one-handed to the left. That's basically the motion (in a smaller version) that your hand travels on the tambourine. Don't hold the tambourine awkwardly--keep your arms relaxed and only bring them high enough to get your thumbroll thumb to the tambourine. And last: It will take time to get comfortable with this. Give it time. Practice and stay relaxed. Tony Oliver is the principal percussionist for the Lake Placid Sinfonietta and a member of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. He is also a founding member of the New York City based contemporary-music ensemble The Society for Chromatic Art. A number of varied freelance engagements in the Midwest, New Jersey and New York areas round out his performance schedule. He has performed on the premiere of works by composers Allan Blank, William Bolcom, Libby Larsen, and James Romig. In addition to performing, Tony commits himself to education and enjoys giving interactive lectures, clinics, and demonstrations to students and educators of all ages and ability levels. Tony has been particularly involved with the New Horizons Band Program, which is an instrumental music program designed for older adults. In conjunction with this program, he has given lectures and clinics throughout the United States and in Sydney, Australia. He is the editor of The Percussion Source Anthology, an online publication of The Percussion Source, and is proprietor of Curving Walkway Publications (ASCAP), a publisher of music. He received his B.M., M.A., and teacher's certification from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Thomas L. Davis, and his D.M.A. from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where he studied with She-e Wu. Tony plays and endorses SABIAN cymbals. Please visit www.tonyoliver.com to learn about upcoming events and for contact information.
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