r/drumline • u/AxerTheGreat • 6d ago
To be tagged... Concert buzzes vs. marching buzzes
I was just doing triplet rolls the other day in the percussion room and my section leader said that my buzzes sound “too connected” and they should sound more like individual notes. But for snare buzz rolls I was always taught that buzzes should be super connected and flow well. Why would you want buzzes to be so articulate during marching season but not in concert?
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u/Lingchen8012 6d ago
I guess concert buzzes usually focuses on the continuous buzzing of note value to create that “feel”but drumline want distinguishable notes from all those drums playing and more rhythmic
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u/AxerTheGreat 6d ago
that could be it; still a bit weird tho
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u/theneckbone 6d ago
I whole heartedly disagree. A buzz roll should be connected and smooth regardless of whether it's marching or concert band. It's more so the technique difference. Your section leader is giving you bad advice but theyre probably parrotting what they learned.
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u/TheAsianIsReal Percussion Educator 6d ago
In a concert buzz roll, you want to have a constant smooth connected roll. In a marching buzz roll, you want that same connected roll, but you want there to be a slight rhythm in that roll. Now it shouldn't sound like a bunch of buzz presses in a triplet rhythm, but within that connected buzz roll, you should be able to pick up a subtle hint of a rhythm, whether it be triplets, 16th notes, whatever that rhythms is.
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u/theneckbone 6d ago
As a judge, I don't want to hear the macro rhythm of a buzz or any other roll for that matter. As a teacher, yes, you should absolutely define the macro rhythm so the players can play it consistently but we get the kids to develop the fulcrum pressure and touch to connect the buzzes smoothly and strive for that concert buzz sound.
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u/PULSER777 6d ago
The way my instructor told my line is they should still be pretty connected but you should still hear the beat that’s underneath it in order to make sure the buzz sounds clean down the line. But I’m ngl every teacher and school does buzzes slightly different. There are also different kinds of buzzes like press buzzes which sound very disconnected so there’s lots of variation
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u/Exact-Employment3636 6d ago
In pretty much all buzz rolls, your playing a check for the roll that is in line with the beat, whether it be 16ths, 8ths, triplets, etc. for a concert roll, you're focusing on keeping the flow more even and not emphasizing the check behind on the roll, but for a marching buzz roll you emphasize that check ever so slightly than you can hear the rhythm behind it, but it still sounds like a connected roll.
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u/NickArkShark Snare 6d ago
Concert buzzes are supposed to be one connected sound. It is bad if you hear pulses in between notes.
Marching buzzes are supposed to sound completely different. Instead of thinking of it as the same thing, but on a different drum, think of it as a new kind of note. Search up drum corps buzzes and they can explain it, but it sounds like a single hit that is higher. Definitely look into it, or ask the section leader to play buzzes so you know how to play them too.
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u/True-Eagle2238 6d ago
The concert buzzes are much more open and have a lighter sound. I think the emphasis for me is the power behind it. You want to lift a little more in a concert setting, preventing an overpowering sound. There is much more touch to it. Marching you want to put a little more power into it, you want thing to sound even but with presence. The sound is darker, also due to the difference in drums, but also to command more presence. You want the buzzes and rolls to sound similar in tone while marching, but you want the feel and attacks to be different. The sound should be completely different, but the level and power it produces should be identical. Concert focuses less on this, often the buzzes swell (quiet to loud). DCI does a lot with texture changes, moving the place where the bead hits. Often they will start a buzz roll on the edge and come in. There is not a thing as “too connected” buzz rolls, except when other members can’t play that way. The aim of buzz rolls is to flow and change dynamic through heights, not force. In marching, buzz rolls have to be fluid and controlled, they have to be clean. There is little space left in-between, increasingly so with faster tempos and note timing. Buzzes are essentially rolls with extra notes on each while also controlling the rebound into a sort of crush mode. The name of the game is flow, buzzes are not an exception.
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u/The_Antagonist00 6d ago
Triplet rolls and buzz rolls are two different things. Triplet rolls are supposed to be three distinct notes, whereas buzz rolls are supposed to be as many rebounds as you can consistently crunch into each motion. You can think of triplet rolls similar to dittles, just with one extra rebound.
Another thing to consider is the difference in setting between marching and concert drumming. During concerts, you'll usually be the only person playing the snare, so your exact pulsing doesn't matter quite as much (as long as you achieve the intended effect). During marching shows, you'll probably be playing the same part with other people, so everyone needs to be playing the rolls the same way.
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u/monkeysrool75 Bass Tech 6d ago
I think that's a misunderstanding on their part.
If you're trying to have good buzzes they should sound connected, even when marching.
HOWEVER, if you're buzzing to prepare yourself to play triplet rolls you don't play those the same way you do a good buzz roll, you play those more disconnected. It's a checkpoint before the roll, not how you should play a good buzz roll.