Proposal Cassiee Latshaw March 26, 2014

Executive Summary
In this proposal, I will introduce a new quads drumming instructional guide that can be used to help beginning and intermediate percussionists who are interested in playing quads on a drum line. In my experience of teaching young percussionists, I have found that many students dont practice effectively on their own, so I propose to write a manual that will help young percussionists from developing bad habits during their personal practice time and improve their musical talent. I am qualified to write this instructional guide because I have been playing quads for 6 years and have studied Music Education at the University of North Texas for two years. The budget for this instructional tool will primarily be my time. I will need approximately 10 hours in order to make sure that all revisions and errors are corrected before production.

Introduction
In this proposal, I will introduce a new quad (or tenor) drumming instructional guide that can be used to help aid beginning and intermediate percussionists who are interested in playing quads on a drum line. This book is designed to be an instructional tool to those who wish to further their musical talent. My quad drumming book will include proper practice techniques, basic exercises, and will encourage creativity when playing. My guide can help percussionists who have an interest in quad drumming get everything they need to start playing, and even help experienced players master their chops when playing tenors. The information provided might seem repetitive or obvious to more experienced drummers, but all of the information is important to keep in mind when playing, regardless of your experience. Drumming is an activity that you can always find something to improve on, and this guide will help anyone looking to master their skills or help them on a technique or exercise that they might be having trouble on. I also believe that both students and teachers can use my manual in order to develop their skills in becoming proficient at quad drumming. Teachers can use this as a tool to help their students develop good practice habits while having fun at the same time.

Problem Definition
In my experience of teaching young percussionists, I have found that many students dont practice effectively on their own, and they start to develop bad habits when they dont know what or how to practice when theyre by themselves. The most common bad habits that Ive seen are that some percussionists dont understand the necessity of playing with a metronome and they arent focusing on their sound or technique while playing. My quad drumming book will help address proper practice techniques and give them more experience in improvising by themselves.

Proposed Solution
I propose to write a manual that will help address solutions to young percussionists developing bad habits during their personal practice time and how to help improve their musical talent. The guide includes in-depths descriptions of hand, wrist, and arm positions while youre practicing and performing, and multiple exercises to help the student be more confident in their playing ability and sense of time while performing alone. The quad drumming guide will be divided up into multiple sections that will focus on a variety of techniques and exercises. The guide will start with an introduction to what the reader might find in the book, and the table of contents will be as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Setting Up The Quads Carrying the Quads How to Read Quad Music Proper Individual Practice Mallet Choice Hand, wrist, and shoulder positions X-Y Planes Scrapes Crossovers

The first few chapters of this instructional guide will be primarily on how to set the tenors up on a stand properly so that you dont damage the instrument. It will also include proper body posture to those who are on a drum line and need to carry the quads on a harness so that they wont hurt their back or shoulders. The next chapter entitled How to Read Quad Music will be a reference guide on how to read tenor music so that a beginning percussionist wont be completely lost when you see the exercises. One of the essential parts of this book is the section that explains how to make the best use of your time while you are practicing. This chapter in the guide is extremely crucial for prospective quad players since it emphasizes the use of a metronome while practicing, and it also advises you to manage your practice time such as what you will be practicing and how long youll be practicing each exercise. The rest of the chapters will help you choose the right sticks you need to use, what your hands should look like, and exercises that every quad drummer should know. These middle chapters concerning your hands and the X-Y planes are important to the inexperienced drummer because they dont know how theyre supposed to look like and its incredibly difficult to eradicate bad habits once theyve developed.

Qualifications
I feel that I am qualified to write this instructional guide because I have been playing quads for 6 years and have taught high school drum lines. I played tenors all throughout high school and became both the tenor captain and drum line captain after playing for 3 years. I taught my old

3 high schools drum line as the quad technician for the past year and have been invited back to teach again this upcoming summer. I have studied Music Education at the University of North Texas with prestigious professors and colleagues for 2 years. I have also participated in the Green Brigade Marching Band at UNT for two seasons playing tenors as a part of the number one drum line in the country. While attending UNT, I have taught multiple students via private lessons and have had experience teaching younger players the fundamentals to drumming. Prior to attending the University of North Texas, I marched on the quad line for the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps for 2 years under the direction of renowned Innovative Percussion drummer, Paul Rennick.

Budget
The budget for this instructional tool will primarily be my time. I am anticipating that this will require: Reviewing my musical notation (1 hour) Reviewing the exercises that I have provided for practice (2 hours) Taking photos with hand, wrist, and arm positions (2 hours) Writing a draft of instructions and exercises (2 hours) Revising and editing (2 hours) Final production of the instruction guide (1 hour)

I anticipate that it was take roughly 10 hours in order to produce this instructional guide. It will take some time to make sure that all that my provided exercises are notated correctly and to ensure that there is a glossary that explains how to read tenor music. One of the most crucial things about drumming is your hand, wrist and arm positions, so it is necessary that we take photos so that the percussionists who will be using this manual will have a model and a reference guide to help them perfect their fundamentals and become proficient at playing comfortably with dexterity around the drums.

Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal. I hope that you can see the multiple uses that it can provide for younger students and teachers wishing to further their musical talent. I would like to be able to start revision and production of my manual by May 31, 2014 if able. You can contact me via email me at cassie.latshaw@gmail.com or by phone at 210-831-6800 if you have any questions or regards to my proposal. Thank you.