This isan't really a cadence. Well i guess it could be. So please if you know anything about it respond soon before the topic is closed. I put it here because i didn't know where else i could put it. I was wondering does anyone know anything about the snare solo "Downfall of Paris" I heard about it from one of my friends. But he is away on vacation and i can't ask him. Is it worth playing and is it like a old school solo or is it more like a traditonal solo?

"Downfall of Paris" is a very old fife and drum solo. So in answer to your question it would be very, very old school as well as traditional. It was originally played on sling drums from the Revolutionary War time period. Good old deep drums, calfskin heads, and side slings. There is actually a fife part to go along with the snare, but I'm not sure it comes with the snare part.

It has been a long time since I have played through this solo. It is only of moderate to easy difficulty. The hard part is decoding the circles and triangles meant as the sticking guidelines. They use filled in and open circle and triangles to show stickings.

I have it and about 3 or 4 variations of it in an intermediate snare book I have (first book I ever had). Go ahead and try and find a copy, it's worth a read-through.

I forgot to answer that part of the post. Yes, I definitely think it is worth checking in to. Downfall of Paris is one of the classic snare solos. Everyone should read through it at some point. It is like "Three Camps" and the John Pratt book. They should be required reading. Even if a solo isn't the hardest thing ever written, it is still worth reading through. The more reading you do, they better player you will be.

As a percussionist, it's good to know this solo....but it's not really challenging. And it doesn't even sound that great. But it's still basics, I suppose.

We have to play that stupid thing for class! Die Downfall of Paris, Die! <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Man, that solo is a part of history. dont diss the downfall.

"one of the best"? That's being a little, uh...generous, don't you think?

Don't get me wrong, drumholio is right, it's part of our heritage as rudimental drummers and not to be dissed.

BUT, personally I'd only go so far as calling a "classic" and maybe just leave it at that!


A whole bunch of rudimental drumming "who's who's" (including Jeff Queen) played The Downfall of Paris together at the Pasic convention this past year during an evening concert.

Jeff was trying not to look bored, but if it weren't for the flams, he could've play the thing one-handed even if he was all glazed-out on sedatives (which he definitely wasn't)!

Oh, by telling it to die I am not saying it is essential to the world of the drummer, it is just annoying to me. We have to play it in class to move "up a level" which is this messed up thing our BD is doing. Anyway, no offense to anyone with the kill downfall of paris comment. <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

well "downfall of Paris" is a pretty good piece to play and its great forlearning new stuff.I have seen it before and it was hard for me but if you practice and get a little bit of help from someone you can be playing that piece without the music in front of you.If its annoying then make it so it doesnt annoy you by learning it and trying at it before you give up. If the piece its too hard for you ask your director about second thoughts in that aspect. Otherwise i would say try your best. Good luck with the dowfall of paris i wish you the best of drumming for that.Let us know how you do with trying it out.

i heard downfall of paris the first time when Steve McQueen played for all the drumlines of our area at a camp. it was some hardcore stuff

i think you can find it at rudimentalpercussion.com or is it rudimentaldrumming.com i dont really remember

ummmm......Excuse me...did somebody just say "Steve McQueen"? <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I believe he was an actor, long since deceased.

Perhaps you mean Jeff Queen?

I was at the Kentucky Day of Percussion last Saturday where Jeff Queen played it as part of his clinic. The point is, it is good to know the history of the instrument. By the way, he was discussing the differences between Moeller and "Corps Style" techniques. He also played Three Camps at light speed. It was wild. Man can that guy play fast.

in order to play downfall of paris really well you have to be practicing every day for at least 3 hours on that piece but it will pay off when you get your sticks out in class and start whiping the music upside down.*Happy thoughts*

jeff queen is what i meant, i wasnt really paying attention to his name that day

I'm in the First Michigan Colonial Fife and Drum Corps. We play "The Downfall of Paris" at every performance, WITH A FIFE PART! Downfall is a tradition that every drummer must come to learn as a staple of percussion literature.

woo fife and drum corps! my HS had a F&DC...Fife and Drums of Brandywine.....8,000 fifes and 3 drums....

oh yeah topic....didn't play downfall though...well...not recently...

Really Brandywine?! I think I may have heard of you guys! Are you guys still active? Are you goin to Deep River this year?

i don't think so. it's my old high school, still active, brandywine heights. they're from PA so it's all stuff out here unless you guys travel, they do stuff mainly around the area and down in Philly. last year we went to the birthday celebration of elferth's alley the oldest street or some kind of oldest something or other. but yeah, basically local colonial event-type things.

i know recently they played:
Brandywine, Battle Hymn, Hows Your Mother, Jonny, Rondeau, Wearing of the Green, Tramp, and Yankee

but all the band songs are on a 2 year rotation so i know those aren't all of them so i don't know for sure....maybe they did....

Yeah we go out east from time to time, we're based in Macomb County, Michigan, so in the summer we always take a trip out to the coast. If you ever hear one of the greatest fife and drum tunes, called "Sweetness of Mary" it's fairly new, quite challenging for the ensemble to pull off, it was given to us by The Middlesex County Volunteers as a tribute to our director's wife (Mary) and her battle with Ovarian Cancer. Unfortuanelty, she watches over us from above now, but always with us. If you are at Deep River, or Patriot's Day out in Boston listen for it, "Sweetness of Mary"-1st Michigan Colonial Fife and Drum Corps-

yeah well i won't be out near boston anytime soon but i have family in michigan and so i'm there twice a year, near macomb, in clinton twp. i'm there about 1.5 weeks in the summer and 2 in december/jan.

Very Cool,

Im just wondering how did the topic get from dowfall of paris to a fife and drum bugle corps

it didn't. there is no such thing as a fife and drum bugle corps. it's onto fife and drum corps, which is what 'downfall of paris' was written for....hence all the posts at the begining saying "yeah there's a fife part that goes along with this....." and then it was mentioned that someone's fife/drum corps played it and then it went onto what other tunes were played by other fife corps....etc etc etc.....

THANK YOU

INDOORPERC!!!!

yep...all in a day's work....

*grumble grumble* Dumb song...hard...too many flams... *grumble gumble* Tedious...

wow... is that in cut time? or what is the tempo?

It is kinda fast. You can put it in cut-time though.

ummm...yeah, everyone should learn it, but its kinda easy...and bores me to tears <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/70355-cry.gif" alt="" />

that's what cut time is for, lol.

Hey man. I have had to play "downfall of paris" twice now. It not really hard. It is really sixth gradish. Its not a cadence at all. It is a good rudiment builder and technique lesson..but not much more. It depends on what you are wanting to get out of it. But it might be a song to take a look at.

I know this post is dead But I wanted to ask a question and I didn't want to start a new thread. Are there any fakes in Downfall? I saw John Wooton, Marty Hurley and a bunch of college guys playing it at my drum camp and I seem to remember fakes. But maybe I'm remembering Phantom Phrenzy or Africa Hot b/c Hurley and Wooton played those right after Downfall... By the way, that song is hella easy. I thought it was hard.

they may have inserted fakes just to spice it up a little

I just finished playing over this in my daily practice routine, and I kinda like it. Good times on the real feel with yoda (aka IP kuhn's)

I know of a Downfall of Paris cadence. Its called The Rebuilding of Paris, it was written by a guy at my old high school. It was based along the Downfall lines but it written for a modern drumline. Its pretty sweet.

downfall of paris is actually an audition piece for Crown! at their website you used to be able to get audition pieces to practice, i dunno if you still can or not, ,but my drumline instructor was in many fife and drum corps and played it with the intro being 5's instead of 7's like most of the music shows now. its very nice to practice for your rudiments!:)

to GarfCadet (off subject) that's awesome that you were in the cadets, and jeff queen probably can play it one handed doing "walk the dog" if you watch this, you'll understand vic firth-jeff queen

anyway, as far as I know I've never heard this solo, but most likely it is worth gettin. and here's something else definetly worth getting, "The Rudimental Cookbook" by Edward Freytag published by rowloff, I just recently started sight reading the solo's in this book and it has helped tremendously with sight reading and in general, just raising my skill level