The staff here at DLO is proud to announce the 2009 "Ultimate DLO Warm-up Book" contest. This will be a writing competition that is open to all members of DLO and it will begin Monday, August 17, 2009. The purpose of this contest is to gather a complete warm-up book that will be posted on DLO for everyone to use and reference. As with everything, there has to be rules and guidelines. So here is a list of things to keep in mind:

• There will be several categories of warm-ups involved in this contest:
  
  8's ---------------------> August 17
  accent/tap --------------> August 31
  double/triple beat ------> Sept. 14
  triplet accent ----------> Sept. 28
  16th accent -------------> Oct. 12
  triplet diddle/rolls-----> Oct. 26
  16th diddle/rolls--------> Nov. 9
  paradiddles -------------> Nov. 23
  flams---- ---------------> Dec. 7
  sixlets (24th notess) ---> Dec. 21
  metric modulation -------> Jan. 4
  60 second warm-up -------> Jan. 18
  
  
• As you can see, there is a date beside each category. That is the first day which you can submit a warm-up for that category. Each category will be given a 2 week window in which you can submit a warm-up. If you submit something for a category after the next time period is started, the submission will be disqualified.
  
  
  
• All Warm-ups must be original material and written by the person who is submitting it.
  
  
• Instrumentation will be as follows: snare, tenor(4, 5, or 6 drums) and bass (4 or 5 drums). NO CYMBALS.
  
  
• These warm-ups are meant to work in two ways: in an ensemble setting and individually. Bass drum parts do not always follow along with the snare and tenor parts in a full ensemble. There is no reason for that to change in this contest.
  
  
• There is no restriction on length or difficulty, but it must be playable.
  
  
• Each warm-up must be accompanied by an mp3. There are many soundfonts and programs to accomplish this floating around, so hopefully this is not a problem for anyone.
  
  
• Warm-ups must be submitted in PDF format. If you do not have a program to create this file type, I suggest either CutePDF or PDF995. Both are free and easy to use. Also, please include the original file (Finale, Sibelius, etc) with your submission.
  
  
• Each warm-up must have a name. The name can not include any part of your DLO username or your real name. Also, do not put your DLO name or real name on the warm-up anywhere (there is a reason). If you want to name the warm-up "double beat" for example, that is fine, but some creativity would be nice. Also, the name does not have to reflect the type of exercise, but again....it would be nice.
  
  
• There will be a panel of judges to determine the finalist warm-ups in each category, and the winners will then be determined by a DLO community vote. We will announce the names of the judging panel later. Judging will take place while other categories are still active. That way everyone will not have to wait until the end to find out the finalists in each category, and the judges will have their time spread out instead of having to do everything all at once.
  
  
• Attached to this post is a sample notation file. This includes actual music examples of a "standard notation" that will be used for this contest. All submissions must use this standard. I understand that some of the symbols will be different than what you are used to, but this will make the process much easier for judging/voting purposes. There is no need to write the words above the markings. The judges will know what the symbols mean based on the sample notation file. If you do not use this standard, your entry will be disqualified. This is the same notation standard that was used in the cadence contest back in 2007.
  
  
• NOTATION IS VERY IMPORTANT. Unless the sticking is natural (RLRL), then it must be notated. This includes bass drum unisons. Dynamics, etc (if applicable) need to be included in your submission. This way your warm-up is interpreted just as you envisioned, and nothing will be left to the imagination of the judges. Please refer to the edit below to clear up any questions regarding the sticking requirements.
  
  
• When you are FINISHED with your warm-up and ready for it to be submitted, you will need to send an email to drumlines.org@gmail.com. The subject header should read "Warmup Entry:(warm-up type) (your warm-up name)". The body of the email should include your real name (first and last), DLO name, and the title of your warm-up. You are not allowed to share the name of your warm-up with anyone, or your entry will be disqualified. The judges will only know the name of the warm-up, and not the composer. This will allow the judging to be impartial. Also, if you are going to submit warm-ups in more than one category, you CAN NOT send them all at once. They must be submitted during the appropriate date for that category

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Ok, here is your judging criteria for the warm-ups:

Goal: How well does the exercise work the area for which it was written? Will it help you reach your goal of becoming the next Jeff Queen or Murray Gusseck?

Playability: Realism of what is written on the page. Can a line realistically play this piece? Are the tenor parts too weird and outrageous that only Tim Jackson can play them? Are the parts split up so much that the players in the line can't even follow it?

CLEANLINESS OF SCORE: Are the parts readable? Do you have noteheads turning up, down and sideways? Is the sticking overlapping into the actual music? Is your PDF 8 pages long because you haven't adjusted the number of measures per system? Bottom line: the music must look as good as it sounds.

SOUND: Would people stand in the lot and anticipate this piece being played? Would someone want to transcribe this piece so their line could play it?
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If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in this forum, but please read everything first. That way you won't look dumb for asking something that is already covered.


EDIT:

I assumed that since there were separate categories for each type of exercise, no one would combine categories (8's and accent/tap), but I should have known better than assume. So, here it is in writing: you can not combine different types of exercises into one category. While some programs use this concept, (which is perfectly fine), that is not the intent of this contest. We want to be able to point someone to a specific exercise to help them with a problem they are having. Making specific exercises allows us to do that with no confusion.

Also, there has been some question about stickings. I will cut/paste what I wrote later in this topic so everyone can read it here....

Ok, here is the final say on the sticking issue. I did not intend for there to be a debate on NATURAL vs. ALTERNATE. As mentioned, I had never heard the term alternate sticking until this thread, so there is no way I could have used that in my thought process. Anyway, here is the point: If the sticking is not moving back and forth (RLRL) between the hands (technicially alternating) it needs to be defined. If you have a measure that is all on the same hand, then you only need to put an R or L at the beginning of the measure. However, if you are using syncopated rhythms that switch between the right and left hands in any way, it must be notated. This contest's final product is intended to be reader/user friendly and not composer friendly. The user will have ZERO guess work when it comes to sticking. There will be no need for them to figure out anything because it will be written out for them. I am sorry if this makes it a little more difficult on the composer, but adding in a few more stickings than you are accustomed to will not be that big of a deal.

Three questions

First, do the symbols over the top of the special noteheads (skanks and rimshots would I think be the only example) have to be there? So would I have to put a marcato over a rimshot? At that point, how would we show a marcato or even weirder, an actual marcato rimshot? The skank symbol makes a little more sense to me, but just checking.

Second, what is the symbol for tenor crossovers? Didn't see it in the example unless it's the neighbors drum thing.

Third, Do you actually mean natural sticking meaning natural sticking, or natural sticking meaning alternate sticking?
Here's the first result I came to showing what I mean


EDIT: One more question. When you say playable, do you mean DCI playable, college band playable, high school playable, etc.
Double Edit: I assume that by any difficulty is accepted that that means the highest level possible.

Triple Edit, A new record!: A .wav recording isn't accepted? I ask because that's what Sibelius spits out naturally.

Holy crap, the transcription of that video clip is confusing. I have never heard the phrase alternate sticking until just then when I read your link. I will put it this way....if you are writing 16th notes and your hands are doing something other than playing RLRL, then you better notate it. If you are writing a syncopated rhythm that moves from the Right to Left hand, you better notate it. As I said above, do not leave anything to the imagination of the judges, because the last thing you would want is the intent of your piece to be altered because of a sticking error.

It also says above that there is not limit to length or difficulty, so it doesnt matter what "playable" level you write the warm up.

Tenor crossovers are notated in the first measure of the sample. It even says the word crossover under the part.

To vaguely reference Thom Hannum....the sample notation "is what it is." (hopefully someone gets that). Yes, the rimshot has to have a ^ (marcato) above it to fit the requirements. If that is not there, it could be confused with a rim click even though the click is on a different line. A marcato would be notated like you would normally do it...with the ^. It is the combination of that symbol and the X that make the note a rimshot, not one or the other.

Yes, the skanks have to have the ^ with the . in the middle of it. Same reasoning as above.

I would just write the word marcato above the rimshot if that is what I wanted.

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EDIT

while a triple edit might be a new record, it is a royal pain in the butt to try and answer all of your questions when you keep changing them or adding more

NO, a .wav file is not acceptable. The file size is way too big. We required an mp3 file in our cadence contest at the end of 2007 and no one said a word about it being a problem. Finale has a thing called "save special" that allows you to save the file as a compressed mp3. I am sure that sibelius has something similiar. If you do not know how to do it, I am sure that someone on this site can help you.

2 questions:

1) Why are paradiddles up there twice?

2) Is it alright if the mp3 doesn't use something fancy like VDL and is just the stock Sibelius or Finale audio?

Wow, the paradiddle thing is a mistake. I am not even going to mention how many people looked over the announcement and did not catch that problem. It should read sixlets (24th notes) instead of paradiddles. Thanks.

The stock audio from Sibelius and Finale works just fine. This is a writing contest and not an audio contest. The audio file is basically there so no one has to "play" the piece in their head.

I will answer that question this way...how many DCI writers are coming on our forums looking for a warmup book for their corps line?

Would it be a acceptable to record an exercise at progressively faster tempos in its attached mp3? Just to give people an idea as to how most of them would normally be played and heard in the lot, with exception of a 60-second and something the same length as some SCV exercises.

Well, I'm pretty sure your saying it should be achievable by a high school group. This is different than what the actual thread starter said. Make up your minds.

Sorry bout the crossover question, I must have looked for it over top of the notation like everything else.

Somehow, I doubt the edit was a major problem for you seeing how all the edits were done before you responded anyways.

If we choose to enter the contest are we required to submit a warmup for every category?

When you get the .wav format out, you can change the suffix of the file to anything you want; mp3, m4a, etc. It doesn't have to stay the original format.