Brazilian National Drumline
What is "Tchá
"Tchá-degga-da?"
da?"
In short, it is a nonprofit organization that teaches youth in Brazil to play
percussion instruments in the drum corps marching style which is extremely
popular in the United States. A
An accomplished percussionist with an admirable
teaching resume,
e, John Grant, created the group to offer young Brazilian musicians
the opportunity to play in the rudimental style of drumming at the highest level of
perfection worldwide.
In 1993 John Grant began his Drum Corps career playing on the bass drum line at
the Marauders Drum and Bugle Corps
Corps, returning to this same group in 1994
playing the snare drum.. After tour in 1994 he went to the University of North
Texas and in his second semester was rewarded a scholarship for Rudimental
Drumming.
umming. In 1996 played on the sn
snare line
ine for the Concord Blue Devils who won
the world championship in DCI (Drum Corps International) that year.
Both during and after his Drum Corps career
career, John taught at several high schools
in the state of Utah.. Every group he instructed won the statewide top percussion
trophy at the `Western State Championships’ in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
In 1999 he moved to northern
orthern California and began working with marimba
construction at a well known factory. There in Northern California he also started
studying 'Capoeira', the Brazilian martial art involving music and movement. His
teacher ('Mestre') was a Brazil
Brazilian native and offered to take him and his group to
Brazil to learn more about th
the culture of Capoeira and to further their studies.
In the end of 2001 they arrived on what was supposed to be a four month trip.
After four months John had a good understanding of the language and felt that if
he was to return to the states he would forget the little Portuguese that he had
learned, so he chose to stay
stay. John began teaching English to help make ends meet
but wanted introduce Brazil to rudimental percussion,, his lifelong passion.
He put together his resume and got in contact wit
with
h UNICAMP, the state university
in Campinas, São Paulo.. The percussion director there was fami
familiar
liar with Drum
Corps and informed John that no such group existed in Brazil and at his University
there were only eleven percussion students and that he felt tha
thatt the idea would
not be well accepted in the country
country. Seeing John's experience with marimba
construction, he passed the resume on to a local instrument manufacturer that
was trying to build marimbas.
arimbas.
Shortly thereafter John began making and designing marimbas, xylophones
ylophones and
vibraphones
ibraphones in Brazil. One day the owner of the company approached John and
asked if he might be able to answer some questi
questions
ons that some clients had. Upon
arrival into the room, there were three men dressed in suits and ties, and John
was in torn work clothes full of saw dust. The three men said that they were
working on a project emulating work done in the United States called ‘Drum
Corps’ and that they needed keyboard instruments that could withstand rain, sun
and outdoor abuse. John was obviously interested
interested.. When they found out John's
John
Drum Corps experience,, they asked him to help with their project.
The very next weekend John and his sister Michelle went to see the group and
started to help in their weekend rehearsals
rehearsals. After a few months, they went to a
local band competition made contacts with other band directors,, thereby
receiving invitations to teach many other bands in Brazil.
In most bands you can count the number of students who really study
stud and want
to learn on one hand. Usually
sually, most young people are there just for a 'cool' place
to go, 'hang out' with their friends
friends, or their parents make them go. The
T people
who actually want to learn were being held back by those who were there
ther for
social reasons. John and Michelle thought that it would be a good idea to have a
way for all of these youth who really wanted to learn from
m all of the different
bands, to be able to go somewhere and play with other people who took the
study music as seriously as they did.
John and Michelle set up a Sunday ‘workshop’ and invited all the percussionists
from all of the bands that they were teaching at the time, to come together and
have the opportunity to learn some more advanced material and to get to know
each other.
They had no instruments
nstruments at the time so they drummed on a wooden board. John
was extremely impressed with how fast these musicians learned to play and
everybody wanted to set up another Sunday workshop, so they did. After
A
a few
months, even more people became interested from cities too far away for them
to come out for just a one-day
day workshop
workshop, so John started the idea of `camps`,
similar to those held in Drum Corps, where the young people come out for 3 or 4
days, sleep on the ground, ((usually on a gym floor) and drum all day long for 3 to
4 days. This wass the birth of the project `Tchá
`Tchá-Degga-Da’.
John chose the name `Tcha Degga Da’ because of one of the first rudiments he
teaches is the `Flam Drag’. John says this is a great introductory rudiment
because it teaches a wide variety of essential techniques including 'accents',
'taps', 'flams' and 'double
double stroke rolls
rolls' all-in-one. John and Michelle made t-shirts
and used the musical notation of the 'Flam Drag' as a logo in hopes that students
would come to the camps alre
already prepared to play this rudiment.
The first camp was in 2005 in Louveira, São Paulo
Paulo. Tchá-Degga-da does its best to
set up camps every month since then
then. The organization of these camps carries a
large time and financial commitment. IIt is necessary to find both a safe place
away from the city to have these camps and instruments to borrow, since the
group does not currently own any instruments of its own.
Sometimes it is not possible to set up a monthly camp for lack of a place to stay or
available instruments. With teachi
teaching
ng commitments in Drum Corps in 2007, John
returned to the United States to be an instructor for the world famous Madison
Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps and the Freelancers Winter Drumline in 2008
(Winter Guard International or WGI
WGI). At the end of 2008 John received an
invitation to come back to Brazil to teach and to restart Tchá-Degga--Da which
dissolved after his departure in 2007
2007.
Tchá-Degga-Da
Da takes rudimental percussion in the form of drum
rum camps to many
different
erent cities in the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Rio de Janeiro. These camps
happen through the sacrifice of the students, many of whom have to work fulltime jobs just to pay travel expenses to the camps, which are often hundreds of
kilometers away from their homes. John also teaches at many bands and
workshops throughout the country.
Tchá-Degga-Da has students come from many states in Brazil including Bahia,
Pará, Goiânia, São Paulo, Paraná
Paraná,, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas
Gerais and receives e-mails
mails from all around the country from people interested in
coming out and learning with Tchá-Degga-Da .
In 2005 Tchá-Degga-Da
Da received some support from a Brazilian drum company
and borrowed a set of drums to use in work
workshops
shops and presentations. The
Brazilian drums,, however, d
did not have the strength to be tuned with the same
tension that is necessary to create the sounds of Drum Corps
Corps.. The drums break
upon tightening and split apart.
John Grant and Tchá-Degga--Da recently performed at a workshop at the Tatuí
Conservatory of Music, doing a three day clinic
clinic. The classes were video recorded
and are posted on the Tchá--Degga-Da website (http://www.drumline.com.br
http://www.drumline.com.br) so
that people who are not able to come out to the camps can look up the videos
and see the sheet music to learn how to read the music and to play along with the
line from Brazil.
One of the greatest obstacles the group faces is that it is impossible to create a
set group of performers due to the high out
out-of-pocket
pocket cost for the musicians to
arrive at camps and travel to performances. Many of the youth try but eventually
the money runs short and they're no longer able to participate.
Each camp has its difficulties
difficulties, sometimes it is hard to find enough food for the
participants, sometimes there is no
nowhere to shower or use the bathroom, and if
we try rehearsing in the cities the neighbor complain about the noise. There are
always people left out because of the location and the d
distance
istance that some of the
people would have to travel.
It is really a great opportunity to be able to teach these youth how to read music,
music
and the discipline involved in Rudimental Percussion
Percussion. Here
ere in Brazil it is very
difficult to find teachers or directors in the ba
bands
nds that know how to read music. It
is even more difficult do find someone who can teach
each the kids how to read music.
When shown how easy it is to read music it is neat to see
ee how much they do with
it. Tchá-Degga-Da puts up as much inf
information as possible on the internet so that
people from Brazil can have easy access to this type of information. Usually this
type of information is difficult to find for people who do not speak English.
Here in Brazil the people learn
earn so quickly and ha
have
ve so much natural talent.
talent The
problem is, they have no quality instruments
instruments.. Some Brazilian drum companies
try to make rudimental drums but they are impossible to tune and very
expensive.. Some Brazilian drum sstick
tick companies try to make sticks, but they use
inferior types of wood so the sticks do not have the same type of re
response
sponse and
are also very expensive.. Brazilian rudimental percussion material is very
expensive and very low quality. We are very limited as to what we can do
because of the fact that we don’t have good drums, we don’t have tunable heads,
we don’t have quality sticks and we don’t have drum stands or carriers.
Tchá-Degga-Da would like to take its group to compete in the United States at the
Rudimental Percussion competition called W.G
W.G.I. (Winter Guard International).
Tchá-Degga-Da needs a headquarters where an offic
office can be set up with a phone
number and a broadband internet connection. Computerss will be needed with a
printer and a copy machine for music. The group also requires a rehearsal
rehears site
with large mirrors on the wall
walls so the performers can see themselves as they play.
play
The location must have someplace large and secure to store instruments
ments. The
participants need a decent p
place to sleep with showers, bathrooms and a place
for members to eat, as in a complete kitchen to make food.
We need a steady fix set of usable budget money to cover the costs of office
space, food, electricity, phones, internet, computer and printer maintenance,
supplies, instrument maintenance, uniforms, and publicity. A canvas floor the size
of a basketball court is also needed for WGI, which will have to be painted.
paint
For
transportation, ideally one bus and one truck would be necessary for national
travel, plus budget allocations to pay for gas, drivers and automotive
maintenance.
Tchá-Degga-Da also needs instruments
instruments! At the moment we desperately depend
on the availability for other groups to loan us their instruments for our camps and
performances. We would like to put together a fixed line of 9 snare
are drummers,
drummers 5
tenor drummers and 5 bass drummers. Tchá-Degga-Da would also like to have
about 15 people in the 'pit'' (an ensemble of concert percussion instruments).
instruments)
The 'pit' would include 4 marimbas,
arimbas, 2 vib
vibraphones, 2 xylophones, a set of bells, a
set of chimes, a set of 5 timpani, a concert Bass Drum, and suspended cymbals set
up in front of each keyboard. There will also be a set of traditional Samba and
Capoeira instruments.
Tchá-Degga-Da would like to offer scholarships to those who live far away so that
we can help them with the cost of their bus or plane rides. It would enable a lot
more talented members participate in the camps and performances if the cost to
participate didn't come out of their own pockets.
Tchá-Degga-Da would really like to open a school that had classes every day. A
conservatory if you will…. It would be great to have a dormitory where the
students could live,, study music, perform at the highest levels of excellence on an
international level. With the right conditions we'll be able to teach young people
to perform well enough to win scholarships to universities both in Brazil and in
the United States. Naturally, all students would receive instruction in percussion
far beyond rudimental drumming.
Our dream is not to make money with the group, but make professional musicians
out of the raw talent that is going undeveloped in Brazil. All these young people
need is the chance…
We welcome whatever help is possible in the form of sponsorships, donations, or even just publicity!
pu
Help Us Out
Out! Tyler Ellison: +1 (310) 956-1234
1234
Email: tyler@drumline.com.br
What Tchá-Degga-Da Needs Most:
Instuments & Equipment
Snare drum stuff
Yamaha MS9213B 13" SFZ Black Snare with RM-TVHMS Mono Posto Carrier
$689.99 from Musicians Friend
(total of 9)
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-MS9213B-13-SFZ-Snare-Black-WithRMTVHMS-Mono-Posto-Carrier?sku=489727
Yamaha SFZ Marching Snare 13”
$481.90 from Lone Star Percussion
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Snares/Yamaha-SFZ-Marching-Snare
Yamaha 900 Series Snare Stand
$159.99 Musicians Friend
(total of 9)
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-900-Series-Snare-Stand?sku=581023
Yamaha SNC13 13" Marching Snare cover
$36.00 from Lone Star Percussion
(total of 9)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Snare-Covers/Yamaha-SNC13
Remo White Max Crimped Smooth White Marching Snare Drum Head
$40.99 - $41.99 from Musicians Friend
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Remo-White-Max-Crimped-Smooth-WhiteMarching-Snare-Head?sku=446722
Remo K-Falam Smooth White Snare Side Drum Head
$30.99 - $31.99 from Musicians Friend
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Remo-KFalam-Smooth-White-DrumHead?sku=442689
……………………………………………….
Tenor Stuff
Yamaha MQT8200 Field Corps Marching Tenors with Bi-Posto Carrier 6-6-10-12-13-14
$1,483.50
(Total of 5) from Lone Star Percussion
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Tenors/Yamaha-MQT8200
Yamaha RM-SHQA AIRLift Stadium Tenor Stand
$185.00 from Lone Star Percussion
(total of 5)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Tenor-Stands/Yamaha-RM-SHQ_2
Yamaha QDC4 Marching Tom Set Cover
$53.40 from Lone Star Percussion
(total of 5)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Tenor-Covers/Yamaha-QDC4
Remo Marching Pinstripe Drumhead
$12.49 - $16.49 from Musicians Friend
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Remo-Marching-Pinstripe-Drumhead?sku=442712
………………………………………………
Bass Drum Stuff
Yamaha MB-82xx Field Corps Series Marching Bass Drum
18” $406.25
20” $434.35
22” $462.40
26” $518.50
30” $574.60 from Lone Star Percussion
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Basses/Yamaha-MB8200
Yamaha RM-TVHMB-PC MonoPosto Bass Drum Carrier
$259.99 Musicians Friend
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-RMTVHMBPC-MonoPosto-Bass-DrumCarrier?sku=471312
Yamaha RM-SHBA AIRLift Stadium Bass Drum Stand
$198.75 from lone Star Percussion
(total of 5)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Bass-Stands/Yamaha-RM-SHB-Y_2
Marching Bass Drum Covers in black with Mallet Holder. Available in 16 through 32 inch.
$45.00 – $55.20 from Lone Star Percussion
(total of 5)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Bass-Covers/Yamaha-BDC
Yamaha RS-1632 Rim Saver - fits 16-32" drum (Pair)
$21.60 Lone Star Percussion
(total of 5)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Accessories/Yamaha-RS-1632
Yamaha MBMH-2 Bass Drum Mallet Holder
$12.85 Lone Star Percussion
(total of 5)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories/Marching-Accessories/Yamaha-MBMH-2
Bass Drum Heads
Remo BR-1230-00 30" Smooth White Ambassador Bass Head $45.35
Remo BR-1226-00 26" Smooth White Ambassador Bass Head $38.75
Remo BR-1222-00 22" Smooth White Ambassador Bass Head $32.00
Remo BR-1220-00 20" Smooth White Ambassador Bass Head $30.25
Remo BR-1218-00 18" Smooth White Ambassador Bass Head $29.00
From Lone Star Percussion
(total 2 of each)
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories?search=remo%20smooth%20white%20ambassador%2
0marching%20bass%20drum%20head
………………………………………………
Sticks and Mallets for the Drumline
Bass Mallets
Vic Firth MB0H Extra Small Hard Felt (16" - 18" drums)
Vic Firth MB1H Small Hard Felt - (18-20" drums)
Vic Firth MB2H Medium Hard Felt (22-26" drums)
Vic Firth MB3H Large Hard Felt (26" - 28" drums)
Vic Firth MB4H Extra Large Hard Felt - (28" - 30" drums)
$24.35
$24.95
$26.95
$31.85
$35.45
Lone Star Percussion
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com/Categories?search=vic%20firth%20bass%20drum%20malle
ts
Snare Sticks
Vic Firth Corpsmaster Snare Sticks MS2 17”
Musicians Friend
$6.99
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vic-Firth-Corpsmaster-Snare-Sticks?sku=443949
Tenor Sticks
Vic Firth Corpsmaster Scott Johnson Tenor Stick
$9.49
Musicians Friend
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vic-Firth-Corpsmaster-Scott-Johnson?sku=483769