Double Flag (Download)

solo for two snare drums

Jeff Queen

Level: Advanced

Duration: 3:00

State Lists: Florida | Texas | Indiana

Release Date: 2012

Product ID : TSPCS-38DL

Price: $16.00

Item #: TSPCS-38DL

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Description

Double Flag is a flagship snare drum solo by Jeff Queen. In true Queen fashion, the piece calls for two snare drums—one with a Kevlar head and one with a Mylar head. Add to that recipe six thimbles for finger playing, an Evans X-treme Patch™ (recommended, but not required) for effects, and a healthy infusion of chops; the result is 3 minutes of straight-up Queen-tastic craziness!

Dedicated to fellow Tapspace artist Chip Webster, Queen explains how it was inspired by Webster’s keen ability to produce clean-sounding rhythmic articulations with just the fingers…hence the thimble section at the beginning.

This is a very advanced solo for the player with high ambitions. Break yourself off a piece!

Use of this product is governed by the license terms outlined here.

Instrumentation

Marching snare drum (with kevlar head)
Marching snare drum (with mylar head)
Six thimbles (for finger playing)
Evans X-treme Patch™ (recommended for effects but not required)

Reviews

I only need to hear the name “Jeff Queen” to imagine the possibilities of what this solo has in store. Two different snare drums (one Kevlar and one Mylar), fingers playing with thimbles, light-speed backsticking, and the ubiquitous “open to closed” roll passage are only a few of the challenges and musical effects contained within this score. Program notes give specifications of accents, sticking, dynamics, and other intricate details. A video on the publisher’s web page is also helpful in decoding many of the logistics needed to perform the piece.

Five pages in length, material in the first page and a half is performed entirely with the fingers. The composer gives the exact “sticking” to be used with a numbering of the fingers. From there, subsequent sections feature heightened dialogue between the Kevlar- and Mylar-covered drums. Accent and drag patterns bring the music to a fever pitch before the final section, which is to be played “almost as fast as you can play!” and “absolutely as fast as you can play!”

This showpiece is not for the faint of heart. You’ll need extreme technical control of your marching snare drum chops in order to attempt this work.

–Jason Baker
Percussive Notes
Vol. 51, No. 3, May 2013