I hope this finds you all doing well! If you’re a teacher or a percussion instructor, odds are you have been thinking a lot about the upcoming school and marching season. There are still tons of unanswered questions out there, so the Percussive Arts Society came up with a guide to help you navigate the tough road ahead. This guide is the most thorough I have seen with regards to sanitizing gear, rehearsal protocol, and curricular recommendations. It is definitely worth a few minutes of your time. Many of the items listed in the guide are things you all will face, so I hope that this serves to answer some questions or give you some fresh ideas. You can find the guide here:

The TCX tenor heads are a new alternative from Evans for all marching tenor applications. They are designed with band directors and percussion instructors in mind who seek enhanced volume and tonal clarity of their tenor line. With the combination of two identical plies of 7 mil clear film, TCX tenor heads offer a full, rich tonal spectrum at any tuning range with increased projection and clear articulation. Combined with Level 360 Technology and Evans proprietary two-ply alignment, each head delivers maximum resonance and sustain at any tension. Available in 6-14″ for all common tenor drum sizes. For all of you that are fans of the Corps Clear and MX Frost tenor heads, those are being discontinued in favor of this new TCX head. Chops now has the TCX heads in stock, so give us a call when you’re ready to give them a shot!

We hope this finds everyone doing well. We have updated and added to our demo list at chopspercussion.com. You can view the list here. Please check product availability with the Chops staff before ordering. You can call 317-813-2070 or email [email protected] and we’ll be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Welcome back to the Chops blog. I hope this finds all of you doing well. We are now at the point that we can start letting customers back into our showroom. While we are very excited to see you, there are some new protocols in place for our walk-in customers. Here are some things to know before you head this way: – If you do not feel well or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please do not enter the building. – Children 16 years of age and younger will not be allowed in Chops unless they’re accompanied by an adult. – Children 16 and under must remain in the Paige’s showroom with their parent(s) until a parent is able to accompany them into Chops. – No more than 4 guests are allowed in the Chops showroom at one time. – Please ask the staff on hand for assistance before trying instruments/accessories out. – Hands-free sanitizing station is available at the counter. – If more than one person is in the room with you, please practice social distancing. We all know things are A LOT different right now, but for the safety of our staff and our customers, this

Welcome back to the Chops blog. We know marching season is upon us, and there are a lot of questions about how groups are keeping their kids informed and prepared for the upcoming season. I would like to thank Sean for taking the time to answer a few questions about how things are currently going at Greenfield-Central. For more information on Sean, you can check out his bio here. How have your kids gotten over the sting of indoor season ending prematurely? It’s been understandably difficult. It was even difficult to fully understand the impact in the following days. In these moments, it’s so important for people in jobs like mine to educate and remember that your students are watching you, AND watching you react. There are life lessons to be learned through this… Not taking things for granted. Not waiting to take care of something. Giving it your all every rehearsal. I hope more than anything our students at Greenfield-Central are ready to flip the script and turn a tough time in life into a better version of themselves, ready to tackle whatever is next in life because they won’t take it for granted. Marching band drumline auditions would

If you love playing the drums, but you’re stuck at home without a drum set, we have the solution for you! We have several here to rent, so give us a call and we can help get your process started today! A 3 month minimum commitment and your first month’s payment is all it takes to get a drum set from our store to your home. If you’re worried about noise, we do have options to take care of that! For more information on the drum set rental program, click here. If you have any specific questions that the website can’t answer, feel free to email [email protected] or call 317-813-2070. I hope everyone is staying safe. Please know that we’re thinking of all of you during this time, and we can’t wait to see you again!

Hi, everyone. I hope this finds you all safe and doing well. I’m sure many of you are getting a chance to play your drums or other percussion instruments daily. I know I’ve had more time to play at home these last few weeks than I’ve had in years, so I’ve tried to take advantage of it, because I may never get it again! If you are playing more regularly, try adding something new to your arsenal. The above picture is my practice kit at home. Look at the hardware and you’ll notice a Pearl Eliminator double bass drum pedal. I’ve never been a double pedal guy, and truth be told, I’ve never really had the patience to work on it. I figured now may be the right time for this old dog to learn some new tricks. I’m a little more patient with myself these days, and just trying to enjoy the process of learning something new. I hope you are doing the same. Maybe your fills need freshening up, or you finally want to learn the drum break in “Tom Sawyer”; now is the perfect time to do exactly that! Be patient with yourself, slow things down, slow

Do you have trouble tuning your rack toms? Does your snare sound bother you to no end? Would you like to know how to get more low end out of your kick drum? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of those questions, you need to be checking out “Sounds Like A Drum” on YouTube. You can find that channel here. I find myself watching a video from them daily. I’ve played and messed with drums my entire adult life and then some, but I don’t pretend to know everything. When I’m struggling with snare tuning or I’m looking to make my floor tom growl a little more, the “Sounds Like A Drum” channel is the first place I go. Here’s how Cody and Ben describe the mission of SLAD: “An ongoing video series for drummers, audio engineers, and anyone who is responsible for achieving great drum sounds at the source. Sounds Like a Drum offers in-depth tutorials on tuning in ways most have never learned, tips and tricks for a memorable sound, and hacks that you might never have thought of.” This channel really is a great resource, and I would suggest subscribing and watching daily. You never know what

If you were not able to make it to either IPA contest last weekend or you’re not aware of how things played out, visit indianapercussion.org and check out the scores from this past weekend. The season is quickly coming to a close and things are starting to take shape. This weekend’s contests will be at Pendleton Heights High School and New Palestine High School. This is prelims week for Class B and the Winds groups, so everyone in those classes will be looking to have their best show of the season. Best of luck to all groups! The WGI Indianapolis Regional will also be taking place this weekend at Franklin Central High School. This is a Saturday/Sunday event. Information for this contest can be found here.

You can find the results from this past weekend’s IPA contest at indianapercussion.org. Congratulations to all the groups that competed at the show. The Plainfield and Perry Meridian contests are next up on the schedule. Best of luck to everyone on March 7th!

This gear is going fast. Take a look at what’s left and see if there is something that suits your program’s needs. All gear will be available after the final 2020 performance by Veritas at the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. You can drive a trailer over to pick your instruments up, or we can make arrangements with you to deliver your order after WGI. To check out the list of available gear, please click here.