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Percussion Studio Handbook
Studio policies, the Skills Assessment Test, required books and equipment, orchestral excerpts, marimba and timpani fundamentals, and repertoire. Revised August 2026.
Studio Resources
For students in the ASU percussion studio: the handbook, the rudiments, the schedule, and everything else you need to prepare, in one place.
Practice
Interactive Rudiments
All 40 Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments, with notation, stickings, and playback at any tempo. All 40 are on the Skills Assessment Test.
This semester
Studio Info
When and where everything meets: lessons, studio class, Percussion Ensemble, student recitals, drumline, and juries.
Auditions
Auditions
Entrance auditions for new students and fall placement auditions, with the excerpts and how to prepare.
Before your recital
Skills Assessment Test
Scales, all 40 rudiments, and sight-reading. What is on the test, how it is scored, and how to prepare the pool.
Concerts
Program archive
Past programs from the Percussion Ensemble and jazz groups, and what is coming up next.
Practice and audition prep
- PAS International Drum RudimentsThe official rudiment sheet from the Percussive Arts Society, free to download.
- IMSLPFree public-domain scores and parts. Study the full score, not just the percussion part, for every excerpt you learn.
- Rob Knopper's blogAudition preparation and practice strategies from a percussionist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
- The complete guide to self-recordingRecord yourself before every lesson and mock audition.
- UIL Prescribed Music ListWhere entrance audition pieces come from.
Timpani tuning
Play Tuning demo: know your drumsSing the pitch, think the pitch, then tap the head once with a finger. The full method is in Basics of Timpani Technique.
Join the Percussive Arts Society
Join the Percussive Arts Society at www.pas.org: $50 a year for members 26 and under, $75 standard.
PASIC, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, runs each November in Indianapolis. PASIC 2026 is November 11–14. You are strongly encouraged to attend.
Buying music and gear
Buy your music and books. Photocopies are illegal and not acceptable; failing to obtain assigned music reduces your grade. The required books, sticks, mallets, and accessories are listed in the handbook.
- Tarpley Music Co.In San Angelo, 325-665-7381
- Steve Weiss MusicOnline
- JW PepperOnline
PASIC 2025
Friends, teachers, and colleagues at the 50th Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis.
Questions?
Office: Carr Education-Fine Arts Building, Room 210. Office phone 325-486-6036.