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Iron Horse, The
The Iron Horse, written by sergeant major from the U.S. Army “The Old Guard” fife and drum corps John Mark Reilly combines a large vocabulary of rudimental drumming from pipe band traditions while maintaining a classic, traditional form. It features standard rudiments like the 7-stroke roll, flam-taps, and the flamacue, as well as more modern rudiments like cheeses, hand-to-hand flams, and patafla-flas. In addition to standard rhythms like 8th, 16th, and 32nd notes, Reilly also experiments with odd rhythms like 7-lets and triplets that start on the offbeat, making this a challenging and engaging solo for even the most experienced rudimental drummers.
The Iron Horse ships in a printed, professionally bound folio with a full color cover.
• Snare drum
This solo is dedicated to pipe band drummers Jim Butler, Tyler Fry, Steven Shedden, and Jim Kilpatrick. John Mark Reilly states that the idea for this piece came to mind when flying over New York City en route to Europe. That image comes through clearly in this piece, which starts in a traditional American style before combining elements of Scottish pipe band drumming.
Even though it is classified as an advanced solo, it is written in a way that makes it extremely approachable. Each section consists of four measures (which repeat), allowing for ease in learning and/ or memorizing. Every phrase seems to have a mixture of standard American or Scottish vocabulary combined with a bit of technical challenge. Luckily, these challenges are not there just for the sake of complexity; they are interesting phrases that add to the overall musicality and feel. Some of these challenges include quintuplets and septuplets with various rudimental stickings and/or diddles, as well as sixteenth-note triplet phrases that start on the second sixteenth note of the beat. Of course, the musicality is enhanced by the wide range of dynamics.
While the type of snare drum is not specified, Reilly performs the piece (on the Tapspace website) using a rope-tensioned snare drum. This allows the solo to retain the American sound, while paying homage to Scottish drumming. In other words, Reilly’s idea from that international flight was successfully brought to fruition!
—Jeff W. Johnson
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 1, February 2021
The Iron Horse, written by sergeant major from the U.S. Army “The Old Guard” fife and drum corps John Mark Reilly combines a large vocabulary of rudimental drumming from pipe band traditions while maintaining a classic, traditional form. It features standard rudiments like the 7-stroke roll, flam-taps, and the flamacue, as well as more modern rudiments like cheeses, hand-to-hand flams, and patafla-flas. In addition to standard rhythms like 8th, 16th, and 32nd notes, Reilly also experiments with odd rhythms like 7-lets and triplets that start on the offbeat, making this a challenging and engaging solo for even the most experienced rudimental drummers.
The Iron Horse ships in a printed, professionally bound folio with a full color cover.
• Snare drum
This solo is dedicated to pipe band drummers Jim Butler, Tyler Fry, Steven Shedden, and Jim Kilpatrick. John Mark Reilly states that the idea for this piece came to mind when flying over New York City en route to Europe. That image comes through clearly in this piece, which starts in a traditional American style before combining elements of Scottish pipe band drumming.
Even though it is classified as an advanced solo, it is written in a way that makes it extremely approachable. Each section consists of four measures (which repeat), allowing for ease in learning and/ or memorizing. Every phrase seems to have a mixture of standard American or Scottish vocabulary combined with a bit of technical challenge. Luckily, these challenges are not there just for the sake of complexity; they are interesting phrases that add to the overall musicality and feel. Some of these challenges include quintuplets and septuplets with various rudimental stickings and/or diddles, as well as sixteenth-note triplet phrases that start on the second sixteenth note of the beat. Of course, the musicality is enhanced by the wide range of dynamics.
While the type of snare drum is not specified, Reilly performs the piece (on the Tapspace website) using a rope-tensioned snare drum. This allows the solo to retain the American sound, while paying homage to Scottish drumming. In other words, Reilly’s idea from that international flight was successfully brought to fruition!
—Jeff W. Johnson
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 1, February 2021
