transmissions
Name: Amelia Ley Age: 17 Instruments played: Drum set, tenor drums, cymbals, percussion (ex. marimba, snare drum, etc), and guitar. Current bands/ensembles: Lake Oswego High School Wind Ensemble and Pep bands, Northern Alliance Drum Corps, Guadalupe Past bands: dozens of Rock Camp bands, Rex Putnam High School’s Kingsmen Thunder Drumline. Name: Mizuki Amy Higuchi (Amie) Age: 19 Hometown: Tokyo/Lake Oswego lives in: Tokyo Past bands/ensembles: Lake Oswego HS Concert, Symphonic, and Jazz Bands, Wind Ensemble, Pit Orchestra, Pep/ Marching Band, Portland State Honor Band, All-State Orchestra, Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Instruments played: drums, marimba, timpani, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, and other orchestral percussion. illus t r at i o n by L au r e n M a re s ca
drummer 2 drummer
Amelia Ley is a young drummer in Portland and although she’s only 17, she has already been playing 7 years. Amelia teaches as an intern at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, and plays drums and percussion in a variety of bands and ensembles. Amelia met 19-year old Amie through the school band when she was a freshman – Amie taught her cadences to play at football games. Amie currently lives in Tokyo, and is eagerly awaiting the start of college so that she can begin to play in ensembles and take formal lessons again. Amelia interviewed Amie over email for Tom Tom. Amelia Ley for Tom Tom Magazine: How did you get started playing percussion and what drew you to it? Are there any percussionists who inspired you to try one of the instruments that you play? Amie Higuchi:
I had to move from Tokyo to Oregon in 6th grade, and at the time I couldn’t speak any English. Since I wanted to make friends, I joined beginning band and started to play percussion. I chose percussion because I played timpani part for Pomp and Circumstance when I was fifth grade for the graduation and I liked the instrument. Once I got to high school, Alex Van Rysselberghe taught me how to play it and make it more fun, and that really drew me into the world of playing percussion. I only had a year of training when I was freshman. Most of the skills I have right now are from those lessons.
Amelia: How have your experiences in different music ensembles compared to each other? Amie: The marching band I
joined was an indoor type that only had percussive instruments with an exception of electric piano and string instruments.
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So pretty much all you hear is someone beating something. This was an amateur competitive group, so every rehearsal was intense and very energy consuming. We practiced every breathing moment to perfect the piece. Even during the break, we talked about how we could improve on the click we just rehearsed. On the other hand, orchestra has a very different atmosphere. Since many orchestral pieces have little or no percussion parts, we were not asked to play every moment in the rehearsal. I liked how percussionists made their own circle and talked about school life while everybody else had to focus on their music. Last but best, is high school ensembles - wind ensemble or jazz band were both intense and relaxed, in a way that it was competitive but students were allowed to have their own lives other than just band. I loved my school’s wind ensemble the best. Amelia: What is your usual practice regiment? Amie: Before I joined marching
band, I usually did four-mallet rolling variations as my warm-up. After [I joined]
the marching band, I played the warmups for the marching band. Throughout all the warm-ups and practices, I used a metronome to play from slow tempo and speed it up after every four perfect licks. I did this for every group’s music, and since I didn’t have any private lessons after freshman year this routine was necessary in order to keep my wrists moving. Sadly, now that I’m waiting for college to start and I don’t have anything to practice with, all I do is wrist warm-ups. Amelia: What would be some advice you would give to drummers who want to participate in different kinds of musical projects or organizations? Amie: I was
fortunate to have a music teacher who encouraged me to join many different ensembles, so what I did was to go up to him and ask him about different organizations and ensembles around the city. I also used friends and the Internet to research about it, so use your resources and try to reach out from yourself. At the same time, don’t forget to practice every day.