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Babes In Arms - Laura Hamel

Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.

Laura's write-up below photos.

Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.

Image Below: "...with a little help from our costume department, we took a small length of elastic waistband and glued it to the outside edge of the thimbles."

Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.

"Rodgers and Harts’ Babes In Arms first opened on Broadway in 1937 at the Shubert Theatre. Since then, it has seen many edits and different productions, and even a famous film with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. It’s the classic “Hey kids, let’s put on a show in a barn!” story. The show eventually fell out of the limelight over the years, but we are proud to present the world premiere of the revival of Babes in Arms.

This past summer, a music workshop was performed in Pennsylvania before I met up with the show at Forestburgh Playhouse in upstate New York. By this time, the show was reorchestrated by the amazing Andy Einhorn and Mike Brun. Upon meeting up with the team, I received a book that mostly consisted of drums charts but with a few piano conductor scores in the mix.

While reading off the piano scores for the first few days of rehearsal, Andy and I would talk about the feel each song needed. He’d specify what sort of colors each section of the song required and what measures needed a certain hit to match what was going on onstage. I especially got to have fun with the big dance numbers. I’d watch the cast perform the dance along with the piano, then played along trying out different interpretations within the music.

Our wonderful choreographer, Ellenore Scott, put together great dance sequences that gave me a lot to catch. From kicks and jumps to comedic pretend punches, there was plenty of hits and color changes for the drums to play. And after every attempt at the number, Andy and I would talk about everything he liked or didn’t like. We’d go back and forth trying out new ideas until we figured out what best fit for the song, which I then would scribble onto my iPad.

My iPad ended up being a necessity for the rehearsal period of the show. Before rehearsals started, I downloaded all the music I needed from a google drive and read them off of forScore. After that, I was given new music just about every day for two weeks. So, every morning, I’d get several charts through Airdrop. Some songs were brand new, others were cleaned up versions of the charts I had scribbled all over the day before, now nicely done up in Finale (which I would then scribble onto more). Most of the band worked in this fashion and we would bounce the needed charts around all through rehearsal.

Although the drum set part of this book was fun, my favorite part of the show may just be the washboard playing. Originally, I was going to be playing the washboard while playing a simple two beat pattern with the kick and high hat. But within the first few days of rehearsal, the director, Douglas Carter Beane, called me over and asked if I wanted to dance with the washboard. Of course, I said yes and Ellenore quickly taught me the steps to the song ‘Way Out West’. I twirled, do-si-do’d and did some vine stepping all while keeping the beat on the washboard.

Other than memorizing the dance moves, the biggest problem I ran into with ‘Way Out West’ was keeping the thimbles on my fingers while moving around so much. But after a bit of research, I found a solution. So, with a little help from our costume department, we took a small length of elastic waistband and glued it to the outside edge of the thimbles. The waistband is pulled tight around the thimble, giving some grip to hold onto my fingers while I played. It was a real lifesaver especially since I ended up playing brushes on the snare and used a mallet on some woodblocks all while still wearing the thimbles throughout that same song.

It was a pleasure to get the chance to help orchestrate this book and work with the creative team for the show. This book presents plenty of fun challenges that kept each show feeling lively and exhilarating. It’s going to be exciting to see where this show will end up next."

Drums: Rodgers with Evans Heads

  • 12” Rack Tom
  • 14” Floor Tom
  • 18” Kick Drum

Snare:

  • 14" Yamaha Stage Custom with Remo Heads

Hardware:

  • PDP Kick Drum Pedal
  • DW Throne
  • Gibraltar Lightning Rod Telescoping Double Braced Hi-Hat Stand

Cymbals:

  • Zildjian 17" A Medium Thin Crash
  • Soultone 8" Gospel Splash (stacked upside down on top of Zildjian 17" Crash)
  • Zildjian 18" ZBT Crash Ride
  • Sabian 14" B8 Hi-Hats

Percussion:

Sticks/Mallets:

  • Vic Firth 7A Drum Sticks
  • Vic Firth Jazz Brushes
  • Musser M-235 Good Vibes Mallets
  • Mike Balter 12BB Green Yarn (with yarn removed) Mallets
  • Mike Balter SB 4-in-1 Triangle Beater

Electronics:

  • Apple iPad
  • forScore Sheet Music Reader Software

Audio:

  • Powerplay 16 Monitor
  • Shure SE 215 In-Ear Monitors

Microphones:

  • Audix F6 Dynamic Bass and Kick Drum (kick drum)
  • Audix F2 Dynamic Instrument Microphone (small tom)
  • Audix F9 Pencil Condenser Microphone (2)

Babes In Arms - Regional - Laura Hamel
August 24, 2021 thru September 5, 2021

Laura Hamel's setup for Babes In Arms at the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, New York.

Eric Poland's drum set setup for the Broadway revival of Nice Work If You Can Get It at the Imperial Theatre.
David Thalmann’s setup for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Murray Arts Guild - Murray Park Amphitheater, in Murray, Utah.
Mike Drake's set up for Side Show at the Casa Mañana Theater, in Fort Worth, Texas.
  • 3 min read
"Thursday, February 16th, 2017 was a special day. I was both excited and nervous as I stepped into SIR Studios in Manhattan to start the first orchestra rehearsal for the Broadway production of Miss Saigon."
"When preparing a percussion book for a new Broadway show, we occasionally get the music in advance. That allows us to start our “treasure hunt” early, to have the right sounds ready, and to get a jump on the setup. But often, Broadway is the first appearance of the fully orchestrated show, and we have seen very little before the first rehearsal."
  • 5 min read
"The musical experience of recording a Broadway cast album ranges from easy to difficult depending on the circumstances. I find that the two factors that contribute most to the quality of the experience are: 1) how good the band is; and 2) how soon after you started the show you record the album"
  • 5 min read
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

Gene Krupa's drum solo from "Gene's Blues" from the album Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich released November 1955.

Bill Stewart's drum solo from the title track of his album Snide Remarks.

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