Duthart's

Salute to Max Rayne

Alex Duthart's "Salute To Max Rayne" is the drum fanfare everyone plays.  Therefore, this page is here to help.

There are many recordings on YouTube.  The earliest one I'm aware of, with Alex Duthart at the helm is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-WQXqRGv_Y  

Most of these recordings do not keep a steady tempo throughout sections.  They almost all slow down at the harder/faster parts.  And it's rare to find an instructional recording of this piece with a metronome and thus a steady tempo.  But here's one:  https://www.drummingondemand.com/drumscores/salute-to-max-rayne/

Below are videos that play at steady tempos.   They are based on MIDI files.   Also below is a list of sound files you can use.  The ".mid" file is the MIDI file you can play in your MIDI player, where you can set your own tempos and loop parts you want to work on.

The other sound files are either at the tempos James Laughlin requested to be performed at for a group video of his Inner Circle members, or they are marked as a percentage of those tempos.  For example, "MaxRayneAt75Pct.mp3" is the fanfare played at 75% of the tempos James set.  (Initial tempo is 88bpm, so 75% of that is 66bpm)

The tempos are specified as follows:

Page 1 - Lines 1 - 10: 88BPM

Page 1 - Lines 11 -12: 50BPM (triple count) or 150BPM

Page 2 - Lines 1 - 11: 84BPM

Page 2 - Lines 12-16: 115BPM

The primary purpose of using MIDI is to help with timing accuracy because users can set desired tempos and set up looping for practice purposes.  This is shown in the 2nd ("Install...") video.  The following videos are examples of playing along with the MIDI file using the player.


MIDI and sound files

The .mid and .sf2 files should play in a midi player, such as Midi Voyager.  See instructions on the Learn With MIDI page.  The .mp3, .wav, and .ogg files should be playable in a browser on your device or desktop.  

Install and use on Midi Voyager

Here's some help in installing a MIDI file (and sound font) on a phone so you can practice Alex Duthart's fanfare.


The Score

I do not know where this "Drum Fanfare" score came from.  It's at least 30 years old.  But it's the same as the Salute To Max Rayne score.  I doubt it was put to paper by the hand of the master.  Anyone know?

Meanwhile, if you want a clearer copy, you may want to contact James Laughlin at James@come2drum.com or visit one of his Facebook groups, such as https://www.facebook.com/groups/PipeBandDrumming  

Duthart.pdf

Try it

Here's an example of how I started using the MIDI file with Midi Voyager to work on this piece.

All the way through

Another example of using the Midi Voyager app.  The first 3 minutes focus on one short figure and how it could be practiced.  The remaining minutes are playing through the entire fanfare.

It's fun to play in a line.  Try it!

Playing in a drum line, or drum corp is a lot of fun when everyone is together.  That's one great benefit of playing along to MIDI because you can change the tempo as necessary, and keep track of your progress, gradually getting "up to tempo".  This salue is supposed to be played at a starting tempo of around 118bpm.  But this video starts out at 88.