The percussion section
is arguably the largest and most difficult section of the band/orchestra
to understand and to teach. It is my hope and intention that
this page be used to help answer the thousands of unanswered questions
that directors and conductors have on a day-to-day basis regarding
the percussion area. This page includes my general
approach to performance and sound, links to separate instruments
(this will continue to grow and I encourage you to check back regularly
for new information) and some useful links
to other percussion web pages. Please feel free to contact
me at any time with any specific or immediate questions that you
might have.
As a desk reference
I recommend Gary Cook's Teaching Percussion, 2nd edition. This
is a very thorough text including all the fundamentals, major and accessory
instruments, drumset and marching percussion. I require this
text in my methods classes and also refer to it on a regular basis
in my own teaching and performing.
Quality of Sound
is the single most important issue for percussionists/musicians today. With
so many variables in percussion performance (instruments, sticks, mallets,
tuning, technique) we must have, and teach, a firm idea of what kind
of sound we want to produce based on the context of the music. Once
that concept is in place (again based on the music at hand) the other
choices will fall into place.
Playing
area on the instrument:
In very general terms most percussion instruments work on the principle
of a dry fundamental in the center of the head/bar and more resonance/harmonics
as you move towards the edge (or node where the rope is on keyboards). In
most cases we talk about playing a little off center because here we can get
mostly fundamental pitch/tone but with a little bit of color/resonance through
the added harmonics (the edge of the bar on keyboards produces the same sound
characteristic as playing off center). Remember that this is only a general
approach and the context of the music may dictate playing on other areas of
the head/bar. However it is very important to always be CONSISTENT in
where you are hitting the drum/bar and if that means adjusting your technique
THAT'S OK!
Playing area on the stick:
Along with playing area on the head/bar I believe we also need to address playing
spot on the mallet/stick. This is generally overlooked and not discussed
on a regular basis but certainly needs to be. The stick itself also
has many sound characteristics and we have to sure we are playing on the right spot. To
my knowledge sticks and mallets are generally designed so that the appropriate
mallet or bead spot hits the bar when the stick is parallel to the instrument. This
has to do with hand position and generally keeping your hands/wrists low
and close to the instrument. A good exercise for this is to play
up and down a mallet instrument on just the accidentals, hitting the edge
of the bars. Your hands should be so close to the natural keys that
you can feel/sense the keys beneath you (without actually resting/touching
the bars).
Listening:
Listen to what you and the instrument sound like. NOT while you are playing
and NOT standing right next to the instrument but out in the audience or on
a tape recording. Is that the sound you wanted? Is it appropriate
to the music? How can the sound be adjusted? Start training your
ears now to recognize different sounds and sound qualities. Then you
can develop the skills needed to reproduce those sounds in your own playing. This
is arguably the most important aspect of being a great percussionist and musician!