Worship Musician March 2020

PERCUSSION TWEAK. ADJUST. EDIT. MANIPULATE. | Mark Shelton Although you are playing the exact rhythms and right' tone color. I will often 'audition' different pitches, a percussion part might need some timbres during a rehearsal to determine which fine-tuning before it conforms properly. Whether one works best for a particular musical moment. a part comes from a carefully notated score or taking a look at the correctly notated score. OCTAVE PLACEMENT A number of the definite-pitched percussion a rhythm pattern sung by the director, it is your IDEAL DYNAMICS instruments transpose to a different octave than responsibility to endeavor to weave assigned Finding the appropriate volume level so that your what is notated. This practice is done to avoid parts correctly into the entire musical fabric. part fits into the overall balance of instruments excessive use of ledger lines. Timpani sound an requires a critical ear along with dynamic control octave lower than written, while the xylophone CORRECT INSTRUMENT of your instrument. Listen to the total sound of soars an octave higher than notated, and the Tambourine, tamborim, tambour, tam-tam. the ensemble and imagine the ideal volume for glockenspiel rings two octaves above the written Although the spellings are similar, each of those your part before you enter. Try to play at that notes. It is possible for a composer or arranger ‘tam’ words refer to a different percussion level and evaluate if your dynamic is blending to unknowingly score these instruments in the instrument. Your seemingly out-of-place part correctly into the mix. wrong octave. Experiment with adjusting octaves might not be fitting because you have chosen to place a part in a characteristic register. the wrong instrument. Percussion names can be ACCURATE NOTE LENGTHS confusing. For example: timbales is the French Notated percussion parts are sometimes written EFFECTS term for timpani, while timbales also refers to the with imprecise note lengths. If your part was A big dose of elevator-shaft reverb on a single single-headed, shallow-shell drums commonly conceived to double rhythmically with another woodblock shot can be super tasty, but the played in salsa music. A quick search of the web instrument, the parts might not be matching same instrument without the effect can sound or consulting a dictionary of percussion terms due to inaccurate notation. This problem is most awkward in the same musical passage. Acoustic will steer you to the appropriate instrument. obvious with percussion instruments that are sounds can be transformed significantly with capable of long sustain such as concert bass audio signal processing. Without the proper drum, crash cymbals, timpani, and triangle. effect, an acoustic instrument might seem out- PROPER TONE German silver or beryllium copper jingles? of-place. If your 'dry' acoustic instrument tone Wooden shell or metal? Wire brushes or nylon? In the example below, the electric bass line is isn't making it in the mix, consider playing an Percussionists are blessed with the ability notated precisely, but the timpani part (which appropriate digital sample. to change tones to better fit our sound into a is doubling the bass) is written with inaccurate musical passage. It can be as easy as striking note values. (I assure you that this issue is not THE LAST RESORT a snare drum in a different area of the head or uncommon.) On rare occasions, you will encounter percussion using a harder timpani mallet to produce the parts that seemed like a good concept in the appropriate timbre. Allow your ear and musical 1 If you suspect this problem, you can either figure head of the writer or producer, but the idea just instincts to guide you as you search for that 'just out the proper note lengths by listening or by doesn’t work when played in context. Such 4 « J œ» ‰ J œ» ‰ « « ‰ « « ‰ « « ‰ « « ‰ « « J œ»» « « ˙ » « j « j « j « l ˆ« . » ˙ « = ” » » l ? 4 « ˙ « » » » » l « ˙ « ===================== l « j l l l l ” l l l l ” l l l l ” 4 « « Œ œ»» œ»» l « « Œ œ»» Œ l « « « « « « « « l « « ‰ J œ»» « « Œ ” Timpani l « » » l ˆ« » (Incorrect) ===================== ? l l ˆ« ˆ« ˆ« ˆ« l ˆ« » ˆ« = ” l l l l ” l l l l ” l l l l ” 4 « J œ» ‰ J œ» ‰ l « l « ‰ « « ‰ « « ‰ « « ‰ l « « J œ»» « « ” Timpani l ˙ » » « j « ˆ« j l ˆ« . » ˙ « = ” (Correct) l ===================== l « ˆ« j j ? 4 « ˙ « »» »» l « ˙ « a part will defy your best efforts to make it fit. Electric Bass March 2020 Consider rewriting or deleting. Whether you are assigned a lead line or a simple background rhythm, use your critical listening skills to evaluate your part and apply the treatments that will best serve the music. ©2020 Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship Mark Shelton A freelance musician and educational consultant based in Dallas/Fort Worth. Performance credits include North Carolina Symphony, Tin Roof Tango, Daystar Singers & Band, Gateway Worship, Wichita Falls Orchestra, Strata Big Band, TALEA, and Dallas Wind Symphony. www.marksheltonmusic.com percussionforworship.blogspot.com Subscribe for Free... 155

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