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Composing and Improvising

AF115003S

Instrumentation

piano strings woodwind brass percussion guitar harp
part-writing and transposition

Percussion

Also see some notes from Cameron's percussion presentation, APU, Nov 2000

For good examples of percussion writing listen to the following pieces:

Psappha by Iannis Xenakis
Kontakte - Karlheinz Stockhausen
Le Sacre du Printemps - Igor Stravinsky
And so on...

NB When writing for percussion it is most important that you write for the percussionist(s) and not for the instruments themselves. Bearing in mind the number of percussionists you have available as well as the variety of percussion instruments, you should plan a workable set-up for each percussionist. Then, provide a thorough description of each percussionist's responsibilities at the beginning of the score. Subsequently, write for all instruments on the minimum number of staves possible. On the score/part, write the name of the instrument and if necessary change the clef.

Tuned Percussion

Timpani

range: timpani ranges

Metalophones

Glockenspiel

range: glockenspiel sounds two octaves higher than written

Vibraphone

range: vibraphone this is the range of a large orchestral instrument - there are instruments with smaller ranges.

Celesta

range: celesta sounds one octave higher

Tubular Bells

range: a typical set

Crotales

range: crotales sets of various sizes within given range - sounds an octave higher

Cowbells

range (when used as tuned percussion): cowbells

This would be an unusually large set! As an example of this, see Messiaen's Et Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum.

Wood

Xylophone

range: xylophone medium instrument - there are larger ones. Sounds an octave higher than written.

Marimba

range: marimba large instrument

Xylomarimba

range: xylomarimba a cross between the two above instruments

Untuned Percussion

Drums

From higher in pitch (bongos) to lower (bass drum)

Bongos

usually in sets of two:

Tom-toms

(see also Roto-toms which are almost tunable),

(sets of two, four, six, etc.)

Timbales

Congas

(usually in sets of two)

Side Drum

(with or without snares, comes in different sizes)

Tenor Drum

(without snares, comes in different sizes)

Bass Drum

(comes in different sizes)

Further Information

Drums are often used in a generic, less specific form, and are more or less specified in the score. Harrison Birtwistle, in his score of The Triumph of Time, asks for five percussionists to play, amongst other instruments:

4 bongos, (all of different pitches)
4 timbales, (all of different pitches, the highest lower than the lowest bongo)
2 congas (of different pitches)
6 drums without snares, all of different pitches, the lowest being a fairly large vertical bass drum
4 tenor drums, as large as possible and identical
3 bass drums, three different pitches, all as low as possible, number 1 very big

Tabor, Tambour

A jingle-less tambourine often used in early music

Metal Untuned Percussion

Bell-tree

Triangle

Cymbals

(crash or suspended)

Gongs

Tam-tams

Also Anvils, Chains, Typewriters, dustbins...you name it.

Wooden Untuned Percussion

Castenets

Rattle

also called a Ratchet - it's a football rattle!

Woodblocks

usually group of 4 or 6 different pitches

Temple-blocks

usually group of 4 to 6 different pitches

Claves

pair of

Others

Sirens

Wind-machine

Wobble-board

(metal or wood)

Ceramic Pots

...and anything else that you can hit, scrape, wind up...

Sticks

What you hit the above with - they come in a variety of densities for hard, soft or medium attack. They are often notated:

hard sticks:

medium sticks: or

soft sticks:

wire brush:

With some of the above instruments, notably the vibraphone, it is also possible to bow them with a string bow, with results not dissimilar from the musical saw of Victorian Music Hall fame, but without, of course, the glissando effect.