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Joe Brooks
MUTH490
Dr. Snyder
April 16, 2016
A Percussion Exploration
The percussion family of musical instruments has always had an important role in music
throughout history, and history in general. From sound effects, to military commands, humans
have always found a way to use percussion. There are many different percussion instruments,
and in this paper, we will explore what they are and the history behind some of them.
The origin of the snare drum can be traced back to the tabor, a drum in medieval times
that was tensioned with ropes and had one or more snares, usually on the head that was struck.
The tabor had been used in various battle-evoking tournaments and to accompany dancers and
other performers. It hung from a player's arm and was played with a single stick while the player
played a pipe with the other hand.
The pipe and tabor could be played by one player, however, the fife and drum had to be
played by one player each, due to the fact that the fife needed two hands in order to be played.
According to a doctoral dissertation by Guy Gathreaux II, "The association of the fife and drum
is recorded as early as 1332 in the Chronicles of Basel," The Basel drum was a rope-tensioned
field instrument with a wood or metal shell that took its name from the Swiss city. It was a large
drum that typically measured 16" in diameter and was at least that deep.
The field drum was introduced by Europeans to North America. It was first used by the
colonists to convey military orders and to call people to church or other gatherings. In 1610,
Jamestown colonists used drums to lure the native Powhatan into a deadly ambush.
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In the 1700s, the snare drum made its way into the concert hall. For many years, it was
more common for composers to use the snare drum to create a military environment; however, in
a 1706 opera called Alcyone, French composer Marin Marais used the snare drum to evoke a
storm. It was a very unique composition technique for its time.
The snare drum had also made its way into concert halls in post-Civil War America.
Vaudeville was popular, as were the Dixieland and ragtime styles. It became ideal for one
drummer to play the instruments previously assigned to two: chiefly, the snare drum, bass drum,
and cymbal. This led to the introduction of the drum set.
In addition to the snare drum, there are other percussion instruments and we will take the time to
go through some now:
Triangle
The triangle is a metal instrument that is shaped like a triangle and makes a high pitched sound.
It is usually played with a special triangle beater. You’ll want to suspend the triangle while you
play it, as this lets the sound ring.
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Tambourine
The tambourine is a round frame made of wood or plastic and it may or
may not have a head. Inside the wood are little round jingles, known as
“zils”. Tambourines are used a lot in rock and pop music, as well as
many other genres of music, including classical.
Bass Drum
The concert bass drum is a large drum that has a deep sound when it is played.
Timpani
Timpani are large bowl-shaped metal drums with a pedal to control the tension of the head. This
pedal is used to change the pitch of the drum. The timpani is unique in that it acts like a nonpitched instrument at times but the drums do indeed have definite pitches.
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Marching percussion
Snares- Marching snares differ from concert snares in that they sound deeper and they are more
about power and projection, since they are mainly used outdoors.
Tenors 4-6 tom toms assembled together. They add color to the drumline and there are certain
melodies that you can even play on them, such as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and the
“Chicken Dance”
Basses- Tonal bass drums, each player has one drum. Usually 4-6.
Pit is non marching percussion. The instruments in pit are all instruments that are also used
indoors, mallet percussion, timpani, and accessories.
The pit is non marching percussion and it includes mallet percussion as well as timpani and
accessory instruments. Some bands have a crash cymbal line, others will use marching cymbals
for part of their show but otherwise, the cymbal players are in pit.
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Mallet percussion
Bells are high pitched metallic instruments that sound two octaves higher than written. They are
usually played with brass or rubber mallets.
Chimes are large metal tubes that sound like church bells, or a clock bell. They are played with
wooden hammers.
Vibraphone is used a lot in jazz, has metal bars, resonators, and a pedal to control the vibrations.
The vibes are usually played with yarn or hard rubber mallets.
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Xylophone has a sharper tone than a marimba but uses same materials. The xylophone was used
a lot in ragtime in the 1920s.
History of the marimba
The instrument, as well as the name “marimba” originated in Africa. In the African language of
Bantu, which is spoken in Malawi and Mozambique, “rimba” means “xylophone with one bar”,
and the “ma-“ prefix means “many”. Many languages in Africa therefore use the term
“marimba” to refer to any instrument with a collection of pitched bars.
Early marimbas were made of wooden bars with resonating gourds suspended below.
Each gourd was filled on the inside with a mirliton or natural membrane, which created the
buzzing or reverberating sound that the marimba is known for. These traditional marimbas are
still made today in rural areas in Guatemala, Mexico, and Africa.
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Modern marimba bars are usually constructed of rosewood and the resonators are made
of brass or aluminum. Modern marimbas have two sets of bars, the set that is further away from
the player is raised. The raised set is arranged just like the black keys on a piano. The mallets are
usually made of rattan or birch, and with mallet heads that are wrapped with yarn or cord.
Marimbas can be played on by one or two players at a time, depending on the size of the
instrument and the music being played. The players can use two or four mallets.
There are several different ways to play the marimba, using two, three, or four mallets.
Using more than two mallets has its advantages, such as being able to play all chords or melody
with accompaniment. There are several different ways to hold two mallets in a hand, known as
the Stevens Grip, the traditional grip, and the Burton Grip. These differ in the positioning of the
fingers and the mallets, as well as the mechanics behind playing.
Etude 1955 is in a four-four time signature, and throughout the piece it uses eighth note
triplets, so it’s in a quadruple compound meter. The piece is written mostly with eighth note
triplets, except for a few quarter notes to separate sections of the piece, such as in measure 16.
There are a few pairs of sixteenth notes in the second half of the piece.
Yellow After the Rain has been used numerous times as an introductory piece for four
mallet work. The piece starts out in a three-four time signature, but then when the melody starts,
there are some measures in a four-four time signature. As far as meter is concerned, there are
moments of both duple compound and triple simple in the 3/4, while the 4/4 is in a triple
complex meter; 3+3+2.
After a six-bar introduction, the A section starts with a right hand melody with the left
hand playing perfect fourths in the accompaniment. This section is repeated with a left hand
melody and right had perfect fourths. The A section gives way to a series of rolled suspended
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chords, which then gives way to the B section, which is a series of sixteenth notes where each of
the four mallets has an individual note on the first or fifth scale degree. The two mallets in each
hand maintain a perfect fifth interval. The left hand is an octave lower than the right hand. This
gives way to a restatement of the opening theme, followed by a homophonic texture in which the
melodic shape is played through all four mallets. Each hand has its mallets a perfect 4th apart,
while mallets 2 and 3 are a major 2nd apart.
In conclusion, the percussion section, like any section of the band or orchestra, has many
different instruments within the percussion umbrella. They range in size from the small triangle,
to the larger concert bass drum. And with those sizes come varying degrees of sounds. The larger
the instrument, the lower in pitch the sound is. As we have also seen, the percussion section is
unique in that it uses pitched percussion, like the marimba, and non-pitched percussion like the
snare drum. We’ve come a long way from just slabs of wood; and it will be interesting to see
what the future holds.
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Works Cited
Rager, Daniel, "The History of the Marimba" (2008). Music Faculty Publications. Paper 1.
http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clmusic_facpub/1
Brensilver, David A. "History Of The Snare Drum: Eight Centuries Of Innovation & Ingenuity."
DRUM!Magazine, 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.