The Percussion department, or "Kitchen" as
it is irreverently
called in the profession, consists of all the various Drums,
Cymbals,
Gong, Triangle, Xylophone, etc., etc. Some of these instruments
give notes of definite pitch, and some do not. The most important,
and often the only member of this varied assemblage to be found
is the Timpani or Kettledrums. In classical days two of these
were
used, tuned to the two principal notes of the key of the piece,
tonic and dominant. Modern scores always demand three, which
are tuned to any notes required by the composer, the tuning being
changed, often quite frequently, in the course of a piece. In
some
works in which a very large orchestra is used, two players each
with
a set of drums may be required but this is comparatively rare.
Berlioz used three sets of drums operated by three players in
his
most remarkable "Symphonic Fantastique" and he made
them
roll together in three-part chords.*(In his Requiem he used eight
pairs of drums and ten players!) This symphony, by the way,
which has been described as the first "modern" orchestral
work,
was written well over a hundred years ago. Some of it was, in
fact,
sketched in the year 1827, the year of Beethoven's death. Some
modern works are written with " machine-drums" in view.
"Machine-drums" can be made to alter their pitch instantaneously
by means of mechanism which tightens or loosens the parchment
or
"head" of the Drum at the player's will. In the absence
of Machine-
drums such parts may require six or seven ordinary Drums, other-
wise the player could not cope with all the rapid changes of
pitch
required. When ordinary kettledrums, not Machine-drums, are
used, the instruction in the score is usually given in Italian.
The
direction "Muta A in B" means "change A to B",
and must
not be confused with the English word mute which in Italian is
"sordino". Suitable time for the screws to be turned
has to be
allowed by the composer when making these changes.
The roll is indicated by the ordinary sign for a shake or
by a
tremolo indication thus :
or
In slow time the second method is rather ambiguous as it
might be taken for, and indeed is sometimes intended to be, an
indication of repeated demisemiquavers. These two methods are
used for all percussion instruments which roll. Timpani parts
are
written in the Bass clef and sound at the written pitch. Two
other
sorts of Drums are commonly used in the orchestra, namely the
Bass Drum and the Side Drum. These do not give notes of definite
pitch but are conventionally written as a rule on the note C,
the
Bass Drum in the Bass clef in the second space, and the Side
Drum
in the Treble clef in the third space. Such instruments as the
Triangle and Tambourine, which are also of no definite pitch,
are
similarly written in the Treble clef, but when several of these
Instruments are used together they are sometimes written on
different notes so as to distinguish them from each other. In
some
scores, in order to save space, when several different percussion
instruments are used together, their parts are written not on
staves
at all but on single lines.
Bass Drum and Cymbal parts are frequently written on one
staff, as they are often played by one performer. In this case
the
Bass clef is used, the Bass Drum being as usual in the second
space
and the Cymbals in the fourth. The Bass Drum notes have their
tails down, and the Cymbals up.
Band Parts.
Each instrument has its own part drawn from the score. The
numbers of bars during which an instrument is silent are indicated
numerically and have to be counted by the player. When a large
number of bars' rests are to be counted, cues are given from
other
parts as a check in case the player gets lost in his counting.
It is
a tedious business counting rests and it is easy to slip a bar
or
two. In order to save time at rehearsal, letters are inserted
at
frequent intervals in the score and parts. These are used as
starting-points when stops are made at rehearsal. Sometimes,
instead of letters, every tenth bar is numbered. In some cases
each pair of instruments shares a desk, the parts being written
on
two staves braced together on the same sheet. This is rather
a
help to the players in checking the counting of rests and so
on,
but quite often each part is written out on separate sheets.
As
there are a number of String players in each section of the
Strings, two players share a desk and a part. Wind and percussion
parts have to be so arranged that the players have a rest in
which
to turn over the page. This is also done if possible in the String-
parts, but it is not always feasible as the Strings often play
con-
tinuously for a long time, and as they share parts, one player
can
turn while the other carries on.
In the case of manuscript works, the parts are copied from
the
score by a professional copyist who, in addition to having very
clear
and legible musical handwriting, must also possess sufficient
musical
intelligence to provide sensible and useful cues and generally
to
lay out the part in a workmanlike manner. Sometimes he has to
be
able to decipher very untidy and ill-written scores, but most
ex-
perienced composers have learned by bitter experience to make
their scores tidy and legible. Nothing puts players and conductors
off a new work more than constant stops at rehearsal to correct
mistakes in the parts. Legibility and clarity of writing are
the
lubricating oil of the orchestral engine. Some composers are
tem-
peramentally unable to write tidily, and their scores never get
any
better in this respect as long as they live. Thus Beethoven's
scores
were always terrible to read while Wagner's from first to last
were
models of calligraphy. It should not be necessary for a composer
who really knows his job to make a rough copy first. He should
be
sufficiently sure of what he wants and how to get it to he able
to.
write a fair copy straight away without any erasures to speak
of.
Of course he usually makes a rough "short score" first,
but of
that more anon.