Study Guide for the High School Percussionist
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1965 Study guide for the high school percussionist Alan Anderson The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Anderson, Alan, "Study guide for the high school percussionist" (1965). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 3698. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/3698 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STUDY GUIDE FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL PERCUSSIONIST by ALAN J. ANDERSON B. M. Montana State University, 1957 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M aster of Music UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1965 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Exarqi rs D q^, Graduate School SEP 2 2 1965 D ate UMI Number: EP35326 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT UMI EP35326 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code uesf ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 -1346 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The writer is grateful for the assistance and guidance given by Mr. Mervin Britton, Percussion Instructor at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1 Background to the P ro b lem ..................................................................... 1 Trends in the Teaching of Percussion .................................................. 1 Preparation of the T eacher ..................................................................... 2 The Percussion L ib rary ............................................................................ 3 The Problem ..................................................................................................... 4 The Study G uide ............................................................................................... 5 THE STUDY GUIDE AND EXAMINATIONS...................................... 8 UNIT I. BASIC PERCUSSION TECHNIQUE ...................................... 9 II. THE SNARE DRUM ....................................................................... 26 III. THE BASS DRUM ............................................................................. 36 IV. THE c y m b a l s a n d THE TAM-TAM ........................... 44 V. THE TYMPANI.................................................................................... 55 VI. THE KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS ....................................... 66 VII. THE LATIN AMERICAN INSTRUMENTS........................... 77 VIII. THE TRAPS AND THE SOUND EFFECT EQUIPMENT .................................................................................. 86 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................... 97 Facilitating L earning .....................................................................; 97 Stimulating Interest ............................... 99 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................ 101 INTRODUCTION It is the responsibility of the music educator to provide a balanced musical experience for all members of the band or orches tra. A unit of the ensemble which is often neglected in this balanced experience is the percussion section. Instrumental music teachers who are not percussionists themselves, readily admit that the percussion section is most often the weakest part of the ensemble. In addition to this, percussionists in school bands and orchestras frequently receive the least amount of attention from their director. ^ Frank L. Battisti, Chairman of the Ithaca, New York, Instru mental Music Department, states the case of the percussionist as follow s: Until quite recently, and in some schools even today, the drummer was considered as "something other than a musician. " He didn't fit into the same category as the violinist, the clarinetist, or any of the other melodic instrumentalists. Drummers were talked to and treated by conductors of school musical organizations as participants who played some rhythmic figures. Things such as phrasing, tone color, blend, and balance were not asked for or taught and as a result the drummer grew up in a rhythm-pounding world rather than the musical world of the other members of the band or orchestra. ^ ^Robert Buggert, Teaching Techniques for the Percussions (Rockville Centre: Belwin, Inc. , 1960), p. 2. ^Frank L- Battisti, "Musicianship for the High School Per cussionist, " The Ludwig Drummer, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Fall, 1963), p. 21. This void in the instructional balance is partially caused by inadequate instruction offered the prospective music teacher by insti tutions of higher learning. A study made by Michael B. Lamade indicates that sixty-seven percent of the schools surveyed had no instructor who was a specialist in the area of percussion. ^ A more recent evaluation by Gordon Peters, the principal percussionist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, indicates; . of approximately 550 institutions conferring music degrees in the United States only about 50 employ a trained percussion instructor.4 To complicate matters further, the instrumental music teacher must accept the responsibility of instructing his students in all of the percussion instruments. This includes: the snare drum, the bass drum, the cymbals, the tympani, the mallet-keyboard instruments, the Latin American instruments, the traps (triangle, tambourine, woodblock, temple blocks), and the sound-effect equipment. The Guide to Teaching Percussion lists 52 separate percussion instruments.' ^Michael B. Lamade, "Teacher-training in Percussion, " The Instrumentalist, Vol. XII (March, 1958), p. 74. "^Gordon Peters, "Our Responsibilities in Percussion, " The Instrumentalist, Vol. XVIII, No 10 (May, 1964), p. 88. 5 Harry R. Bartlett, Guide W Teaching Percussion (Dubuque: William C. Brown Company, 1964), p. V. The band or orchestra director faces a formidable task in providing the necessary instruction on all of the percussion instru ments during the rehearsal periods. How could the m aterials required for adequate percussion instruction be made available to the student? To give answer to this question the Percussion Library was organized. The Percussion Library This library of percussion materials was designed to cover a wide range of percussion information. The following criteria were used in the selection of the m aterials for the library: (1) Musical value. The material must seek to inspire high standards of musicianship. (2) Clarity. The material must be clearly understood by the high school student. (3) Content. The material must cover the subject matter thoroughly and in an interesting manner. The selection of materials for the Percussion Library was supervised and approved by Mr. Mervin Britton, Percussion Instructor at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. PERCUSSION LIBRARY BOOKS Bartlett, Harry R. Percussion Ensemble Method. Dubuque: William C. Brown Company, 1961. Bartlett, Harry R. Guide W Teaching Percussion. Dubuque: William C. Brown Company, 1964. Buggert, Robert. Teaching Techniques for the Percussions. Rockville Centre: Belwin, Inc. , 1960. Denov, Sam. The Art of Playing the Cymbals. New York: Henry Adler, Inc., 1963. Evans, Bob. Authentic Bongo Rhythms. New York: Henry Adler, Inc. , 1960. Evans, Bob. Authentic Conga Rhythms. New York: Henry Adler, Inc., 1960. Goldenberg, Morris. Modern School for Snare Drum. New York: Chappell & Co. , Inc. , 1955. Goodman, Saul. Modern Method for Tympani. New York: Mills Music, Inc. , 1948. Kent, Jerry. Handbook for the School Drummer. Denver: Jerry Kent, 1964. Kraus, Phil. Modern Mallet Method. New York: Henry Adler, Inc. , 1959. Vols. I and II. PERIODICALS The Holton Fanfare - selected articles. The Instrumentalist - selected articles. The Ludwig Drummer - selected articles. With the development of the Percussion Library came the need for a course of study following a logical sequence. The Study Guide was designed to fill that need. THE PROBLEM The purpose of this study was to design a study guide which would aid the director in providing instructional m aterial for the percussion section. The study guide would assist the student percus sionist in acquiring: (1) a general knowledge of the percussion instru ments and methods of their performance, and (2) an understanding of the role of the percussion instruments in the ensemble. These factors are related to percussion "technique" and are treated as aids in the development of the mental discipline which is a requirement of technique and musicianship. The Study Guide The study guide has been arranged in units, for example: