Orchestral Percussion - Drums

Drums

• Bass drum

In an orchestral setting, the concert bass drum plays an integral role in the overall feel of a piece of music. In orchestral literature, the bass drum usually deals more with coloring and shading the sounds of the orchestra as opposed to providing a solid, rhythmic foundation like in marching and drumset. The bass drum is usually used to accent strong points in the music and is often combined with a cymbal crash to further accentuate the moment. In fact, the two instruments are used in conjunction so often that many parts simply contain one rhythm and the composer then indicates which instruments are to play at which points.

Though the bass drum is possibly the least frequently requested instrument at auditions, it actually takes a fair amount of skill to play correctly. Given the number of variables that can change when playing the bass drum (beater, beating location, amount/type of muffling, stroke, etc.), a well-versed percussionist is usually required in order to obtain all the possible sounds from the instrument.

Some important excerpts for the bass drum in orchestral literature include Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, Romeo and Juliet, and 1812 Overture, many of the Mahler symphonies (most notably his third), and Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz.

• Snare drum

The snare drum is one of the most easily recognizable instruments in the entire percussion section. Also called the side drum, the snare drum is often used as a means of accenting rhythms from other families of instruments within the orchestra or as a soloistic type instrument, particularly in pieces that may have a "military" type theme or sound to them.

The snare drum works extremely well as an accentuating instrument. Tuned and played correctly, it can produce sounds ranging from quick, short, and snappy to thick, warm, whip-crack like accents. There are numerous examples in music of the snare drum being used in this fashion. One such example would be the fourth movement of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite Scheherazade. In this particular example, the snare drum is used to accentuate the various crescendos and "hits" played by the rest of the orchestra. It is also used to reinforce the rhythms played by the trumpets throughout the movement.

As a soloistic instrument, the snare drum has certainly found its place in classical music. A fantastic example of this use of the snare drum would be the opening of Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé suite. After an opening trumpet solo, the snare drum plays a rather short, military-style solo at a pianissimo dynamic marking, designed to create a march-like feel. This particular part presents a number of problems for the orchestral percussionist, but its main difficulty lies in keeping the various rudiments (flams, four stroke ruffs, etc.) consistent at such a soft dynamic level.

Another difficult Snare Drum piece in classical music is:

Bolero (perhaps the most demanding due to the exposed nature, the same two measures repeated for about 15 minutes, driving the entire orchestra to the end).

Traditional rudimental solos that show a snare drummers technique include:

The Connecticut Halftime, The Three Camps, and The Downfall of Paris

There has been a marked deviation from high sticking, traditional drumming to a forced low stick style. Various techniques of the snare drum include the moller method, the gladstone method and other lesser methods.

• Concert toms