Monday, September 11,
2006
The PMC Quick Note is a
weekly service provided to all area directors. It is part of our mission
to support the lives of band directors across the
Marching Percussion Instrumentation by James Campbell
Selecting the appropriate size percussion section for your marching band is often a difficult process.
The director must balance the varied instrumentation of the percussion section to the size of the
wind section. One must consider the talent level of the students and the scoring of the musical
arrangements to provide a full ensemble sound in the percussion section.
Although the exact instrumentation of the percussion section serves to personalize the sound of
each band, care should be taken to balance the instrumentation to avoid having one segment of the
percussion section overpowering the rest of the band. Your percussion section should be balanced
just as the choir director balances the sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. The following instrumentation
is recommended to provide a balanced ensemble sound:
Winds Total |
Perc. Total |
Snare Drums |
Toms |
Bass Drums |
Cymbals |
Pit |
35 |
11 |
2 or 3 |
1 or 2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
50 |
15 |
3 or 4 |
2 |
3 |
2 or 3 |
2 or 3 |
65 |
20 |
5 or 6 |
2 or 3 |
4 |
3 |
3 or 4 |
80 |
22 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 or 5 |
100 |
27 |
8 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
5 or 6 |
150 |
32 |
10+ |
5+ |
6 |
5+ |
6+ |
A significant development in contemporary marching percussion sections has been the use of tuned
bass drums. By tuning the bass drums in minor thirds, walking bass lines and other melodic and harmonic
passages can be reinforced by the bass drums. Today’s bass drummers must have a good
sense of time, as the parts are very isolated, yet together they become very contrapuntal. Marching toms should also be tuned in minor thirds and should be the tenor/alto extension of the
basses. In addition, when purchasing equipment always remember that sticking patterns are easier
when written over four drums as opposed to three. Therefore, I encourage the purchase of at least
one set of quads.
Utilize at least one cymbal player for every two snare drummers so that ride cymbal passages will sound most effective. Cymbals are the most visual segment of the percussion section and the use of an extra player may serve to make an effective visual contribution to a field show. Cymbal sizes and timbres should be selected by keeping the music in mind. Always enhance the music as much as possible. It is common practice to utilize concert percussion instruments in modern field shows by placing them in the front area of the field, which is referred to as the “pit” (as in orchestra pit). The pit is the staging area for mallet instruments, timpani, and accessories. These grounded instruments make it possible for performers to play several instruments during the course of a production and expand the range of musical possibilities in percussion scoring.
James Campbell has received worldwide recognition
as a performer, teacher, author, and is a
respected figure in the development of the contemporary
percussion ensemble. He has toured extensively
throughout the United States, Canada,
Sweden, Japan, and Singapore. Currently, professor
of music and director of percussion studies at the
University of Kentucky in Lexington, he also holds
the position of principal percussionist with the
Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. James has
served in several positions with the Percussive Arts
Society including president, and now serves on the
board of directors. James Campbell is a Yamaha
performing artist and clinician. This article was used with the permission of Yamaha.
State Music Educator Websites
There are so many resources available to band directors on state association websites. Below are some quick links to the Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma music educator and bandmaster websites. In next week's Quick Note, we would like to feature district level websites. If you have a website you would like to see featured, please let us know!
Oklahoma Music Educators Association
|
Oklahoma Bandmasters Association
|
Kansas Music Educators Association
|
Kansas Bandmasters Association
|
Cool Internet Shortcut
Do you want to save two seconds every time you type in a new website address in your Internet browser? If you know the name of the site you are going to visit (like http://www.palenmusic.com for example) all you need to do is type in "palenmusic" and then hit control and enter at the same time. The browser will automatically fill in the "http://www." and the ".com" around the website name and automatically jump you to the webpage. Cool, eh?
Online Rental Portal Available
If you have students who miss the instrument display night, you might direct them to the Palen Music Center Online Rental webportal. The parents can specify an instrument of choice, fill out the information, and we can deliver the instrument to the school. It is that easy! Just visit www.palenmusic.com and click Online Rental.
Contact Your
Can we assist you with
anything? Please contact your local Palen Music Center school road
representative for all of your music education needs.
| Springfield | (417) 882-7000 |
Bob Hopkins and Mike Brown |
| (417) 862-2700 | Burl Williams | |
| Columbia | (573) 256-5555 | Robert Pitts |
| Joplin | (417) 781-3100 | |
| Liberty | (816) 792-8301 | Ken Crisp |
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