Try out

Hi all,

I'm having some fun with my new finale, fiddling around. Do you guys have advice for a good use of percussion/timpani in this piece? I feel I can easily ruin it with too much of percussion. Other advice welcome too like orchestration and every thing else. Score in C.

Have a great day!

Jan-Peter

No advice? 🙂 It's perfect as it is? 😛 Joking...

Hah! Perhaps people think it's a presumption that they can advise!

In a way it's a big ask because it means looking at the score which is large and unless someone has a very tall screen, probably wouldn't fit as a full page. It doesn't fit mine. So that means an amount of study, anyway.

However, I'd say you need minimal percussion with this piece: timps, possibly a suspended cymbal with a soft striker (but very sparingly).

It doesn't seem to cry out for much percussion. There's no full tutti where a cymbal bash would add dazzle. It doesn't seem to modulate out of the natural F#minor. A slightly sombre mood. 

You see, the piano and harp set the 'percussive mood' if there is such a thing, along with the string pizzicato passages. They mark the rhythm. Places where I'd think about a snare are on a weak beat (such as the high F in the flute part at bar 50). No use adding it at the beginning of such bars as that would upset the rhythm. I mean, there's no point that would seem enhanced by the rap of a snare on a strong beat.

So from my point of view I can't see anywhere that I'd add percussion. 

Ps. It would help if you could condense things like woodwind and brass for a 'conductor's' score. You could lose a fair few staves and btw you need dynamics for ww and brass in bar 11

This sounds kind of dance-like to me - maybe like a courante (the slow kind).  It sets quite a hypnotizing and meloncholic mood which I enjoyed.  Thanks for sharing!  I like it as is without any additional percussion - timpani might make it sound too heavy which would detract from the light dance-like feel.

On 11/6/2021 at 4:12 PM, Quinn said:

Hah! Perhaps people think it's a presumption that they can advise!

In a way it's a big ask because it means looking at the score which is large and unless someone has a very tall screen, probably wouldn't fit as a full page. It doesn't fit mine. So that means an amount of study, anyway.

However, I'd say you need minimal percussion with this piece: timps, possibly a suspended cymbal with a soft striker (but very sparingly).

It doesn't seem to cry out for much percussion. There's no full tutti where a cymbal bash would add dazzle. It doesn't seem to modulate out of the natural F#minor. A slightly sombre mood. 

You see, the piano and harp set the 'percussive mood' if there is such a thing, along with the string pizzicato passages. They mark the rhythm. Places where I'd think about a snare are on a weak beat (such as the high F in the flute part at bar 50). No use adding it at the beginning of such bars as that would upset the rhythm. I mean, there's no point that would seem enhanced by the rap of a snare on a strong beat.

So from my point of view I can't see anywhere that I'd add percussion. 

Ps. It would help if you could condense things like woodwind and brass for a 'conductor's' score. You could lose a fair few staves and btw you need dynamics for ww and brass in bar 11

 

Thank you Quinn for you recommendations. It's true it is a large score so it takes time to look at it. Great you did so (and sorry for my late response). I think some more on the percussion. I might add a marimba, I think it could have a different function compared to the piano/harp although it might add another colour to that later in certain places... 🙂

On 11/6/2021 at 8:49 PM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

This sounds kind of dance-like to me - maybe like a courante (the slow kind).  It sets quite a hypnotizing and meloncholic mood which I enjoyed.  Thanks for sharing!  I like it as is without any additional percussion - timpani might make it sound too heavy which would detract from the light dance-like feel.

 

Thank you for your suggestions and compliments. I am happy you enjoyed it. You are right it should keep the light, dance-like feel. I think some more about it. There is no deadline since it isn't going to performed (although maybe some time in the future, you never know) so I can work on it as long as I want, enjoying the process. Thanks for your comment!

It reminds me a little of Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suite.

My suggestion would be to mix up the Woodwinds a little. You mostly have them playing in the same cadence. Breaking that up could add a little more color.

Also agree with with Quinn, that a little snare would go nicely!