Promoting Tone Quality and Ensemble Awareness With Your Percussionists

Do your percussionists approach each instrument with the intent of producing a quality tone? Would you say your percussionists are engaged listeners within the ensemble? As directors, we tend to address characteristic tone quality and ensemble listening skills with our wind sections and exempt our percussionists. Compounding the problem, our percussionists begin to assume the tone and tuning are fixed characteristics of the instruments. "It is what it is." Below are a few suggestions for addressing tone quality and encouraging your concert percussionists to be active listeners in the ensemble.

Snare Drum

Center the snare strainer control directly in front of the body. This aligns the snare bed in front of the player so that snare response is consistent throughout the range of playing areas. Play slightly off center for the best resonance and response. To promote active listening, include the percussion section in the daily warm-ups and insist on the proper snare volume to balance within the ensemble.

Bass Drum

An important aspect of bass drum tone quality is the initial tuning of the drum. In many cases, the drum has been left unattended and tuned too low, producing a tone with no resonance or articulation. The goal for bass drum tuning is a low, resonant, indefinite pitch with a slight attack.

Most young percussionists don't approach the bass drum thinking of producing a quality tone. Again, "it is what it is." To engage their thinking about tone quality, have them experiment by striking the drum in different areas. They will recognize when they locate the "sweet spot," producing the most resonant tone. This is usually 3-6" off center and is the best all-around playing zone.

As directors, we can foster ensemble listening skills by making our percussionists aware of matching the note lengths and articulations of corresponding wind parts. In most cases, students dampen the bass drum too much, producing a dry, short note and sharp attack. Experiment with using just the pads of the fingers on the free hand about 4-6" from the rim of the playing head to muffle the resonance. This should allow the student to adjust for different note values and produce a more blended, legato attack with better tone that is "felt" more than heard.

Timpani

Timpani provide an excellent opportunity for directors to discuss tone quality awareness with your percussion section. Begin by striking the drum in the center and gradually work towards the rim. Have your students acknowledge when they hear the best tone -- typically 3-5" from the rim. This is the optimal playing area. Furthermore, develop percussionists with the same expectations as your wind musicians by having them tune pitches "by ear" initially, and then, use a tuner afterwards to check accuracy and make adjustments.

Timpani also provide an opportunity to develop ensemble awareness. Similar to bass drum, timpanists should be listening for similar wind instrument parts and making a conscious effort to blend and match note lengths and articulations -- the downbeats of tuba and timpani parts in marches, for example. Sometimes our percussionists are content with just playing the correct drum and rhythm. It requires a great deal more effort muffling the drums to duplicate the light, separated downbeats of the tuba.

Encourage your percussionists to approach each instrument, first and foremost, with the intent of producing a quality tone. This requires critical listening and thinking regarding playing zones as well as mallet/implement choices. Involve your percussion section during rehearsal with questions about tuning, balance, and style. Even pre-planning a brief moment occasionally during rehearsal to address tone quality and ensemble awareness will enhance their ability to eventually make those decisions on their own. And isn't that one of our main goals for all of the musicians we teach?