This document discusses techniques for timpanists to shape musical phrases. It recommends growing louder as melodic lines ascend and softer as they descend to reinforce the melody and add a sense of "surge and decline." It also suggests playing phrases progressively louder until the final downbeat for forward rhythmic momentum. When a phrase is written at one dynamic but the orchestration implies crescendo, the timpanist can play the marked dynamic for a few measures before gradually increasing volume into the final measure. This brings out the musical meaning. The document also addresses playing legato notes on timpani, which can be challenging due to the rapid decay of sound; rolls are sometimes used instead at slow tempos.
This document discusses techniques for timpanists to shape musical phrases. It recommends growing louder as melodic lines ascend and softer as they descend to reinforce the melody and add a sense of "surge and decline." It also suggests playing phrases progressively louder until the final downbeat for forward rhythmic momentum. When a phrase is written at one dynamic but the orchestration implies crescendo, the timpanist can play the marked dynamic for a few measures before gradually increasing volume into the final measure. This brings out the musical meaning. The document also addresses playing legato notes on timpani, which can be challenging due to the rapid decay of sound; rolls are sometimes used instead at slow tempos.
This document discusses techniques for timpanists to shape musical phrases. It recommends growing louder as melodic lines ascend and softer as they descend to reinforce the melody and add a sense of "surge and decline." It also suggests playing phrases progressively louder until the final downbeat for forward rhythmic momentum. When a phrase is written at one dynamic but the orchestration implies crescendo, the timpanist can play the marked dynamic for a few measures before gradually increasing volume into the final measure. This brings out the musical meaning. The document also addresses playing legato notes on timpani, which can be challenging due to the rapid decay of sound; rolls are sometimes used instead at slow tempos.
movement of Max Bruchs Violin Concerto No. 1, the violin line ascends and descends. Timpanists may shape this part by growing louder as the vi- olin line ascends and becoming softer as the line descends. This has the ef- fect of not only reinforcing the violin line, but it also gives the music a sense of surge and decline. Phrases or motives may be played progres- sively louder until the nal downbeat is reached. This has the effect of pushing the music forward rhythmically, gradually intensifying the feeling of the music, and giving the downbeat or tonic note the strongest accent. There are times in which a phrase is written at one dynamic level but the orchestration suggests a crescendo. In that case, the phrase can be played at the marked dynamic level for several counts or measures, then de- crescendo every so slightly (almost inaudibly), and in the nal measures crescendo to the end. This method establishes the dynamic level at the be- ginning of the phrase and then permits a crescendo into the nal measure to bring out the meaning of the music. A good example can be found at the end of the rst movement of Dvorks Symphony No. 9 (see example 2.2). The timpanist plays the rst measure at fortissimo, inaudibly decrescen- dos to forte in the next bar, and then crescendos to fortissimo in the last four measures of the roll. See the companion Web site for a marked tim- pani part. 2.2. Inaudible decrescendos ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ?4 8 f A succession of legato notes may need to be phrased, too. A legato note is a broad, connecting note that allows other notes of a phrase to ow easily one into another. Phrased legato notes are notated in one of two ways. First, a series of notes may be slurred. Second, a composer may write a tenuto mark above (or below) the notesignifying that the note should be played its written value. However, the musical context often de- termines whether or not notes should be played in a legato fashion. Where it is clear that the composer meant notes to be tied more closely together, the notes may be treated as legato notes. Legato notes present particular problems to the timpanist. On the timpani, the sound of a single legato note decays fairly rapidly. At slow tempos, a legato note becomes something less than a legato note: the rel- atively rapid decay of the note prevents a real legato note from sustaining its tone. Perhaps this is why George Frideric Handel wrote rolled notes in the rst movement of the Royal Fireworks. At this very slow and deliberate tempo, single legato notes may not sustain the sound in the way a roll would. The decay of the note is particularly problematic if the timpanist is playing in the upper register of the drums or on smaller drums. In the drums upper register, the tightness of timpano head prevents the note from resonantly ringing for a longer period of time. This is less true with
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