THE RUDIMENTS OF MUSIC. (with a concentration on percussion)

Transcription

1 THE RUDIMENTS OF MUSIC (with a concentration on percussion)

2 THE RUDIMENTS OF MUSIC CONTENTS Lesson Page Staff Notation 1 Table of Note Values 3 Pointing and Dotted Notes 4 Musical Signs 5 Rolls 6 Time 7 Time Signatures 7 Signs and Expressions 11 Anacrusis and Incomplete Bars 15 Irregular Groups 15 Untied Rolls 17 Abbreviated Notes 18 Dynamics 18 Common Roll Notation 19 Music Theory (in more detail) 24 Sound 24 Staff Notation 27 Pitch Range 31 Time Signatures (additional) 32 Irregular Groups (additional) 33 Dynamics and Expression 35 Some Pipe Band Specific Symbols 40 Rudiments of Music

3 STAFF NOTATION This is a method of giving musical sound meaning to the eye. It can be likened to a form of language where notes = letters, bars = words, parts = sentences and so on. This tutor is predominantly aimed at pipe band percussion, so while the basics of the music theory will be the same no matter what the instrument there are certain terms such as types of gracenotes, embellishments, note ties and other items that will have a specific percussion aspect. If you need an insight into all the aspects of music theory I have found that How to Read Music by Roger Evans is a good introduction to the subject. Music is usually written on five horizontal lines known as a STAFF or stave. In pipe band drumming each of the instruments (snare, tenor, and bass) has only one note (pitch) and the music is written in Swiss notation, which uses a mono linear (single line) staff. Generally the notes played with the right hand are written above the line, and those played with the left hand are written below the line although this could be reversed. NOTES In most forms of music notes show the duration of the sound being produced. In drumming, with the drum being a staccato instrument, the notes indicate the amount of time until the next sound is made. Every note means that a stroke is played. As all strokes played on a drum (or a practice pad) are the same length the value of a note tells how long it is until the next stroke is played rather than how long the note lasts for. European music tends to use the note name whereas the American idiom will refer to the note by its value. It is therefore useful to be aware of both naming protocols. To the best of my knowledge the full list of notes and rests is shown below: Note Name Value Note Rest Large (Maxima or duplexlonga) Octuple (8) Longa (sextuple whole note) Quadruple (4) Used specifically in early music, the maxima or the octuple longa is considered to be a rare musical note that is twice as long as the longa, or eight to twelve times as long as a semibreve. The Longa is four to six times as long as a semi-breve. Breve Double (2) The Breve is the longest note value that is still in use in modern music notation. Rudiments of Music 1

4 The next 6 notes are the most common in pipe band drumming: Note Name Value Semi Breve Whole Note (1) Minim 1 /2 * Crotchet 1 /4 Quaver 1 th /8 Semiquaver 1 Demisemiquaver 1 Note Rest /16th /32nd The following note is less common Hemidemisemiquaver 1 /64th And the following notes are rarely used but when they are it is to represent brief, rapid sections in extremely slow movements in a piece of music. Semihemidemisemiquaver or Quasihemidemisemiquaver Demisemihemidemisemiquaver or Semi Garapatea 1 /128th 1 /256th * The Crotchet (¼ note) is a very important note as it tends to be the beat note in most pipe band music. This will be explained in more detail later. RESTS Rests are signs that indicate periods of silence. Every note has an equivalent rest (when you don t play a stroke). The rest signs are illustrated above and on the next page. The semi breve rest, even if it is incorrect for the time signature, is also used to indicate a whole bar rest. The next page illustrates the different notes and the equivalent rests most commonly used in the pipe band idiom. The table shows the sub-division of these notes. Rudiments of Music 2

5 Rudiments of Music 3

6 POINTING or DOTTED NOTES When a dot is added after a note its value is increased by half. i.e. 1 + ½ e.g. C = C + D ; D = D + E or E E E When two dots are added after a note its value is increased by half and then by half again. i.e. 1 + ½ + ¼ e.g. C = C + D + E ; E = E + F + G As intimated on page 1, in percussion, the note actually indicates how long it is until the next note is played so the correct way to compare the dotted note is with rests. e.g. D = D + c or E c c ; C = C + b + c Dots can similarly be added to rests to increase their duration. e.g. b = b + c + d Rudiments of Music 4

7 MUSICAL SIGNS The staff is divided into equal portions called bars by short vertical lines called Bar Lines. A Double Bar Line signifies the end of a musical phrase. If the double bar line is heavier, it signifies the end of the tune and, if two dots are placed before the double bar line, this indicates that the music is to be repeated from the beginning of the part, or from the preceding set of dotted double bar lines. CLEF SIGNS These signs are situated at the start of a piece of music to indicate which pitch range the piece is played in. The first two below are the common clefs used in pipe band music The Treble Clef or G Clef: / is generally used for pipe and snare drum scores. The Bass Clef or F Clef: S is used for the tenor and bass drum scores. The Alto Clef or C Clef: is common in other forms of music but not in pipe band. The Neutral Clef or Unpitched Clef: or This clef would normally be used for drums apart from the fact the Treble and Bass Clefs are used to indicate whether the piece is for snare, bass or tenor ACCENTS Accents are placed above a note to indicate that it is to be played louder than the others. The usual signs are " < " (loud) and " = " (medium). Be aware that in some older forms of pipe band drumming this is reversed. Rudiments of Music 5

8 TIES Ties are where two or more notes are joined with a slur. Only the first note is sounded. i.e. NOTE: Rests are never tied. ROLLS A roll is where the sound is played (buzzed) from one note to the next. This is the nearest that drumming comes to having legato sound i.e. a note with a duration of sound. The first and last notes are tied together and short horizontal lines are placed below the head of the first note. Contrary to normal musical practice (see Abbreviated Notes on page 18), in the Pipe Band idiom the start note is has either 2 or 3 short lines across the stem. This does not indicate the number and value of the notes that make up the roll. For example a crotchet roll could comprise 8 semi-quavers, 12 tripleted semi-quavers or 16 demi-semi-quavers. Each dependant on the ability of the drummer and the tempo of the piece being played. In Pipe Band the horizontal stokes only differentiate between grouped notes and individual notes. Notes that can be grouped together: 1 / 8 notes and downwards have two strokes. While individual notes: 1 / 4 notes and upwards have three strokes. Rudiments of Music 6

9 TIME Time is the measurement of the rhythmic occurrence of beats and should not be confused with tempo, which is the speed at which a piece of music is played. The three main kinds of time used in pipe band work are:- Duple Triple Quadruple Two beats in the bar Three beats in the bar Four beats in the bar In addition, the following may occasionally be used: Quintuple Five beats in the bar (Asymmetric Time see later) Sextuple Six beats in the bar Septuple Seven beats in the bar (Asymmetric Time see later) Each of these "times" can be further sub-divided into Simple, Compound and Odd Meter (sometimes also called time but to avoid confusion we will use the term meter ). Simple Meter is time in which the beat note is undotted and can be sub-divided into two equal notes of lesser value. Compound Meter is time in which the beat note is dotted and can be sub-divided into three equal notes of lesser value. In some areas this is also known as Odd Meter or Time but to avoid confusion that will not be used here. Odd Meter is time in which the rhythm is made up of a combination of plain and dotted notes (Simple and Compound Meter). This is uncommon in the pipe band idiom and will be explained in more detail in the detailed music theory section. TIME SIGNATURES Time signatures are placed at the start of a piece of music and are usually two numbers in the form of a fraction. The bottom figure indicates the beat note and corresponds with the note values given in the Table of Note Values on page 3. e.g. 4 = 1 / 4 = D 8 = 1 / 8 = E Rudiments of Music 7

10 In Simple Meter it is a straight comparison, i.e. 1 / 4 = a crotchet, but in Compound Meter three of the notes indicated have to be added together to give the beat note. e.g. 8 = 1 / 8 = E therefore the beat note = E E E = D A dotted crotchet The top figure tells the number of beats in the bar. In Simple Meter it again relates directly. e.g. 3 = 3 beats in the bar. In Compound Meter the number has to be divided by three to give the number of beats. e.g. 9 = 9 3 = 3 beats in the bar. Examples " = Two crotchet beats per bar (Simple Duple) & = Two dotted crotchet beats per bar (Compound Duple) # = Three crotchet beats per bar (Simple Triple) ( = Four dotted crotchet beats per bar (Compound Quadruple) For pipe band drumming the general rule is that if the lower number is a 4 then it is simple meter. If the lower number is an 8 then it is compound meter. There are occasional exceptions and these will be highlighted at the time or will be apparent when playing the music. Traditionally church music was in Triple time (i.e. the Holy Trinity) and the music played by the common people tended to be in $. This became known as common time. The letter ". " was used to signify this time signature. A common time march will usually have $ as the time signature while strathspeys will normally be identified with a. time signature. The sign " - " is also used. This is known as alla-breve, cut time or! and is normally used for tunes in reel time. Rudiments of Music 8

11 The general effect of " - " is that the note values are doubled and then played at twice the speed. e.g. Asymmetric Time Asymmetric time is where there are 5 or 7 beats or pulses in the bar. This is where the number of beats cannot be divided evenly by either two or three. Time signatures for these would be: % = Five crotchet beats per bar (Simple Quintuple) i = Five dotted crotchet beats per bar (Compound Quintuple) * = Seven crotchet beats per bar (Simple Septuple) = Seven dotted crotchet beats per bar (Compound Septuple) Asymmetric Time is identified separately as it tends to be a combination of Duple, Triple or Quadruple times. E.g. Quintuple Time would take the form: Strong Weak Strong Weak Weak OR Strong Weak Weak Strong Weak Duple + Triple Triple + Duple Septuple Time would take the form: Strong Weak Medium Weak Strong Weak Weak OR Strong Weak Weak Strong Weak Medium Weak Quadruple + Triple Triple + Quadruple Rudiments of Music 9

12 TABLE OF SOME OF THE MORE COMMON TIME SIGNATURES Simple Duple Value of each beat Compound Duple Value of each beat! or - = 2 C per bar C ) = 2 C per bar C " = 2 D per bar D & = 2 D per bar D Simple Triple Compound Triple # = 3 D per bar D Simple Quadruple = 3 D per bar D Compound Quadruple $ = 4 D per bar. = 4 D per bar D D ( = 4 D per bar D Less common examples that do appear occasionally: Simple Quintuple % = 5 D per bar D Simple Sextuple ) = 6 D per bar D Simple Septuple Compound Quintuple i = 5 D per bar D Compound Sextuple j = 6 D per bar D Compound Septuple * = 7 D per bar D = 7 D per bar D Note: There is some crossing over of time signatures between simple and compound time. E.g. ) as compound duple or simple sextuple. The piece of music will generally indicate the timing required. Rudiments of Music 10

13 SIGNS AND EXPRESSIONS Grace Notes or Embellishments (Appoggiatura Groups) are added to colour or enhance a note. The main embellishments are: Flam W D Closed Drag X D Rough Z D Open Drag Y D Swiss Rough ] D Backstick? As an aside, be aware that in the French idiom the Open Drag is often written Musical Expressions are the terms used to describe the methods of play. The terms relate to either the volume of play i.e. grades of soft and loud, or the tempo i.e. faster or slower, and when to stop or repeat. The most common ones are:- (i) relating to volume: ppp - Pianississimo - extremely quiet pp - Pianissimo - very quiet p - Piano - quiet (Leading Drummer) m - mezzo - medium mf - mezzo forte - moderately loud f - forte - loud ff - Fortissimo - very loud (all drummers) (Double Forte) fff - Fortississimo - extremely loud sfz - Sforzando - Suddenly with force, accent fz - Forzando - With force sf - Subito forte - Suddenly loud sfp - Subito fortepiano - Suddenly loud then immediately quiet Rudiments of Music 11

14 leggiero - lightly dim. - Diminuendo } - getting softer decres. - Decrescendo } cres. - Crescendo - getting louder cres. dim. (ii) relating to tempo: allegro ritard - faster - slower accelerando - getting faster rallantando - getting slower A Tempo - back to normal tempo (iii) other expressions: solo tutti unison fine Segno Coda - one player - all, everyone playing - two or more playing the same notes - end - indicates a pause in the natural rhythm of the tune - sign - an extra few bars at the end Rudiments of Music 12

15 Al Coda - go to the Coda D.C. Da Capo - repeat from the beginning D.S. Dal Segno - go back and repeat from the sign - D.S. al Coda D.S al fine - go back to the sign - - and repeat until you come to al coda then go to the coda - go back to the sign - - and repeat until you come to fine - finish Variations in repeat are shown by square brackets placed over a note or notes: The first time through the piece the notes under "1." are played and those under "2." ignored. When the piece is repeated the notes under "2." are played and those under "1." ignored. Convention in pipe band percussion has the leading drummer playing on his own the first time through a part of music and the remainder of the drum corps joining in when repeating the part. This has traditionally been referred to the piano part when the leading drummer is playing and the double forte when all are playing. As can be seen above the correct musical terms are solo and tutti respectively. To help enhance the music and create a better ensemble effect unisons are incorporated into the solo parts of the tune. This is where the remainder of the drummers join in the leading drummer s part of the tune. This is shown in two main ways ff or u over a group of notes and " V " or " u "over a single note or embellished note when individual accents are to be picked out. These single note unisons are known as Unison Chips. The sign " V " over a note within a unison phrase is used to indicate where the note is played solo. Repeats Repeats in music can be illustrated in many ways. The most common is as mentioned earlier, using double bar lines with dots. This indicates that the music is to be repeated from the beginning of the part, or from the preceding set of dotted double bar lines. Rudiments of Music 13

16 Other signs that can be used to signify repeats are as follows: Simile repeat previous bar or previous two bars respectively Alternative ways of showing this are or to repeat the previous two bars (measures). Repeating the bars above can be shown with or. These are not standard signs Rudiments of Music 14

17 ANACRUSIS and INCOMPLETE BARS An anacrusis (can also be referred to as a pick-up or lead-in bar) is an introductory note or group of notes that appear before the 1 st beat in a part of music. To compensate for this introductory note there will be an incomplete bar at the end of the part. The note value of the anacrusis will be missing from this incomplete bar. Anacrusis Incomplete bar IRREGULAR GROUPS (Tuplets) When a group of notes in Simple Time are inserted into a piece of music written in Compound Time we have what is called an Irregular Group or a tuplet. This is normally one group of notes replaced by a differing number of notes of the same value. Conversely the same term applies to a Compound group inserted into a piece written in Simple Time. Different names are given to the various groupings and the more common ones are illustrated below. Duplet or Couplet - Two in the time of three Triplet - Three in the time of two Rudiments of Music 15

18 The Triplet can also be sub-divided And also used in Compound Time Quadruplet - Four in the time of three Four in the time of six Sextuplet or sexolet - Six in the time of four The following groups are irregular whether they are in Simple or Compound Meter. Rudiments of Music 16

19 Quintuplet or quintolet - Five in the time of four Or Five in the time of three Septuplet or septolet - Seven in the time of four Seven in the time of six UNTIED ROLLS In some music scores rolls are written without the slur tying the start and end notes together. These are known as untied rolls and are played to the value of the start note, finishing just before the next note shown. e.g. Rudiments of Music 17

20 ABBREVIATED NOTES There is a form of musical shorthand that is occasionally used, where repeating 1 / 8, 1 / 16 or 1 / 32 notes can be shown by just one note with a coded number of strokes across the stem. In other words the large value note is played for its duration in either 1 / 8, 1 / 16 or 1 / 32 notes. e.g. The number of strokes across the stem corresponds to the number of tails on the notes being played. Watch with the 1 / 32 note version of the crotchet as this could be mistaken for an untied roll. As described earlier this could be interpreted to mean that a crotchet roll should be made up of buzzed demi-semi-quavers. Convention in the pipe band idiom is that this is not the case and a crotchet roll is played to the ability of the performer. To add further confusion the strokes across the tails can mean different things in other forms of percussion. In Rudimental Drumming 1 stroke across the tail is known as a cheese a bounce stroke. In Pipe Band strokes across an untied note could mean it is just a buzz stoke. In general music the is used to indicate a buzz stroke. DYNAMICS The accents, signs and musical expressions detailed previously all add to what is known as the dynamics of a piece of music. This is the light and shade, soft and loud etc that adds expression to a score and prevents it being a piece played straight and flat with no feeling. The music for pipe band drumming tends to take shortcuts and there are what can be termed as implied dynamics that apply to various rudiments and phrases. This basically means that while there are no expression marks shown in a phrase they should always be played as if the signs were there. Some examples of these are detailed below: Thirteen Stroke rolls are frequently played with a crescendo Rudiments of Music 18

21 Paradiddles will often be played with syncopation The single will usually be played crescendo with a preceding accent The exception to this would be the drag five stroke single where a light deadstick drag is played A twelve-stroke roll will often be shown with just single dot to avoid the complexity of adding the second dot that is not always available in some music software packages. Strathspeys should always be played emphasising the strong weak medium weak rhythm, even if this is not shown on the score. When a crescendo is played it is implied that the volume returns to normal at the end of the crescendo sign. MOST COMMON ROLL NOTATION The following pages list the most common rolls and illustrate how they are played and how they are shown in pipe band drum scores. It is by no means a definitive list of the different rolls as they can range from the one pulse to an infinite number of pulses. Then, by the time you add in accents, taps, snaps, snips, snipsnaps and so on there is no end to the combinations. Reference to a publication specific to percussion is recommended if you are interested in seeing all the rolls that are available. In the drum scores of other forms of drumming, especially those written on a five bar staff, the roll will be shown differently. The roll will either have the roll type shown over it, have the actual fingering required shown below, it may have a trill sign ( ) over the tied notes or the choice may be left the performer. The following table shows how the rolls look in both Simple and Compound Time. The following have been listed in a numerical order and, where applicable, show how the rolls look in both Simple and Compound Time. Rudiments of Music 19

22 1-pulse roll 4-stroke roll Simple Time 4-stroke roll Compound Time There are at least two other methods of playing the 4-stroke roll but they have not been included here. 5-stroke roll Simple time 5-stroke roll Compound Time Crushed 5-stroke roll Slow 5-stroke roll Rudiments of Music 20

23 Both of those in Compound Time Continuous 5-stroke roll 6-stroke roll in Simple and Compound Times 7-stroke roll Two forms of 7-stroke roll in Compound Time 8-stroke roll Rudiments of Music 21

24 9-stroke roll In Compound Time Continuous 9-stroke roll Simple and Compound Time 10-stroke roll 11-stroke roll 12-stroke roll Rudiments of Music 22

25 13-stroke roll In Compound Time 17-stroke roll Rudimental 3-pace roll 25-stroke roll Standard 3-pace roll 49-stroke roll 5-pace roll Tachums Accents can be interspersed anywhere in a roll and with the addition of flams to the start of a roll the permutations are many Rudiments of Music 23

26 MUSIC THEORY SOUND What is sound? Sound is a series of disturbances in matter, usually air, to which the ear is sensitive. These disturbances send vibrations through the air that are picked up by the ear and converted into nerve impulses, which the brain registers as sound. There are 4 requirements for any sound to be produced: 1. An originator This is the source of energy, which sets the vibrating body into motion. For musical sound this will be the musician, in this specific case the piper or the drummer. 2. A vibrating body This is required for any musical instrument, the strings on a violin, the musician s lips in a brass instrument, the reeds in a woodwind instrument etc. In the Pipe band idiom this will be the reeds vibrating in the bagpipe or the drum head vibrating when struck with a beater. 3. A medium In most cases this will be air. Sound can also travel through a liquid such as water or solid matter such as a steel beam. The vibrations would have to be detected directly from the beam as the vibrations will also cause the sound to travel through the surrounding air. 4. A receptor This will tend to be the ear of someone listening. A microphone is also a receptor as is a shark s body that detects sounds in water. If any one of these requirements is missing sound cannot be produced sound cannot be made in a vacuum (the medium is missing). When a tree falls in a forest when there is no one around does it make a sound? (missing receptor). There are various characteristics of sound: 1. Pitch is the height or depth of a sound. How high or low a sound is. In the bagpipes it is the reeds vibrating in the chanter or drones that set the column of air vibrating. The longer that column of air the lower the pitch of the sound. In the chanter covering holes alters the length of the column of air. 2. Volume is the loudness of a sound. This can also be known as amplitude or intensity. It is not possible to vary the amplitude of sound on the bagpipes but it can be varied on the drum depending upon how hard or softly a drumhead is struck 3. Quality or Timbre or Colour is what distinguishes between sounds of the same pitch. This can be between a trumpet and a bagpipe or whether one piper has a better sound from another. Rudiments of Music 24

27 4. Duration is the length or value of a sound. In other words how long the sound is played for. 5. Accent is the stress or force with which a sound is played. Sounds are said to be musical when the vibrations are regular, continuous and pleasant to the ear and unmusical (noise) when the sounds are confused and irregular. There are 2 kinds of musical sound 1. Legato where the sounds are smooth and connected together. The bagpipe is a legato instrument as the continuous flow of air produces a sustained sound that smoothly flows from one pitch to another. 2. Staccato where the sounds are short and detached. The drum is a staccato instrument as a single stroke from a beater produces a short sharp sound. The drum roll on a snare drum gives a legato impression to the sound produced. The following chart illustrates the breakdown of the constituent parts of sound: Rudiments of Music 25

28 Rudiments of Music 26

29 STAFF NOTATION For thousands of years man has tried to give the musical sounds meaning to the eye by using a system of writing using signs and symbols to represent those sounds. The Western system in use today was developed and fostered by the early Christian Church. This system is called Staff Notation and it represents various sounds using characters called notes and other symbols and placing them on a series of lines and spaces, often referred to a pitch ladder. This visually indicates changes in duration and pitch. The Great Staff comprises eleven lines and ten intermediate spaces formed around the central line of Middle C. The Great Staff if generally only used for instruments that cover the full range of notes. These tend to be the piano or the organ. With the middle C line omitted the Great Staff can be divided into two short Staffs. The Treble Staff, generally used for Pipes and Snare drum and the Bass Staff, generally used for Bass, Tenor and Baritone drums. The Alto drum should be based around middle C but for convenience is included in the bass clef with the rest of the mid section. Treble Staff Bass Staff Of course as drums can only play a single pitch, in the pipe band idiom, their music tends to be written on a monolinear (single line) staff. For general information the pitch for the notes are named in the repeated sequence A to G. As it s name implies the line Middle C is C with the space above it D and the space below B. This then means that the 5 lines in the Treble Staff are named E, G, B, D & F rising up the staff and the spaces F, A, C & E. The Bass Staff lines, again rising up the staff, are G, B, D, F & A. The spaces A, C, E & G. Rudiments of Music 27

30 The Full Score will include the staffs for all instruments bracketed together with a brace. The most common percussion grouping will comprise Snare, Tenor and Bass drums. The addition of one or more of the other tuned drums can add depth to the mid section sound. While the figure above shows each of the drum types on a separate staff it is not uncommon for them to be on the same staff but with the different drums highlighted in different colours. Another alternative would be to show the different pitched tenors on a standard 5-line staff. Although the individual voices are shown in the G, E, C & A spaces this is for convenience and the drums would be tuned to match certain pitches in the pipes (see the pitch range tables later). Rudiments of Music 28

31 1. = Unison (Played by all drums) 2. = Tenor 1 (Soprano Bb) (Highest pitched drum) 3. = Tenor 2 (Alto F) 4. = Tenor 3 (Tenor D) 5. = Tenor 4 (Baritone Bb) 6. = Muffle tone Strike the head with the designated hand while muffling the head with the opposite hand. Some of the bigger bands can turn out 8 tenors thus giving them the full octave. Scores would be adapted to suit the resource within the given band. An example of a full score for percussion could look like: Rudiments of Music 29

32 Full score for pipes, snare, tenors and bass could look like: A basic score for 3 tenors could be: As can be seen a score can be in various formats but commonly the score will be separated out and be handed out individually to the various sections. This can avoid confusion when learning the piece but there can be an advantage in seeing the ensemble written out together to see how it all fits in. Rudiments of Music 30

33 PITCH RANGE The various instruments in the pipe band idiom have a range of sounds, each usually within the compass of one of the short staffs. The bagpipes have a pitch range of 9 notes from Low G to High A. The key signature for the bagpipes is Bb (B flat). As this is the only tuned instrument in the band the key signature tends not to be shown on the score. For comparison the bagpipe notes are shown with the comparable concert pitch. Note on Bagpipe Note in Concert Pitch (ie. Piano) High A Bb C D E F Low A Bb (octave below high A) Tenor Drone Bb (octave below low A) Bass Drone Bb (octave below tenor drone) While the snare drum has the highest pitch of the percussion instruments in the ensemble it has been tested and found to be an instrument of indeterminate pitch. The pitch of the drum can be raised and lowered by tightening and loosening the heads but the snare effect means that it does not register properly on any acoustic measuring device. The other instruments can be measured and, if tuned properly, should be as in the following table: Voice of Drum in Midsection Snare Drum (14'') Soprano Drum (16" or 15") Alto Drum (16" or 15'') Tenor Drum (18" or 16") Baritone Drum (18'') Bass Drum (28'' or 26") Note (concert pitch) Indeterminate Bb (octave of tenor drone) F (5th of the chord of the bass drone) D (3rd of the chord of the bass drone) Bb (octave of bass drone) Bb (octave below bass drone) Rudiments of Music 31

34 TIME SIGNATURES Odd Meter As stated in the general theory section Odd Meter tends to be a combination of Simple and Compound Meter beat notes. This is not common in pipe band work but the main examples of this are: Duple Time D + D = E E + E E E Triple Time D + D + D = E E + E E + E E E Triple Time D + D + D = E E + E E E + E E E Quadruple Time D + D + D + D = Quadruple Time D + D + D + D = E E + E E + E E E + E E E E E + E E E + E E E + E E E The Simple and Compound Meter beats notes can be in any order and in any combination. The time signature should not be confused with $. Although both have 8 eighth notes in the bar one has them grouped into three beats while the other has four beats. As you can see there are a large number of time signatures that can be used in music but in pipe band there are only a few in general use. These are listed in the following table. It is worth noting that two pieces can have the same time signature but sound totally different. E.g. a 6:8 march and a Jig. The main difference here is the tempo at which the piece is played. Similarly the 2:4 time signature can apply to marches, hornpipes, polkas, schottische etc. which all have a slightly different feel to them, all be it that they are all simple duple. Rudiments of Music 32

35 IRREGULAR GROUPS (Tuplets) Further to the irregular groups detailed in the general theory section the following groups may occur occasionally. Octuplet - Eight in the time of six Or Nontuplet - Nine in the time of eight Or Rather than as a single number, tuplets can also be shown as a ratio under the slur. Examples would be: *Eleven in the time of eight 11:8 Undecaplet *Eleven in the time of twelve 11:12 Rudiments of Music 33

36 *Thirteen in the time of eight 13:8 Tridecaplet *Thirteen in the time of twelve 13:12 Fifteen in the time of eight 15:8 Quindecaplet Fifteen in the time of sixteen 15:16 * Like the Quintuplet and the Septuplet the eleven and thirteen stroke tuplets are irregular in both simple and compound meter. Others not shown here would be a Decaplet 10 in the time of 8, Duodecaplet 12 in the time of 8 and Quadecaplet 14 in the time of 8. Fifteen is the highest I have seen named but using the same nomenclature rules you would have Sexdecaplet 16 in the time of 8 (see below), Septdecaplet 17 in the time of 8 and so on. There are exceptions to the normal rule of using notes of the same value. The example below, 16:3, shows 16 semi-quavers in the time of 3 crotchets. This could also be described as a subdivided quadruplet or more accurately as 16:12 16 semi-quavers in the time of 12. Rudiments of Music 34

37 DYNAMICS AND EXPRESSION Dynamics relates to how loud or softly a piece is played. It can also relate to differences in tempo that may be built into the music. The dynamics are usually indicated by musical signs, grace notes or embellishments. These have been indicated earlier in the section Signs & Expressions on page 11. Expression is the feeling you put into the piece. Expression can be intuitive or analytical. - Intuitive expression can also be referred to artistic interpretation. This is less suitable in the drum corps scenario where the idea is to get everyone playing the same. - Analytical expression can be more suitable for corps playing but it is dependant on one person s feel for how the piece should be played. We quite commonly play Massed Band and basic generic settings as part of the drum corps repertoire. These basic, plain settings can be enhanced a lot by the addition of dynamics and expression. For these to work it is dependant upon all the corps drummers to observe the indicated signs and marks. The most obvious dynamics are the addition of embellishments (Flams, Drags, Roughs etc) Accents, Crescendos Diminuendos, volume marks (p, mf, ff, sfz etc.), etc. These work best if it is remembered to play the other strokes quietly or with less force. The tendency when playing massed band/generic settings is to batter it out. This makes the setting sound very flat. When a phrase is marked as p, play it quieter. If the phrase has flams, accents, sfz marks or the like, emphasise accordingly, On the same topic, 90% of rolls do not start with an accent. Start the roll with a pulse (buzz) not a stroke. When the roll is to be crescendo start it from nothing. For the expression and dynamics to come out in a piece it is important to remember all these comments and suggestions before starting to play. In addition to the usual dynamics such as flams, crescendos, accents etc I have listed below various other methods in which a score can be enhanced. Rudiments of Music 35

38 Pointing (Dot and Cut): This is particularly expressive when playing Compound time settings Simple Time 1 & 2 & 1 & 2 & Even strokes Compound Time 1 id di 2 id di 1 id di 2 id di 1 id di 2 id di 1 id di 2 id di 1 di 2 di 1 di 2 di Long short Long - short It is important to note the difference between line 1 and line 4. Be aware of the difference between a 7-stroke roll in simple time and one in compound time. The quaver in simple time has a different duration to one in compound time. Remember there are 3 quavers to a beat in compound time but only 2 quavers to a beat in simple time, therefore a quaver in compound time is only ⅔ the duration of a quaver in simple time. Rudiments of Music 36

39 This means that in compound time a 7-stroke roll coming off a quaver will have to be tighter than in simple time. Conversely, when the 7-stroke roll comes off a crotchet it needs to be slowed down as the crotchet is the equivalent to 1⅓ the value of the quaver in simple time. It is almost at the stage that a tight 9-stroke roll could be substituted. It is also important to note the difference in the 5-stroke single (single 5) in the two different types of time. Note how the five strokes in compound time are a lot slower than in simple time. Rudiments of Music 37

40 Implied Dynamics: This is where the artistic interpretation comes in where there is no dynamic illustrated. Some examples are illustrated below. Illustrated as: Played as: Changes in Tempo: The introduction of tuplets can change the sound and dynamic of a piece of music. Some examples are illustrated below: Triplets into semi-quaver rhythm Rudiments of Music 38

41 Demi-semi-quavers to triplet Semi-quaver triplet to quaver triplet Syncopation: Syncopation is where the natural rhythm of the piece is replaced with an alternative rhythm. A couple of examples are illustrated below: Syncopation can be achieved by the use of unisons in the piano part of a piece. But it must be remembered that you will be trying to achieve the same syncopated sound when all drummers are playing on the repeat. Rudiments of Music 39

42 SOME PIPE BAND SPECIFIC SYMBOLS The following symbols relate specifically to tenor flourishing: Line: Note: Flourish: 1 1 Stop (Regular) 2 Stop (St. Andrews Cross) 3 Quiggs 4 Bounce (Low) 5 Bounce (High) 6 Cross Over (Forward) 7 Cross Over (Reverse) 8 Figure of 8 (Forward) 2 1 Figure of 8 (Reverse) 2 Both Sticks off Back 3 Throw Out (Right) 4 Throw Out (Left) 5 Throw Out (Both) 6 Fan 7 Reverse Figure of 8 (Up) 8 Reverse Figure of 8 (Down) Rudiments of Music 40

43 Line: Note: Flourish: 3 1 Reverse Spin (Right) 2 Reverse Spin (Left) 3 Split the Feather 4 Cartwheel 5 Split the Feather to Cartwheel 6 Cartwheel to Split the Feather 7 Inward Spin (Right) 8 Inward Spin (Left) 4 1 Push Out (Right) 2 Push Out (Left) 3 Push Out (Both) 4 Flat Figure of 8 Spin 5 Butterfly 6 Reverse Butterfly Traditional Piano 5-8 Regimental Piano The following Symbols are specific to our band for tenor: and for snare clickies: L over R hit right stick with left R over L hit left stick with right LB over R hit right stick with left butt R over LB 0 hit left butt with right stick Rudiments of Music 41