John Howell wrote:
At 10:20 PM -0800 12/30/06, Carl Dershem wrote:
Anyway, drum parts are a black art, but should be hints of what needs
to be played - not beat-for-beat maps.
Great story, Carl, but I'd have to add that it definitely depends on
your situation. For jazz, show or rock--commercial music in general--I
agree that a guide rather than a filled-in part is definitely what's
needed, as long as you've hired someone who knows his (or her)
business. In fact one may well run into students, in particular, who do
not read music per se. Not so much a black art (like writing for harp,
handbells or pipe organ!!) as simply knowing how to communicate with
your drummer.
For classical, including light concert band arrangements, I'd have to
disagree. In those genres the equation has to favor the composer's or
arranger's creativity over the player's. You're no longer talking about
a drummer pushing a big band (or even a small combo).
But of course there's a broad area of crossover. When I write for our
community band in a pop style and specify drum set, I leave the part
open and just specify, i.e., "8 bars jazz waltz." But that can't always
work, as witness watching the guy who TRIES to play set with the Boston
Pops--one heckofa percussionist, I'm sure, but NOT the instincts of a
good set player!!!
Oh, definitely. The demands of playing each genre are (sometimes
vastly) different, and (to keep it on subject) writing for each genre is
also something that must be approached differently for each.
Of course, there are some overlaps - I do some pit orchestra work, and
that is becoming more of a drum set environment every year, but more
because of changes in the style of music being written for musicals and
space limitations. And a lot of exellent percussionists can play any of
these. But I'd no more write a big band drum part for an orchestral
arrangement (even 'pops' arrangements are different) than I'd notate
each beat for a jazz combo.
And concert band and orchestral pieces often have (at least in theory) a
half-dozen percussionists, each with specific cues an notes and parts.
I've done a few concert band arrangements of jazz pieces, and have
always fgound it best to take them to a good drummer/percussionist for
final approval before loosing them on an unsuspecting section, much as I
do the same when writing string parts - let a good orchestral violinist
look them over and suggest bowings and such before making the final edit.
cd
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