Animals

“Animals” is a short, beginning percussion quartet in three movements. Each movement increases in length as well as size of instruments used. In the first movement, “Small,” each player plays one or two small, high-pitched instruments (triangle, guiro, xylophone, claves, woodblocks) that represent the sound of their respective animals: frog, mouse, finch, and squirrel. In the second movement, “Medium,” the players each play one or two medium-sized instruments (snare drum, bongos, congas, Vibraslap, toms) that mimic a hyena, cheetah, monkey, and kangaroo. In the third and longest movement, “Large,” each player plays a large instrument (snare drum, xylophone, bass drum, timpani) that characterizes larger animals: lion, tiger, hippo, and elephant.

This piece is just different and programmatic enough to be interesting to a young high school ensemble, but straightforward enough to be within the reach of a middle-school ensemble that has a basic grasp of technique and sixteenth-note rhythms. All of the players have the opportunity to play more than one instrument over the course of the three movements, but they only have to tackle one or two at a time, making this piece an excellent way to introduce new instruments to young players in a structured ensemble setting. Additionally, the playing time for the entire piece is five minutes, making it doable in a single semester for any beginning ensemble, even those with limited rehearsal time.

The score comes with an instrument list, recommended setup map, and a CD-ROM with the individual parts and an mp3 recording of the piece. The notation is clear and concise, and the called-for technique straightforward enough to be teachable by a director without a percussion background. The parts are suffciently syncopated to build ensemble playing skills, and the dynamics and articulation interesting enough to develop musicality. Overall, “Animals” would be a great addition to a middle school or early high school percussion ensemble program.

–Marilyn K. Clark Silva
Percussive Notes
Vol. 55, No. 3, July 2017