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David K. Bakken’s Nickel for Your Thoughts is a intermediate level piece for percussion sextet. Comprised of unpitched instruments that can be found in almost any band room, it begins with a methodical 5/4, which offers younger students an opportunity to count odd time signatures. Once the initial build occurs, they bring the tension of the forthcoming fast tempo. The tambourine takes over in a mock Latin 5/4 rhythm, which builds into a flourish of sound. In the middle there is an excursion into 5/8, creating a faster pace without picking up speed. The subsequent 4/4 passage leads to the climax of the piece.
Nickel for Your Thoughts comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Snare drum
• 2 tom-toms
• Tenor drum
• Bass drum
• Triangle
• Tambourine
“Nickel for Your Thoughts” is a percussion ensemble piece written for six players at a “medium” level with a written duration of three minutes and 15 seconds The setup is minimal with each player on one, non-pitched instrument. If needed, the players could easily be socially distanced.
The focus of this work is not on the complexity of the individual parts. Rather, the individual rhythms allow the students to concentrate on the multiple changing time signatures. Beyond that, there are several opportunities for students to practice specific skills that they may not get in band class, such as playing on the rims, stick- shots, muting/muffling on bass drum, muting on triangle, and tambourine rhythms integrated with shake and thumb rolls. Add in the exhilarating “Presto” tempo of 168 bpm and this piece presents some great opportunities for students to work on multiple areas simultaneously.
At the high school level, this piece would be fine to use in a percussion ensemble concert, after time spent on the extended techniques and getting the piece up to tempo. It could also work especially well as a percussion ensemble piece in a band concert. The minimal setup could allow easy, quick set-up in a variety of locations.
At the university level, it could be a great selection if you’ve been chosen to be a clinician for a high school county, district, or summer music camp. Often, the treat for percussionists during these events is to play instruments or material that they normally wouldn’t or couldn’t play in their band class back home. In an actual university percussion ensemble or percussion pedagogy setting, college students will most likely be able to sight-read this chart. Therefore, it could work really well for college students to get experience conducting and rehearsing a percussion ensemble — especially if they wish to teach after college or go on to graduate school.
—Ben Cantrell
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 3, June 2021
David K. Bakken’s Nickel for Your Thoughts is a intermediate level piece for percussion sextet. Comprised of unpitched instruments that can be found in almost any band room, it begins with a methodical 5/4, which offers younger students an opportunity to count odd time signatures. Once the initial build occurs, they bring the tension of the forthcoming fast tempo. The tambourine takes over in a mock Latin 5/4 rhythm, which builds into a flourish of sound. In the middle there is an excursion into 5/8, creating a faster pace without picking up speed. The subsequent 4/4 passage leads to the climax of the piece.
Nickel for Your Thoughts comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Snare drum
• 2 tom-toms
• Tenor drum
• Bass drum
• Triangle
• Tambourine
“Nickel for Your Thoughts” is a percussion ensemble piece written for six players at a “medium” level with a written duration of three minutes and 15 seconds The setup is minimal with each player on one, non-pitched instrument. If needed, the players could easily be socially distanced.
The focus of this work is not on the complexity of the individual parts. Rather, the individual rhythms allow the students to concentrate on the multiple changing time signatures. Beyond that, there are several opportunities for students to practice specific skills that they may not get in band class, such as playing on the rims, stick- shots, muting/muffling on bass drum, muting on triangle, and tambourine rhythms integrated with shake and thumb rolls. Add in the exhilarating “Presto” tempo of 168 bpm and this piece presents some great opportunities for students to work on multiple areas simultaneously.
At the high school level, this piece would be fine to use in a percussion ensemble concert, after time spent on the extended techniques and getting the piece up to tempo. It could also work especially well as a percussion ensemble piece in a band concert. The minimal setup could allow easy, quick set-up in a variety of locations.
At the university level, it could be a great selection if you’ve been chosen to be a clinician for a high school county, district, or summer music camp. Often, the treat for percussionists during these events is to play instruments or material that they normally wouldn’t or couldn’t play in their band class back home. In an actual university percussion ensemble or percussion pedagogy setting, college students will most likely be able to sight-read this chart. Therefore, it could work really well for college students to get experience conducting and rehearsing a percussion ensemble — especially if they wish to teach after college or go on to graduate school.
—Ben Cantrell
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 3, June 2021
