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War Drum Peace Drum
Written for solo snare drum with pre-recorded audio by David Reeves, the drumming vocabulary of this snare solo is nearly devoid of any rudiments. Its technical difficulty lies in the dynamic range and control, and in coordinating with the audio track. The musical "meat" of this work is created by the contrast between the sharp punctuations and rhythmnicity of the snare part and the more extended sounds and phrases of the pre-recorded instruments, which include taiko, shaker, squeeze drum, gong, and metals. Serving as an effective choice for programming variety, the pre-recorded audio accompaniment is provided in three versions (accompaniment only; accompaniment and metronome click; and metronome click only) to allow for practice and performance options.
War Drum Peace Drum ships as a full, bound score with a full-color cover and comes with audio recordings.
Marked Mysterioso at the beginning, the pre-recorded audio track that includes taiko drums, squeeze drum, shaker, gongs and many metals sets the mood for this work. The 25-second introduction to the four-minute work indeed sounds mysterious and ethereal. This intro concludes with a rhythmic cue from the taiko drum and shaker, and the soloist enters with a rhythmic ostinato played on a concert snare drum with snares off.
The solo is rhythmically challenging and requires a great deal of study and coordination with the recorded accompaniment. In a straight-forward ABA form, the solo begins and ends with a series of single stroke ostinatos that range from ppp to ff. The middle section, with snares on, contains a great amount of dynamic contrast with short punctuations, more embellishments, and greater complexity and variety of rhythms. The return to the A section calls for snares off again.
Although not rudimental in nature, strong rudimental drumming skills would certainly aid the performer in achieving precision, clarity, and fluidity throughout the work. After listening to the piece, my perception is that the A section is the lead-up to war, the B section is the battle, and the return to the A section is peace. It ends as it started, with the audio recording only.
Included in the bound score are program notes, helpful performance notes, and detailed instructions of how the audio files—(1) track only, (2) metronome only, and (3) track and metronome—can be used for rehearsal and performance. The enclosed CD-ROM contains the three audio files with instructions.
The popularity of solo percussion repertoire with audio accompaniment continues to grow, and “War Drum Peace Drum” is a nice addition.
—Susan Martin Tariq
Percussive Notes
Vol. 52, No. 2. March 2014
Written for solo snare drum with pre-recorded audio by David Reeves, the drumming vocabulary of this snare solo is nearly devoid of any rudiments. Its technical difficulty lies in the dynamic range and control, and in coordinating with the audio track. The musical "meat" of this work is created by the contrast between the sharp punctuations and rhythmnicity of the snare part and the more extended sounds and phrases of the pre-recorded instruments, which include taiko, shaker, squeeze drum, gong, and metals. Serving as an effective choice for programming variety, the pre-recorded audio accompaniment is provided in three versions (accompaniment only; accompaniment and metronome click; and metronome click only) to allow for practice and performance options.
War Drum Peace Drum ships as a full, bound score with a full-color cover and comes with audio recordings.
Marked Mysterioso at the beginning, the pre-recorded audio track that includes taiko drums, squeeze drum, shaker, gongs and many metals sets the mood for this work. The 25-second introduction to the four-minute work indeed sounds mysterious and ethereal. This intro concludes with a rhythmic cue from the taiko drum and shaker, and the soloist enters with a rhythmic ostinato played on a concert snare drum with snares off.
The solo is rhythmically challenging and requires a great deal of study and coordination with the recorded accompaniment. In a straight-forward ABA form, the solo begins and ends with a series of single stroke ostinatos that range from ppp to ff. The middle section, with snares on, contains a great amount of dynamic contrast with short punctuations, more embellishments, and greater complexity and variety of rhythms. The return to the A section calls for snares off again.
Although not rudimental in nature, strong rudimental drumming skills would certainly aid the performer in achieving precision, clarity, and fluidity throughout the work. After listening to the piece, my perception is that the A section is the lead-up to war, the B section is the battle, and the return to the A section is peace. It ends as it started, with the audio recording only.
Included in the bound score are program notes, helpful performance notes, and detailed instructions of how the audio files—(1) track only, (2) metronome only, and (3) track and metronome—can be used for rehearsal and performance. The enclosed CD-ROM contains the three audio files with instructions.
The popularity of solo percussion repertoire with audio accompaniment continues to grow, and “War Drum Peace Drum” is a nice addition.
—Susan Martin Tariq
Percussive Notes
Vol. 52, No. 2. March 2014
