This is a creative timpani solo by Jamieson Carr which highlights the melodic possibilities of the timpani. It’s a technically challenging piece, in part, due to the frequent pedaling involved, and also because of the nuance required from the phrasing, dynamics, sticking and crossovers. It can sometimes be challenging to find timpani solos that are gratifying for performers while remaining accessible to a wide audience, however Just a Matter of Time is just that.
This piece ships as a printed, professionally bound folio with a full-color cover.
Note: It is possible to play this solo on four drums, but to facilitate easier movement, five are recommended.
This unaccompanied five-drum timpani solo is well crafted and utilizes subtle tuning changes throughout its four-section, six-minute duration. Opening with a driving 7/8 perpetual motion for the first 32 measures (at a tempo of 166), the opening section transitions into a slower, more melodic section (marked “Pesante”). After a brief pause, the third section “Freely” is somewhat rhapsodic in its rhythmic accelerandos (with quasi-graphic notation on the accelerated roll passages) so that it functions more like an introduction into the final section marked “Groove.”
Special effects in this final section include performing with the butt end of the timpani mallets as well as a notation for the right hand to play an ostinato rhythm on the rim of the 23-inch timpani while the left hand plays the melody (such as it is) on the other timpani. The final six measures return to the opening 7/8 meter. This timpani solo will make an excellent recital composition or audition selection.
–Jim Lambert
Percussive Notes
Vol. 51, No. 3, May 2013
This is a creative timpani solo by Jamieson Carr which highlights the melodic possibilities of the timpani. It’s a technically challenging piece, in part, due to the frequent pedaling involved, and also because of the nuance required from the phrasing, dynamics, sticking and crossovers. It can sometimes be challenging to find timpani solos that are gratifying for performers while remaining accessible to a wide audience, however Just a Matter of Time is just that.
This piece ships as a printed, professionally bound folio with a full-color cover.
Note: It is possible to play this solo on four drums, but to facilitate easier movement, five are recommended.
This unaccompanied five-drum timpani solo is well crafted and utilizes subtle tuning changes throughout its four-section, six-minute duration. Opening with a driving 7/8 perpetual motion for the first 32 measures (at a tempo of 166), the opening section transitions into a slower, more melodic section (marked “Pesante”). After a brief pause, the third section “Freely” is somewhat rhapsodic in its rhythmic accelerandos (with quasi-graphic notation on the accelerated roll passages) so that it functions more like an introduction into the final section marked “Groove.”
Special effects in this final section include performing with the butt end of the timpani mallets as well as a notation for the right hand to play an ostinato rhythm on the rim of the 23-inch timpani while the left hand plays the melody (such as it is) on the other timpani. The final six measures return to the opening 7/8 meter. This timpani solo will make an excellent recital composition or audition selection.
–Jim Lambert
Percussive Notes
Vol. 51, No. 3, May 2013