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by
Marvin Sparks, Jr.
This article is a guide to developing the young
percussionist in a jazz/popular music performance
situation. In the past eight years, there has been
a tremendous interest in ethnic percussion, and many
groups are performing music which is heavily influenced
by percussion. The young percussionists in typical
high school, and all district/state and college jazz
bands have little idea what to play, or how to create
a percussion set-up.
In my role as a jazz ensemble director and percussionist,
I have witnessed percussion set-ups by young students
which generally lack imagination. Usually, students
don't want to spend time putting together a percussion
set-up so they opt for the simple stuff: congas, bell,
tambourine, and a shaker. This limited approach stifles
the imagination needed to develop quality percussion
arrangements. The essence of the many colors of percussion
artistry is how the player manipulates various sounds
to set the mood of the composition.
Ideas for your set-up can be obtained by watching
great percussionists in band situations like Bashiri
Johnson (Whitney Houston), Vicki
Randle (The Tonight Show), Ron
Powell (Kenny G.), and Don
Alias (Herbie Hancock), just to name a few. I
mentioned the above performers because they usually
perform as the only percussionist in the band. Go
to outdoor concerts, check out VH-1 , MTV, BET, rent
videos, and do whatever it takes to analyze their
performance.
Setting up a real percussion set-up can be a lot of
work, but after trial and error you will develop an
efficient set-up. It's important to identify the timbre
of different percussion sounds. In developing my set-up
for various performance situations, I placed various
sounds into different categories: Drums, Metal, Sustain,
Wood, Aerial, and Electronics.
SOUNDS
-
Drums
In the analysis of popular/world music and contemporary
jazz styles, hand percussion is an essential component.
A set-up with at least 2 congas,
bongos
and timbales,
all with stands would cover most literature. For high
school programs, two congas is sufficient, but with
three drums the students can perform traditional rhythms
from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Drumming together will
help each individual develop technique, a rhythmic
vocabulary, and consistency in their playing.
Metal
In this category, various LP
cowbells, opera gongs, pipes, hub caps, etc. and
any metal sounds serve as rhythm instruments. Use
a variety of metal sounds to establish a wide range
of choices for the rhythmic patterns you create.
Wood
Wood sounds which include LP
Granite Blocks, LP
Jam Blocks, LP
Wood Blocks,log drums, and temple blocks (old
ones) can be used as part of your rhythmic part in
the same manner as the metal sounds.
Sustain
When the band sustains a chord, this is the opportunity
for the percussionist to play colors of sound to add
spice to a chord or an ostinato figure. LP
maracas, shakers
(all varieties), wind chimes (all varieties), LP
Bell Tree, ocean drums and cymbals fall into this
category. The type of sustained sound used depends
on the dynamic level and rhythmic foundation of the
song. Maracas
and shakers
can also serve as rhythmic instruments in your pattern.
Aerial
LP
Samba Whistles, kids plastic tube w/varied pitches,
police sirens, pop guns, slide whistles, and any unusual
whistles you can find.Aerial sounds can be used as
rhythmic (samba whistles) or sustain (plastic tunes,
police sirens, etc.) sounds.
Electronics
With technology changing so rapidly, buy the amount
of electronics your school budget can afford. You
need a drum controller, sound source and amplification.
Many companies make pads that can be positioned within
your set-up. Electronics are used to recreate studio
recordings: hand claps, various pitched shakers (slow
tunes), airplanes, waterfalls. etc. A Mallet Kat (3
octave keyboard controller) can recreate marimba and
vibes sounds and is portable.
Set-Up
Develop a concise set-up which is convenient to assemble
and transport. I have included my personal percussion
set-up below.1. LP
Congas 2. LP
Timbales 2a.LP
Mambo Cowbell, LP Salsa Cowbell, LP Cha Cha bell,
LP
Jam Block 3. LP
Bongos 4. Percussion
Table with an assortment of LP
Whistles, LP Maracas, LP
Afuche/Cabasa, LP
Shakers, etc. 5. Various
cowbells 6. Mounted
tambourine 7.LP
Triangles 8. Wind
chimes 9. LP
Bell tree 10. Jam
BlocksĘ, LP
wood blocks 11.18" Cymbal 12. 18" China
cymbal 13. 17" Orchestral suspended cymbal.
Points
to Remember-
- Use
a variety of sounds.
- Make
sure your set-up is portable.
- Use
your imagination in the choices you make for sounds.
- Analyze
recordings and videos of other percussionist.
- Record
and analyze your playing at every rehearsal and
concert.
- Last
but not least: Make sure you are in synch with the
rhythm section in a complementary way.
- DO
NOT OVERPLAY!
Band
Directors: How do I keep the other percussionists
interested? This is a problem for the typical small
high school/college jazz ensemble program with one
band. I have three percussionists in my band and they
alternate on drum set and percussion. Instead of having
the best player only play drum set or percussion,
each student gets the opportunity to play and develop.
On Latin tunes, extra percussionists can be used to
play timbales, congas, bongos, drum set, and small
percussion. When they are not playing they can learn
through observation. The rewards of watching someone
else make mistakes or play a tune well must be emphasized
in your teaching methods. In my world percussion ensemble
(Afro-Cuban Ensemble), each percussionist gets the
opportunity to develop skills on the various world
percussion instruments. You can pick the most promising
players from this workshop to perform in the jazz
ensemble.
DEVELOPING
PARTS
Developing tasteful percussion parts for contemporary
and popular music is a challenge. II use a multiple
percussion concept inspired by percussionists and
composers such as Max Roach, Airto,
Mino C., Peter Michael, Taku Hirano, David Holliden,
Santana percussion section (Raul
Rekow & Karl
Perazzo), Richie
Gajate Garcia, and Ndugu Chancler. Your basic
concept in establishing percussion parts should be
simplistic and rhythmically solid (groove). Your parts
should correspond to each section of the song. Here
are a few examples of developing your arrangement.
Listen to top ten songs on the radio and study the
percussion parts. Include in your listening sessions,
music from various cultures (Brazil, Africa, Middle
East, Latin America).
Here's a sample song and how I would orchestrate a
percussion part:
"Make
It Happen" by Marvin Sparks
INTRO
(16 bars)
Free, Pedal tone, drum set playing 8th. notes on cymbals
use sustain sounds, shakers, whistles, suspended cymbal
rolls, wind chimes, out of time strokes on other sound
sources.
VERSE
(16 bars)
congas.. rhythm similar to the tumbao. Make your part
groove with the melody and the drummer.
CHORUS
(8 bars)
mf dynamic.use tambourine pick an instrument for the
dynamic level shakers-piano(p), tambourine-mezzo forte(mf),
cowbells-forte(f) change sound source to a cowbell
rhythm, tambourine, or shakers
SOLO
SECTION (16 bars)
Horns playing background throughout... use Timbale/cowbells,
electronics: Build your part with the soloist. If
the soloist starts out strong, a timbale part would
work well for that dynamic level and groove.
INTERLUDE
(8 bars)
Free similar to the INTRO.
VERSE
2 (16 bars) similar to VERSE 1
CHORUS/VAMP
TO THE END
forte-strong ending. Use the timbale/cowbell, and
electronics to put together an exciting complementary
part to the ending.
Hopefully this article will give the young percussionists
in a jazz/popular music group a foundation for developing
an approach to being "the percussionist." Remember,
this is just the beginning. Begin to study different
cultures; Brazil, Cuba, Africa, Tibet, Asia. Each
culture has specific percussion instruments and rhythms.
Make your discoveries part of your set-up and "signature"
sound.
SUGGESTED
EQUIPMENT LIST
DRUMS
1
- LP 222X 11 " Quinto
1 - LP 259X 11 3/4" Conga
1 - LP 252X 12 1/2" Tumba
1
- LP 201 A-2 Generation II Bongos
1 -
LP Bongo Stand
1 - LP256B
13" & 14" Tito Puente Timbales w/ Stand
CYMBALS
1 - Sabian AA 18" El Sabor
1 - Sabian orchestral Suspended cymbal 17"
1 - Sabian AA 18" Chinese
SMALL
PERCUSSION
1 - LP
Salsa Cha Cha Cowbell
1 - LP229
Mambo Cowbell
1 - LP206B
Deluxe Bongo Cowbell
1 - LP570
TriBells
1 - ES-6
Salsa Timbale Bell
1 - LP1205
Small Jam Block
2 - LP1207
Large Jam Block
1 - LP234A
Standard Cabasa
1 - LP208
Standard Vibra-Slap
1 - LP1-5
Standard Flex-A-Tone
1 - LP576
Carnaval Agogo Bells
1 - LP394
Macho Maracas
1 - LP389
Fiber Maracas
1 - LP441
Soft Shake
1 - LP
440 Shake It
1 - LP462
Rock Shaker
1 - LP483
Pro Shekere
2 - LP354A
Caxixi, Small
2 - LP354B
Caxixi, Large
1 - 12" Professional
Pandeiro
1 - LP174
Cyclops Hand Held, w/Brass Dimples
1 - LP175
Cyclops Mountable, w/Brass Jingles
1 - LP450
LP Bell Tree
1 - 30"
Rainmaker
1 - 6"
triangle
1 - 9"
triangle
1 - 5"
triangle
1 - 7"
triangle
HARDWARE
2 - Cymbal stands
1 - LP372 Everything Rack
1 - LP592S Splash Claw
2 - LP592B Percussion Claw
1 - LP236C Mount-All Bracket for percussion
1 - LP760 Percussion Table
4 - LP636 Cradle Stand W/legs
1 - LP337 Bongo Stand Complete
CASES
Humes and Berg and LP cases (Enduro and LP soft cases
for bongos and percussion)
STICKS
LP Tito Puente sticks: Vic Firth : Bashiri Johnson
timbale sticks, Sizzle sticks, and many different
combinations of Vic Firth mallets and sticks.
Marvin
Sparks CLINIC/WORKSHOP TOPICS
- Drum
Line to the Drum Set
- Transferal
of marching percussion concepts to the drum set.
- Latin
Percussion Techniques
- Basic
Techniques for congas, bongos, timbales, and all
small percussion techniques presented in a fun workshop
format.
- Importance
of Listening.
- Developing
a Systematic Approach to Listening to Music.
- History
of the Drum Set
- The
Evolution of a Drum set Performance in Jazz, Latin
Funk, and Rock Music.
- Developing
a Multi-cultural Music Program
- Learn
Techniques for the Development of an Afro-Cuban
Ensemble-or the Programming of Latin music in Your
Next Concert.
- Motivational
Lecture
- Development
of Self-esteem Through Music for Inner City Music
Programs.
- African
American Music
- A
Survey of African American Music from Africa through
the 90s.
- Master
Classes in All Areas of Percussion
- Group
Sessions on Marching Percussion, Orchestra Percussion,
Snare Drum, Mallet Percussion, Cymbal Technique,
and Timpani.
For
more information, please contact:
Marvin R. Sparks, Jr.
msparkdrm@aol.com
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