Drum roll
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The drum roll is a playing technique on the timpani . The vortex on this instrument is usually a single impact vertebra and is often the drum roll distinction, the one -two punch vortex is.
A constant drum roll in all dynamic variants, constantly changing between different instruments and with perfect intonation, requires years of practice. The timpani in the classical symphony orchestra (also in the symphonic wind orchestra ) are therefore specialized in this instrument and very often not responsible for the rest of the percussion .
notation
tonality
In the classical symphony orchestra, the timpani is the only diaphragmophone for which certain pitches are notated. A drum roll, especially in the piano , where the noise component of the sound is low, is therefore perceived as a recumbent tone or organ point and, in terms of composition, is often treated similarly to the tremolo of string instruments .
Note values
As a rule, the length of a drum roll is noted with a correspondingly long note value . The name trill or tremolo indicates that a roll is to be played . The tremolo notation has the advantage that the speed of the individual beats can be prescribed at least approximately. Similar to the tremolo of other orchestral instruments, such a tremolo can be performed strictly in rhythm or 'as quickly as possible', depending on the style of the music and the interpretation.
To avoid the uncertainty of this abbreviation , single beats in eighth, sixteenth or thirty-second notes can also be notated for the peg. Especially with soft mallets , they are perceived as vortices in quicker succession.
Playing technique
The drum roll in symphonic music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is performed as a steady, rhythmically indeterminate single beat roll (two-handed alternating beats) with soft mallets. This still corresponds to the common idea of the drum roll today. The possible speed of the strokes depends on the skills of the player. However, the maximum speed must be adapted to the skin tension so that the blows do not dampen each other. The tightly stretched skin with a high note on a small timpani vibrates more easily than the less stretched skin with a low note on a large one.
In the 17th / 18th In the 19th century, on the other hand, there were numerous variants as an ornament of a given notation, which are left to the interpretation of the musician and often have their equivalent in the way the trumpets are played. Therefore, quickly repeated beats on the timpani were called "tongues". The later rare peg on two timpani in the style of spectacled basses was one of the common playing manners at that time. Because hard mallets were used and the instruments were smaller, the individual notes could be distinguished more easily than with the timpani in romantic music .
In the new music of the 20th century, drum rolls that are perceived in a diffuse manner are rare. The way of playing is usually noted exactly, and the mallets to be used are often given. In newer music, the double-beat swivel is sometimes prescribed.
Visually impressive for the audience and related to the peg is the cross beat : after two beats in quick succession, the next drum is played, on which two beats are also performed, which can be repeated as desired. This is made possible by crossing your arms. Such a passage can be found in the second finale of Beethoven's opera Fidelio (1814).
use
Some orchestral works are known for their drum roll, such as the 103rd Symphony (1795) or the Missa in tempore belli (1796) by Joseph Haydn . Hector Berlioz had four-part chords played with drum rolls in the Tuba mirum movement of his Requiem (1837) and prescribed sponge mallets for the execution. Richard Wagner's opera Siegfried (1876) begins with an almost inaudible muffled drum roll on the then lowest note for the timpani.
In fortissimo , the drum roll increases the dynamic range of the orchestra considerably, which often poses special tasks for sound recording technology . Above all, the underground, perfectly homogeneous drum roll contributes significantly to the shine and sound culture of a symphony orchestra. As a tone painting , the drum roll often stands for the rumble of thunder or eerie premonitions. It is hard to imagine film music without it, for example , but it is also one of the often reviled clichés of western classical music, especially since it is now available as a sample in numerous variants.
literature
- Hector Berlioz: Instrumentation theory , supplemented and revised by Richard Strauss, Peters, Leipzig 1955, pp. 395–411.
- Karl Peinkofer, Fritz Tannigel: Handbook of the drums. Praxis und Technik, Schott, Mainz 1969, p. 38.