# Good Tutorials on Writing Percussion



## tiago (Jul 20, 2016)

Hi guys! I'm currently looking for ways to improve my orchestral percussion writing / arranging skills as I think that this is probably my biggest weakness as a composer right now. It just sounds too simple and boring and, instead of helping drive the music forward as it should, I feel like it's dragging it down and taking away interest from it. I think that one of the reasons why this happens is that most of the time I have no idea of what I'm doing. When I'm arranging strings, for example, I know what part a cello should play, same for violins and violas... But when it comes to the percussion, it's always more of a "hitting the keyboard till something sounds ok" thing, and I really dislike having to work like this. As such, I would truly appreciate if you guys could indicate me some good tutorials that could help improve my ability to write percussion tracks. Cheers!


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## dannymc (Jul 20, 2016)

you're probably gonna be told to just keep at it and writing all the time. imo youtube is your friend here, lots of stuff on there on just about every and any tutorial you can think of. other than that i think taking the leap and studying orchestration comes to mind. 

Danny


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## BenG (Jul 20, 2016)

I don't have any tutorials per Se, but rather just some general tips that work for me.

1. Counterpoint

Just like composing for any other orchestral family, more complex counterpoint really adds interest for the listener.

2. Range

Another great way to use percussion is take advantage of the entire range from lowest to highest. Utilize low bass drums/tubular bells to high sticks/glock and everything in between. 

3. Color

Use percussion to double lines for added color, punch, etc. Can be a great method to really make a line come out.

4. Listen/Read

Listening to music that inspires you and reading through your favourite scores is the best tool to learn a composition or orchestration technique. There are tons of resources available and this type of studying will have an immediate impact on your music!

Hope this helps!


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## Rodney Money (Jul 20, 2016)

Here's thinking outside the box, but if you truly want to learn to write for percussion, look at scores from DCI, Drum Corps International or even marching band music from arrangers such as Arrangers Publishing Company. But in everything, remember to cover you lows, mids, and highs. Even purchasing a loop epic drum library like Cinesamples' can help you learn, because you can separate the high, mid, and low drums.


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## Lassi Tani (Jul 20, 2016)

Here are some thoughts:
1. Don't overuse them. Use percussion sparingly. I read that just a timpani and a bass drum played loud together can overcome the rest of the orchestra.
2. Use them in crescendos.
3. Use them in climaxes.
4. Emphasize accents (e.g. you could double violin accents with xylophone)
5. Rhythm. Holst uses first wooden sticks in the beginning of Mars the Bringer of War, which go well together with strings col legno. Later he continues the rhythm with Timpanis. 

6. Doubling. VSL has great information on doubling: https://vsl.co.at/en/Instrumentology/Percussions. Choose an instrument and click Sound Combinations.

Also you could look at Copland's Appalachian Spring score for interesting use of percussion.


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## JonFairhurst (Jul 20, 2016)

In my case, I'm reasonably comfortable with composing and performing percussion. It's correct notation that baffles me!


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## kitekrazy (Jul 20, 2016)

This will always be a challenge since it is a large family. If I had to write for grade school to high school bands I would make sure they are involved.

BTW this Holst piece will never get old to my ears.


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## kitekrazy (Jul 20, 2016)

JonFairhurst said:


> In my case, I'm reasonably comfortable with composing and performing percussion. It's correct notation that baffles me!



or reading the parts that try to put 4 instruments on one staff.


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## Lassi Tani (Jul 20, 2016)

kitekrazy said:


> This will always be a challenge since it is a large family. If I had to write for grade school to high school bands I would make sure they are involved.
> 
> BTW this Holst piece will never get old to my ears.



True! It sounds always refreshing.


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## JohnG (Jul 20, 2016)

You could try this from Spitfire. I don't know how relevant it is for your situation:



And here's another one from Alex Pfeffer, also known here as Waywyn (this is the first of two videos on Youtube):


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## Rodney Money (Jul 20, 2016)

JonFairhurst said:


> In my case, I'm reasonably comfortable with composing and performing percussion. It's correct notation that baffles me!


Here brother, you can use this as a cheat sheet: https://app.box.com/s/ozxcmzksa7jkllgg1toutmw7wmr9u2kw It covers: mallets, timpani, different types of cymbals, bass drum, triangle, chimes, Mark tree, etc. not only how to properly notate them on staff paper, but also the shape of the note, and "most common" placement on the staff. 

And here's a link to the sound: note, the score doesn't show the string parts, choir parts, or the opening piano part as of yet, but you can follow everything else. https://app.box.com/s/bjgxr5xjjh13ahaeqk6hafs3sps30gu3


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## NoamL (Jul 20, 2016)

When you are creating grooves in "epic" pieces (by epic I mean something like this)





A mentor told me something very useful.

When you orchestrate *vertically*, instruments take up different amounts of "space", right? You have (usually) large gaps in the lower part of an orchestrated harmony, and small gaps on top.

Same thing with the percussion, but it applies _*horizontally* _- to note lengths rather than the intervals in a chord.

Low big percussion (the massive ethnic drums, taikos, gong drums, etc.) - make those beats sparse. They will have impact. Percussion grooves live in the low mids (toms, surdos) to high mids (snares, hand perc, etc.) Then above that are timekeepers (sticks, rattles, shakers) that are all about subdividing the beat.

So: impact, groove, subdivision.

Also, the groove is not one complete part for one instrument. It's a call and response between instruments in the ensemble. You can group instruments that have similar characteristics into two opposing choirs and have them trade off.

Something I discovered from studying John Williams scores is that he uses the timpani as a beat filler. This also often applies to the entire "bass" line of the orchestra, regardless of how it's orchestrated among str/br/ww.

By "beat filler bass" I mean this: If you have a melody that has a half note, then you're leaving a quarter note beat "blank." This can be filled with a bass note or a timpani riff.

It's the same concept as mixing (every instrument has its place) except again _*horizontally*_ applied. Every horizontal space is utilized and filled with something interesting, and the bass & melody occupy different moments so that they each have your attention.

It's a great way to displace your beat / bass note so that it's not a "boring beat 1" over and over. It really takes action music to the next level.

Here's that principle in action:



Or if you can forgive the terrible mockup from years ago, here's me trying to apply the concept, notice the way the timpani/basso interacts with the brass at the end, so that the beat often lands on 2 or 3 instead of 1.


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## Mundano (Jul 20, 2016)

to kwnow instruments and their articulations is very important for writing. Somebody wrote in a orchestration thread about writing for each orhestral family. It would be a good excercise to write ONLY for percussion to achieve comprehesion of it's posibilities.

https://vsl.co.at/en/Instrumentology/Percussions

Vienna Symphonic Library has an "academic" tab at it's website with explanation about the basic percussion articulations and instruments. Starting with a range chart:

*Range of percussion instruments*







Then the submenus describe each instrument of the Orchestral Percussion Family. For example for the snare drum (and each instrument) they have following information:

Snare drum
https://vsl.co.at/en/Snare_drum/Sound_Combinations

Brief Description
History
Construction
Sticks & Mallets
Notation

Sound Production
Playing Techniques
Sound Characteristics
Sound Combinations
Repertoire (i think repertoire is very important https://vsl.co.at/en/Snare_drum/Repertoire)
The Philharmonia Orchestra has a nice educational website
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/explore/instruments/percussion



BOOKS

this book appears to be very interesting + videos: http://szsolomon.com/write-percussion/
this other book too: http://www.henkdevlieger.nl/Henk_de_Vlieger/publications.html , https://es.scribd.com/document/289256308/Handbook-for-the-Orchestral-Percussion-Section
"Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer": https://books.google.com.co/books?id=bYXOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=writing+composing+for+orchestral+percussion+MIDI&source=bl&ots=ZEpm3J32Mb&sig=11WnBViJnJv-syOwz4CeuJ1HPXY&hl=es-419&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCnKiCl4POAhWB1h4KHRfVC2cQ6AEIRTAG#v=onepage&q=writing composing for orchestral percussion MIDI&f=false


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## tiago (Jul 22, 2016)

Thanks a lot for all the help so far, guys! I've read great replies on this thread with a lot of very interesting suggestions and I'm sure that all that info will be very useful to improve my percussion writing skills. Cheers!


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## dannymc (Jul 31, 2016)

> True! It sounds always refreshing.



apparently Williams studied the planet suite extensively which is why you can almost hear elements of his memorable scores in there. its even better hearing it live from a real orchestra which i had the pleasure of experiencing. great replies here on the percussion as always will come in very handy. 

Danny


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## wbacer (Jul 31, 2016)

Mike Verta did a MasterClass on Rhythm & Percussion. You may want to check that out.


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## tiago (Aug 1, 2016)

wbacer said:


> Mike Verta did a MasterClass on Rhythm & Percussion. You may want to check that out.



Thanks for the tip, I'll search for that MasterClass.


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## Mundano (Aug 3, 2016)

*THE ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENTS AND WHAT THEY DO - DANIEL GREGORY MASON*
Copyright. 1908, by THE H. W. GRAY Co. Copyright. 1909, by THE H. W. GRAY Co. FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE NEW MUSIC REVIEW

pag.83

CHAPTER V. XVIII. PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS. 

By far the least important department of the orchestra is the group of percussion instru- ments, many fineworks not employing them at all. They are divided, as we saw in Section II, into two classes, according as the vibration is started by stretched membranes or by metallic bodies. The most important members of the first class are the kettledrums or "timpani" and the bass-drum ; the most important of the sec- ond class are the cymbals. The kettledrums, hemispheres of copper over which are stretched parchment "heads" capable of adjustment by screws, have the great advantage over other drums that they can give forth definite tones instead of mere noises. Two kettledrums, general tuned to the tonic and dominant, are found in the classic orchestra; three or four, often tuned for special effects, and even retuned in the course of a movement, are used by modern composers. While the most constant function of the ket- tledrums is to add their throb to the excitement of "tuttis," they are capable of delightful ef- fects in piano and pianissimo, either alone or as a bass for light combinations. Beethoven first discerned all their possibilities in this direction, and his symphonies abound in interesting kettledrum passages.



Spoiler



pag. 85

The cymbals are two disks of metal which when struck together emit a noisy but most exciting clangor. They are usually employed with the bass-drum, though Wagner in the "Tannhauser" Overture, uses them alone for the Venusberg music. They may also be played piano, and a very happy effect is sometimes obtained by striking one suspended cymbal with a drum-stick. The triangle is a small bar of steel, bent as its name suggests, and struck by a steel rod. It emits a delicate, ethereal tinkle, especially delightful in soft dance music. The glockenspiel is a series of metal bars, emitting definite tones when struck by hammers in the fashion made familiar by the xylophone dear to children. The gong, or tamtam, of Chinese origin, a large metal disk played with a bass-drum stick, is the most sinister of all the percussion instru- ments, and is used only in highly dramatic moments.


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## Mundano (Aug 3, 2016)

Mundano said:


> least important


don't agree with that! for me nothing is less important...


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## JonFairhurst (Aug 3, 2016)

I was thinking the same thing. It might be the least used in traditional classical music, but can be primary in modern film and TV scores. I wouldn't want to remove the snare from a march and I sure wouldn't compose a Cuban Symphony without at least a clave.


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## tiago (Aug 3, 2016)

Mundano said:


> don't agree with that! for me nothing is less important...





JonFairhurst said:


> I was thinking the same thing. It might be the least used in traditional classical music, but can be primary in modern film and TV scores. I wouldn't want to remove the snare from a march and I sure wouldn't compose a Cuban Symphony without at least a clave.



Indeed, a lot of modern film music seems to be quite the opposite of classical music when it comes to the use of percussion. A lot of scores (mostly action scores...) these days seem to focus more on rhythm rather than melody.


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## dannymc (Aug 3, 2016)

> don't agree with that! for me nothing is less important...



i half agree with this. but really when it comes to memorable themes , cues, etc is there really that many memorable percussion loops you could stand over as timeless in comparison to a stirring horn line, spiccato strings theme or lush legato section? i'd struggle to think of any. but percussion is definitely required to re-enforce a mood or theme imo and when they are missing when they shouldn't be you will definitely notice it. 

Danny


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## JohnG (Aug 3, 2016)

tiago said:


> lot of modern film music seems to...focus more on rhythm rather than melody.



It does, for a good reason. Just about every melodic and harmonic idea has been used up 100x over by some great composers. Before they did the Big Pictures, guys like Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, and plenty of other illustrious composers used every trick in the book in television crime and action shows.

Even such shows as agonizingly dated (I won't comment on their quality) as "Lost in Space" or "Mannix" had pretty brainy composers on them, and those guys invented and used all kinds of musical ideas that were compelling -- the first time. And maybe the tenth or fiftieth times. I mean, they were composed by some of the most inventive, knowledgeable, impressive composers around, so they were not innately bad.

But those ideas are just used up now for "real" drama. For comedy, sure, you trot out the old tropes and everyone laughs, but you have to be incredibly careful with action music now not to put a foot wrong or the audience will be chuckling instead of gasping as the hero does hero-stuff.


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## Mundano (Aug 3, 2016)

tiago said:


> Indeed, a lot of modern film music seems to be quite the opposite of classical music when it comes to the use of percussion. A lot of scores (mostly action scores...) these days seem to focus more on rhythm rather than melody.



in fact, they do. The text i've quoted was found on a treatise of orchestration in year 1908. Is funny to see how the perspectives change through the time. Even yet, i think modern/classical, neo-classical, oder just contemporary's music armory rests on a very well and consistent percussion section, added to the Orchestra the "drum set" plus more fusion of ethnic percussions & experimental developments... It hasn't to be for TV or Cinema. Big Epic Concerts, musicals, performances, etc.


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## tiago (Aug 4, 2016)

JohnG said:


> It does, for a good reason. Just about every melodic and harmonic idea has been used up 100x over by some great composers. Before they did the Big Pictures, guys like Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, and plenty of other illustrious composers used every trick in the book in television crime and action shows.
> 
> Even such shows as agonizingly dated (I won't comment on their quality) as "Lost in Space" or "Mannix" had pretty brainy composers on them, and those guys invented and used all kinds of musical ideas that were compelling -- the first time. And maybe the tenth or fiftieth times. I mean, they were composed by some of the most inventive, knowledgeable, impressive composers around, so they were not innately bad.
> 
> But those ideas are just used up now for "real" drama. For comedy, sure, you trot out the old tropes and everyone laughs, but you have to be incredibly careful with action music now not to put a foot wrong or the audience will be chuckling instead of gasping as the hero does hero-stuff.



It's a very interesting thing that you pointed out, John. In fact, it really seems that an "efficient" percussion-heavy track is the safe bet when it comes to action scores, because it will hardly sound inappropriate, while a more melodically focused track could easily end up sounding quite cheesy and make the composer look like another John Williams wannabe.


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