The Cambridge Companion to Percussion

This Companion explores percussion and rhythm and is written by performers, composers, conductors, scholars, instrument designers, and scientists.

Russell Hartenberger (Edited by)

9781107472433, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 March 2016

310 pages, 24 b/w illus. 24 music examples
24.4 x 17.3 x 1.5 cm, 0.64 kg

'This is another fine addition to the Cambridge Companion series and is essential for all libraries supporting percussion studies and research. It also provides thoughtful and entertaining reading for the player or listener who wants deeper insight into this wide-ranging discipline.' Russ Girsberger, Notes

Percussion music is both the oldest and most recent of musical genres and exists in diverse forms throughout the world. This Companion explores percussion and rhythm from the perspectives of performers, composers, conductors, instrument builders, scholars, and cognitive scientists. Topics covered include percussion in symphony orchestras from the nineteenth century to today and the development of percussion instruments in chapters on the marimba revolution, the percussion industry, drum machines, and the effect of acoustics. Chapters also investigate drum set playing and the influences of world music on Western percussion, and outline the roles of percussionists as composers, conductors, soloists, chamber musicians, and theatrical performers. Developments in scientific research are explored in chapters on the perception of sound and the evolution of musical rhythm. This book will be a valuable resource for students, percussionists, and all those who want a deeper understanding of percussion music and rhythm.

Introduction Russell Hartenberger
Part I. Orchestral Percussion: 1. Timpani traditions and beyond Russell Hartenberger
2. Orchestral percussion in the twenty-first century: concerns and solutions William L. Cahn
Part II. The Development of Percussion Instruments: 3. Marimba revolution: mallet instruments, repertoire, and technique in the twenty-first century William Moersch
4. Instrumental ingredients Garry Kvistad
5. The percussion industry Rick Mattingly
6. Virtual drumming: a history of electronic percussion Thomas Brett
Part III. Percussion in Performance: 7. Lost and found: percussion chamber music and the modern age Adam Sliwinski
8. Taking center stage: percussionist as soloist Colin Currie
9. Percussion theater: the drama of performance Aiyun Huang
10. Three convergences: a percussionist learns to conduct Steven Schick
Part IV. Composing Music for Percussion Instruments: 11. Finding a voice Bob Becker
12. Flexibility as a defining factor Jason Treuting
13. Thoughts on percussion and rhythm Steve Reich
Part V. Drum Sets and Drumming: 14. In the pocket: how a drum set player grooves Peter Erskine
15. The 'funky drummer' break: ghost notes, timbre, and popular music drumming Steven F. Pond
16. Way beyond wood and skin: drum sets, drumming, and technology Jeff Packman
Part VI. World Percussion: 17. Speaking of rhythm Russell Hartenberger
18. African influences on Western percussion performance and pedagogy B. Michael Williams
19. The Gamelan Beleganjur as Balinese percussion ensemble Michael B. Bakan
Part VII. Percussion and Rhythm: 20. Lessons from the laboratory: the musical translation of scientific research on movement Michael Schutz
21. In the beginning was the beat: evolutionary origins of musical rhythm in humans John R. Iversen.

Subject Areas: Percussion instruments [AVRJ], Music [AV]