View Full Version : question about percussion ensemble piece
fire_elemen6
January 11th, 2008, 01:51 am
okay my percussion ensemble is trying to do a show and i kinda got our director to listen to Alones by aqua timez and so he's thinking of writing it into our unwritten show. we have the use of 2 marching tenor drums, 2 marching snare drums, 5 marching bass drum, a xylophone, 2 marimba, a vibraphone, a glockenspiel, an electric keyboard, concert bass, chimes, a drumset, an electric bass, and at least one elec guitar if not more, as well as various other percussion instruments too numerous to mention. so my question is do you know any other songs that would go good with alones for a show? we're open for suggestions cuz we dont have a real theme or anything, we just want some kickA music.
Pantalaimon10
January 17th, 2008, 03:34 pm
Problem #1 - You need to add at LEAST two more snare drummers, or else the ensemble will be dangerously bass-heavy. Everything else looks good, though another quad drummer would be nice (I know how hard they can be to come by though).
Problem #2 - No theme is probably not a good idea. If there's nothing else that goes with your opener, at least look for music that's written by the same composer.
I'm not familiar with Aqua Timez, so I can't really help with specific suggestions...
Sondagger
January 17th, 2008, 09:11 pm
I agree wholly with pantalaimon
fire_elemen6
January 18th, 2008, 01:57 am
i understand it would seem bass heavy, but in all reality our bass drums are always overpowered by our snares and quads regardless, because although our players lack in quantity they are in the tops of quality sorta, actually its more like our snare and tenor players think that forte is supposed to be fortissimo or even fortississimo cuz no matter how hard we try to get dynamics to them they seem to never get it. so yeah oddly enough its our basses who are getting outpowered. as for the composer, the compositions are actual anime song themes and possibly endings that just go well together because our director is getting the music from me, and then he and i are "remixing" them a bit just so they can fit more towards an ensemble piece for our winterdrumline. and as for no themes, true as it may be that its a bit punishing because we dont have a theme, our drumline's theme is basically not having a theme because we pretty much never have a theme and for the most part we rank up there pretty well because the people who have beat us, beat us just because they were better musicians not due to some gimic.
Pantalaimon10
January 19th, 2008, 01:17 am
I may be wrong, but I'm getting the impression that you think quality is equal to volume...
At any rate, whether you're bass heavy or treble heavy, I still think you should add more to at least the snare line. Your balance issues are caused by either snares and quads pounding the crap out of their drums, or the basses feather-tapping - probably a combination of both. Just out of my experience, it's a good idea to work on both issues - once you have a full line - and get your trebles to quiet down and your basses to play with a little sack. Trust me, that's much easier than trying to balance what you have effectively.
Do what you think sounds best for the actual selections, but I still think that some sort of organization helps you seem more professional.
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