The Washington times., 1935-12-14
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS i'm SYMPHONY OR
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I By CARL I. BEMIES

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Is called upon to produce any
tone, sound, or effect, Of
which the others are incapable
the percussion instruments.
While strictly speaking, a bird
or factory whistle may not be
clasSed as q persuasion inStru-
ment, yet such devices are op-
Grated by the percussion players.
Again, the piano Is, In the final
analysis, Q percussion instrument,
vet it is not generally included in
the percussion section Of the
orchestra.
Any instrument that must be
struck, beat upon, or shaken, to
produce q sound, is usually classed
Is percussion instrument.
Rhythm Is the most primitive
musical impulse and from time i'm
memorial, man has used and de-
veloped various forms Of drums
and cymbals to keep time with the
dance and song.
The Drums
The bass drum, with two heads
from 28 to SO inches in diameter,
has an indefinite pitch when
struck near the center Of the head.
1t has a tone that is resonant
and powerful.
The heads may be frightened or
looSened as the humidity or dry
ness Of the atmosphere may re-
quire to produce the best tone.
1t Is used sparingly in the SYM
phony orchestra, though almost
continuously in dance orchestra
and military band.
The snare, side, or military
drum is much smaller than the
bass drum and has catgut or wire
cords called SnareS stretched
tightly against the lower head. AS
the upper or beater head is. struck,
the vibrations in the imprisoned
air cause the lower head to vi
brate, which in turn causes the
snareS to Wbrate against the lower
head and produce tone that is
Indefinite in pitch but brilliant.
The sticks in the hand Of q
competent performer, bounce and
hit the upper head twice for each
stroke made with alternate hands
IN producing the roll.
The vibration of the snares
makes the rapid strokes of the
roll sound faster. A long roll in
q creScendo or decrescendo is dra-
Natic in effect.
.. The tympani, or kettle-drums,
are Single-headed drums with a
copper bowl. The diameter of the
heads may vary from "a to 80
inches, in the different sizes.
/, Unlike the bass drum, the
,tympanum is struck about four
inches from the rim Of the bowl.
Likewise q bass drum may pro-
duce q tone with pitch If struck
near the hoop.
Tympsni
Tympani are tuned by turning
the screw handles within limited
scale range. The usual range is
from low F, first space below the
bass clef to G fourth space. The
tympani shown above are what
are commonly called machine"
tympani, because Of the foot
pedals which may be used to
tighten or loosen the tension Of
the head.
The pedal is attached to a wire
from each adjusting screw. The
wires enter the bowl Of the instru-
ment through the bottom hole,
and actuate levers at the bottom
Of each screw.
BY using both the hand screws
and the pedal for fast changes,
the player may produce a chro-
matte scale.
Some recent compositions call
for slow chromatic passages on
the tympani. The Symphony No.
g." (ShoStakovich), used Thurs
day afternoon Of this week in the
concert Of the National Symphony
Orchestra at Constitution Hall,
contained q passage starting on C
second space, D and e flat. This
solo theme was heard several
times in this symphony.
Two or three Of the machine"
tympani win answer all demands
for the instrument even though
some composers called for more
Of the older hand-operated type.
In ordinary practice, the
tympani are tuned in the tonic,
dominant and subdominant (if
there are three), Of the key in
which the composition is written.
Frequently a change Of pitch
must be made while the or
cheStra is playing in the former
key. To make an accurate
change Of pitch under these con.
oditions requires q player with an
aCncanny sense Of pitch and con.
ccentration.
The tympani are the most i'm.
portant instruments Of the sec
ton in the average scoring for
the symphony orchestra. Con-
siderable variety in effects are
possible on the instrument, from