Percussion Pitch Bend?

As we have several eminent percussionists who contribute to this NG (notably Mr Watkins), perhaps you would help me with the following question. Last night I recently was re-checking out the Dorati/Fischer coupling of the Bartok CfO/MPSC with the RCO and Budapest Festival Orchestras respectively. In both works, heard many many times before, there are percussion parts in both where the timpani is struck and goes through a 'pitch bend' upwards, rather like the 'pitch bend' I have on my electronic keyboard.

What timpani are used (I have no score for either work), and how is this strange 'pitch bend' achieved. Ray Hall who is imagining some kind of pedal to stretch the skin of the drum. In addition, how does Bartok notate this eery affect? I can't recall any other composers calling for this effect.

Those used to bashing their 'Old Ladies' are welcome to reply <g>

Danke

Regards,

# http://www.users.bigpond.com/hallraylily/index.html See You Tamara (Ozzy Osbourne)

Ray, Taree, NSW

Pedal timpani: you hit the thing then change the pitch with the pedal. He certainly does it a lot in MPSC, and the one I can remember in CfO (there might be others) is done by rolling while simulataneously changing the pitch with the pedal. It's very common in more recent music but it also seems to be a particular Bartok fingerprint (like his snap-pizz perhaps) and he also uses it in a very 'obvious' sort of way. Other wonderful examples are found in the Miraculous Mandarin.

Very Old Ladies can't do this if they are hand screw tuned drums. It's a glissando achieved on pedal timpani by pressing on the tuning pedal at the same time that the note or notes are struck and this changes the pitch as you play. Bartok does indeed make extensive use of this interesting sound and another important piece containing it is the 2nd Piano Concerto.

The first composer to write a timpani glissando that I know was Nielsen in his fourth symphony (1914-1916, I think) which requires two timpanists and has a glissando roll for both players at the same time.

Britten also uses it most tellingly at the beginning of his Opera: A Midsummer Nights Dream where it is most effective in creating the unearthly, eerie atmosphere.

It is a device also used quite extensively in contemporary music. There is a Czech piece which requires a 16' cymbal to be laid on the timpani head and a glissando roll played....that makes a most interesting sound!

It is notated either with a slur between the beginning pitch and the final pitch or, in some editions, with a straight line in between the opening and finishing note to indicate that it is uncommon. It will be marked either 'gliss' or 'glissando'.

There are many timpani studies which use this and I think that students today are often required at auditions to show that they can do it. The Bartok Concerto is on most standard timpani audition lists all round the world.

Kind regards, Alan M. Watkins

I have heard this effect used in a piece written for brass band as well, with the timpani pitch repeatedly going up and down over several bars. Very eerie sound....The first time we read through the piece the band pretty much stopped dead and turned around to see what the percussionists were up to!

-Lothian Chicago, IL