MN Percussion Trio Reading

6/30/2022

MPT - Composer Exchange

The reading this summer was the first time in 20 years that we've created an interactive blog between the composers and the ensemble: in this case, the Minnesota Percussion Trio. The blog (below) focussed on the score/part preparation, composing for percussion and notating for percussion using composers's scores.
The nine scores that were submitted were displayed during the MPT reading.
The reading took place on Sunday, July 17 @ 10-noon in Kleinpell Fine Arts Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Read the creative prompt that posted on this website in the News.

Nine scores - Timeline

THE SCORES. The members of the MPT began rehearsing the scores for the July 17 reading session earlier in the week. You can see the PDF scores and parts for each of these compositions by clicking on their links if you receive permission from the blog editor.

Aiden Gorr Jello (marimba, xylophone, vibraphone)
Anthony Petruconis Syncopation Imagination (snare drum, bass drum, tambourine)
Rebecca Baker Drought (marimba, marimba, marimba)
Ignacio Rosado Etude Abrasif (violin, castanets, marimba, bass drum)
Karl Lexvold March of the Scarab (claves, bongos, marimba/triangle)
Kevin Chen Triplets (toms (6)/bass drum/tam-tam/triangle; snare drum; temple blocks (3), claves, cymbal, almglocken, tambourine)
Tim Guillaume Lead Me to the Light and I Will Follow (piano, tam-tam, vibraphone, tubular bells)
William Feng Sleepy Mondays (glockenspiel/vibraphone, vibraphone, tom drum/suspended cymbal)
Stephen Elsinger The Voyage (vibraphone; marimba; bongos+concert bass drum; piano)

THE READING
You can follow along with the scores (projected on the screen) on the video that was made during the reading as well as listen to the conversation with the composers.

QUESTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS.
As the members of MPT practiced and prepared their parts, they postede questions for each of the composers. Composers answered in the COMMENT section of each blog post. Each one of you are invited to add your own COMMENTS.

47 Comments

Randall Davidson link

7/7/2022 03:44:15 pm

I'm looking forward to reading the Q&A between the Minnesota Percussion Trio and the composers. Since this blog is moderated, your comments (Q or A) will not immediately show up but we will have a record of the conversation. Excited!

Becca Baker

7/7/2022 03:44:44 pm

Hi, this is Becca! I will be moderating the Q&A between the JCI composers and the Minnesota Percussion Trio. Leave a comment, you will receive an email ensuring you want to send the comment, and I will approve the post. Make sure to check back often to see the replies and responses to questions and comments. See you soon!

Paul Hill

7/8/2022 08:52:28 am

Drought by Rebecca Baker
Could you let us know the tempo, and is it possible to provide individual parts to aid in page turning?
Thank you!

Becca Baker

7/8/2022 11:10:03 pm

It should be taken anywhere from 115-125 BPM. Thank you!

Paul Hill

7/8/2022 08:54:17 am

Triplets by Kevin Chen
Could you clarify what the x's mean in Part 2 (snare drum)?
There are x's on 3 different parts of the staff.
Thank you!

Kevin Chen

7/8/2022 09:55:01 am

Yes, the lowest X is a rim shot, the one above that is a rim click, and the highest one is a stick click. Hope this helps, thanks!

Randall Davidson

7/8/2022 11:15:14 am

Paul,
What's the best way to indicate Kevin's preferences? In a performance note foreword or on the score?

Paul

7/9/2022 08:36:57 am

Thanks Kevin!
There are 2 different ways to play rim shots (three if you count 'stick shots'). Also, rim shots are pretty tough to play soft @ 140 in the contest of triplets - I'll do my best!

Randall, Any time there are sounds out of the normal ones made by that instrument (for SD, just playing on the head) a 'key' somewhere in the piece indicating sounds is necessary. Unfortunately sounds like rim shots, rim clicks... do not have a standard notation, so that needs to be established somewhere on the part.

Anthony Petruconis

7/10/2022 03:48:52 pm

yes, Kevin is right. The X is a side stick, meaning i want you to hit one drum stick with the other . Also, if you cant play the measure softly, you can play it like a mp or mf

Paul

7/10/2022 05:00:15 pm

Kevin, I would like to recommend being careful with your stem layout in the snare drum part. The stems seem to randomly change direction, even though all the notes are essentially on the same line. It can be very challenging to read as it is currently.
No need to redo the part for this week, just something to consider in the future!
Thanks!

Kevin chen

7/13/2022 10:52:23 am

Thanks! Its perfectly fine if the rim shots can't be played quietly; they're meant to sort of come out. I'll try to figure out what's wrong with the stems for next time

Paul Hill

7/8/2022 08:55:42 am

Syncopation Imagination by Anthony Petruconis
Could you clarify what the x's in the Concert Snare Drum part are indicating?
Thank you!

Anthony Petruconis

7/10/2022 03:31:56 pm

So Musescore calls it a side stick, and I want you to hit one of your drum sticks with the other

Paul

7/10/2022 04:50:20 pm

Anthony, Thanks for the response. Do you mean hitting two sticks together in the air?
If you lay one stick across the rim, with the tip touching the head, then strike that stick with the other, that is a rim shot.
Side stick is completely different. It is the sound used to emulate the clave. The stick lays on the drum (often 'backwards) with the tip resting in the head. The body of the stick strikes the rim while keeping the tip touching the head the entire time. The second stick does not strike the other.
Musescore would be incorrect if that is their description.

I think it will be helpful to everyone if there is a chance on Sunday for me to quickly demonstrate all of these different sounds with the names that we typically call them. It would really be helpful for composers to get the exact sound they want!

Paul

7/13/2022 01:22:14 pm

Anthony, if you could also clarify;
Bars 18-20. Are those rolls or 16ths?
Do you want rolls connected/tied to the next note, such as bar 33 and 36-37?
Thanks!

Paul Hill

7/8/2022 09:08:51 am

Becca, Composers,

You can ignore my requests for individual parts, I did not see them the first time going through the folders.

Paul

Randall Davidson

7/8/2022 10:50:43 pm

The comments are open to the public but I'm especially interested that composers attending JCI or the Studio participate. Remember, you all can see the scores.

Randall Davidson

7/9/2022 09:37:03 am

Stephen Elsinger's The Voyage has been added to the repertoire for the MPT reading.

Bob Adney

7/10/2022 10:02:35 am

Triplets, K. Chen
Regarding Part 1, I count 6 tom notes for the concert toms. A preferred notation would be all 6 pitches equally graduated on the staff, such as using the spaces or lines. Also does it really need 6 drums, 4 is a bit more standard and I see just a couple of the drums used very sparingly. If the triangle part were to be played with proper beaters there wouldn't be time to move between Triangle and Toms, however I do have a couple of work arounds, either play the triangle with wood sticks, it's been done before or mount triangle to be played with what is called the "Miller Machine".

Bob Adney

7/10/2022 10:05:21 am

Jello, Aiden Gorr, Marimba

Tempo is on the edge of what you can do with double stops on Marimba, with 2 mallets for me, it’s doable but on the edge.

Overall I like the grooves and it is fun to play on the Marimba and I am using 2 Mallets although there is some possibility that some players might use 4 Mallets. The following comments are related to ease of reading -that’s my premise make it easier for the player to read the notes and then they feel more successful and you get a better performance. I do recognize there could be artistic reasons to keep notes written as they are.

In measures 1, 12 and 15 and several others there are natural signs that are not needed. This is clunky to disregard some indications and then have to regard others.

D’s always appear to be natural so why are we not in the key of three sharps to begin with?

In measure 50 is it important to write the chord this way using E sharp and B sharp? Personally I would rather see F natural and C natural.

Measures 68 through 72 I would rather see a treble clef and all the notes on the staff rather than three and five ledger lines on bass clef. Fortunately it’s not all that many measures but I simply have to write the names of the notes in to see what they are.

Paul

7/10/2022 04:17:02 pm

Tim Guillaume, could you clarify the Vibraphone pedaling in your piece?
Bar 4 has a 'ped' mark, then a release mark at bar 9, but nothing in between. Rests would need pedaling, as well as any time it's necessary to avoid clashing notes such as G# & A#, G# & F#....
Thanks!

Tim Guillaume

7/11/2022 06:38:17 am

Hi, Paul.

That section and some others of the piece are supposed to contain that sort of chromatic 'smear'(though there is melodic information), and the rests would just be a component of that section. Please let me know if there are further problems with that or any other section. I believe this should be fine, but I'm not the professional percussionist, so let me know if this presents a challenge.
Thanks and Have a Wonderful Day!

Paul

7/11/2022 07:04:09 pm

Tim,
Thanks for the response. I think I get what you're going for. If it is indeed all 'smear' and pedal down for the whole section, I would eliminate any rests and use ties and one long slur.
Another way to be clear is to put a bracket from the PED marking, under all of the notes all of the way to the release.
Rests will make the performer second guess the writing, thinking either the rests are wrong or there are missing pedal markings.

Tim Guillaume

7/14/2022 04:43:28 pm

Ok, Thank you so much!

Paul

7/10/2022 04:57:16 pm

Karl Lexvold, in March of the Scarab I think it would be helpful to put the entire piece in bass clef. I think there would be less ledger lines, and when looking at the first 2 A's they would be in the same clef, one octave apart (easy to read), instead of in different clefs with ledger lines. 51-55 can certainly stay in grand staff.
Also, consider making the measures/layout larger! The notes in the individual marimba/triangle part are very small. I'd much rather have two pages that are easy to read.
As Bob mentioned in a comment to another composer, I will be utilizing a 'Miller Machine' to play the triangle. Having a triangle beater as a 4th mallet rarely works very well unless those notes are completely separate of the other 3 (much larger, longer, heavier) mallets.
Thanks!

Karl L.

7/11/2022 02:43:10 pm

I have uploaded the requested changes to the Google Drive I was given acces to under the folder, "Updates from 7-11-2022." I would like to change m.28-38 to grand staff as well, would you agree with that change? I sized up the layout, but I may have gone overboard. using the 'Miller Machine' will be perfectly fine with me!

Sorry for the long wait, I was having trouble getting onto the page. :)

Paul

7/12/2022 09:29:03 am

Karl, Thanks so much for the larger print!
I don't think I stated my Bass Clef recommendation correctly. I was trying to say, besides putting most of the notes in bass clef, they can also be mostly all in a same bass clef staff. For you particular piece, you don't need to split the notes by Right hand and Left hand - the way your piece is composed, it would be pretty easy for a performer to figure out how to split the hands and decide on sticking (ie; your piece is pretty straight forward!) Then the triangle could be added in to an upper clef, either treble or non-pitched.
Please don't worry about redoing it for this week. I appreciate your openness to change the part and increase the size!
Paul

Paul

7/12/2022 01:09:58 pm

Karl, could you clarify the pitches in measures 53 & 54?
In measure 53, treble clef B on beat 2. B or Bb?
Measure 54, bass clef, beat 2. B or Bb?
Thanks!

Karl L.

7/13/2022 09:59:32 am

Hey, Paul, Replying to my own comment cause I can't reply to yours for some reason. Both of the B's you mentioned are naturals. In the future, I will remember to put a reminder natural in places like that.

Paul

7/10/2022 05:13:27 pm

Stephen Elsinger, I'm getting a chance to look at the Marimba part for The Voyage, and as it is, playing both parts would be extremely difficult. For example, bar 9; for the right hand (2 mallets) to play the double stop Db/F to Cb/Eb, the mallets and entire wrist and arm need to move almost 90 degrees. At this tempo, the player wouldn't be able to really add another hand. or it would take a very long time to put together. The same could be said for the 16ths in the right hand at 22 & 24 - just playing that one handed would be a challenge all by itself.
Also, the 32nd notes in bar 20 leading into 21. Landing on bar 21 would be almost impossible to hit the double stop in the left hand 2 octave lower.
The treble clef part by itself is fun, and I'm looking forward to putting it together with the other parts! Perhaps the piece in the future is for 4 percussionists, with one playing the lower marimba part!
Thanks!

Paul

7/10/2022 05:18:42 pm

William Feng. In you piece Sleepy Mondays, I would like to recommend that you write all of the tom-tom notes either in all of the spaces (plus one above and one below) the staff, or on all of the lines (with one ledger line). This would really make it easier to read.
Also, something to consider - if the mallets used are soft and hushed, they may sound nice on lower toms, but will not have the same effect on higher toms. Typically the higher toms will sound muffled/dead and without any tone. I will usually pick a mallet that is medium-soft to cover such a wide range. This will also affect the cymbal I choose!
Thanks!

William Feng

7/13/2022 10:43:13 am

will changing the tom notes change the pitch as well? if the difference in pitch is not too great, then I can just put all the tom notes on the lowest line for a consistent tone.

Paul

7/15/2022 12:31:06 pm

William, thanks for the response.
Unless you write 'tuned toms', a percussionist will just use any toms they have available. Even if you write that they are to be tuned, a percussionist might struggle to find toms that sound good at those tunings.
For example, writing G,A, B. Those pitches might all sound good on a 12" tom, but most players won't have 3 12" toms, so they would put those notes on 14, 13, 12 and the notes may sound too high for the 14, and it will sound out of place.
Another option is Roto-toms, which are tunable toms that don't have shells, and sound 'different' from regular toms.
Putting all the tom notes on the bottom line would lead a player to use a single tom (FYI, this is what appears in the score, but is different in the part).
Do you want 6 toms, or 6 tuned toms, or one single tom? Whichever you decide serves your piece the best, it's always good to be clear/specific when writing out the part.

William Feng

7/15/2022 08:01:37 pm

You can just use 1 low tom.

Paul

7/10/2022 05:24:33 pm

Ignacio Rosado. Just a note regarding playing on the bass drum rim for your piece Etude abrasif.
Typically when I'm asked to do something like playing on the bass drum rim, I will choose a junky drum so I don't ruin the rim of an expensive drum, and I'll choose a lesser quality mallet so I don't ruin the handles. I may even opt to use some regular drum sticks for the rim playing, and regular bass drum mallets for playing on the head.
Good bass drum mallets can be well over $100, so I'll usually use some older mallets that may not sound as 'professional', but I won't have to worry about ruining them. (Especially when playing on the rim at fff!!)
Thanks!

Iggy Rosado

7/11/2022 11:13:31 am

That's totally fine, and I'll keep this in mind for the future! Thanks for the feedback.

Erik Barsness

7/11/2022 04:56:47 pm

Jello- Aiden Gorr. Vibes part. Overall, very good writing! It's idiomatic and fun to play!

Just a couple general notation questions. Just curious why it's in E major if all the D's are natural. Makes it a little hard to read when having to think about that all the time. I understand from a theory standpoint, but from an execution standpoint it's easier if I don't see D natural all the time.

Also, in places like m. 77 you write E# to E natural, but again when reading it when I see a sharp my brain automatically thinks the next note is going to higher. I'd rather see F natural to E natural. Could just be my personal preference.

Erik Barsness

7/11/2022 05:11:13 pm

Sleepy Mondays-Vibes/glock.
I'm wondering what you envisioned for one player playing both these parts. I have some ideas of how to execute it, but am curious what you had in mind when you wrote this part.

William Feng

7/13/2022 10:46:42 am

I was thinking of having both the vibraphone and glock mallets out and switching the mallets so you either have the vibraphone mallets, glock mallets, or 1 of both. What did you have in mind?

Erik Barsness

7/11/2022 05:20:26 pm

Triplets- Kevin Chen- Part 3

I'm wondering if you had a specific type of mallet in mind for this part. Typically these different instruments would have different mallets (Temple Blocks- Medium rubber, Claves- played 2 as a pair, Sus Sym- sticks for the type of part you have written, Almglocken- yarn, Tambourine- no mallet, but played with hands.) and there is not enough time to switch to different mallets.

A single clave can be mounted and played with hard plastic mallets, but these might not produce the sound you want on the temple blocks. Hard yarn might work, but again this won't necessarily produce the characteristic sound of the instruments.

A mounted tambourine will need to be used for this piece.

Also, do you have ideas for a substitution for Almglocken? This is not a very common instrument outside of large orchestras. Are the pitches important or could un-pitched cowbells be used instead?

Bob Adney

7/12/2022 03:01:56 pm

Becca Baker, Drought, are the whole notes thought to be tremolo? If not what is the purpose of a tied whole note such as Marimba 1, m. 37-38?

Becca Baker

7/13/2022 10:39:50 am

It is not tremolo. There is no reason for the tied whole note, that's just me not thinking intently enough about writing it out.

Bob

7/12/2022 04:47:12 pm

Sleepy Mondays, William Feng, Although the marimba part is playable, it's not really doable for Sunday without having too many note mistakes. I am going to have Paul play treble clef and I will be playing bass clef of marimba part. William/Randall do you think someone at JCI can read through the tom/cymbal part?

William Feng

7/13/2022 10:45:09 am

I would have to ask randall, but I might be able to learn the part.

William feng

7/15/2022 01:33:15 pm

Actually, could one of you learn the tom part and have me learn the bass marimba part?

Bob

7/15/2022 05:38:06 pm

Sleepy Mondays, William Feng, I think the best thing at this point since the tom part is minimal, let's just leave that out so you can actually listen to your piece and enjoy the work that you have done. As we stated on the video that you will be seeing at some point, maybe your piece is really a quartet or quintet? Perhaps you will create different versions to accommodate various group sizes. Again let's just leave out the toms and you enjoy your creation as a trio!

William feng

7/17/2022 09:12:52 am

I think the suspended cymbal is pretty essential to my piece so could I play that? There will be recordings that I could watch afterwards.

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