I chose the title for this piece as it is my attempt to fuse an orchestral instrument with a world instrument into a rhythm that shows off their individual timbres. The main theme of the piece is first heard in the congas, and appears several time throughout, swapping between the two instruments but never played at the same time. Bars 5-6 introduces some new material where the tenor drum is a semiquaver beat in front of the conga. At the end of each of these bars they are heard in unison. The main theme is played again in bar 7 by the tenor drum, and in bar 8 both instruments again play in unison until reaching the final accented fff note.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation is a story-telling piece. The woodblock plays the complete theme, and then in bar 5 it is the cowbell's turn, however it is interrupted by the woodblock. The fortissimo in bars 7-8 is the cowbell's attempt at wrestling back the lead in the piece, the result of which is a furious battle between the instruments in bars 9-12. The tied notes represent a pause for thought, then the instruments resume their original equal roles in their proper function, the tempo and dynamic changes signalling that there has been a reconciliation and return to order.
Irregular Time for Two Drums
The snare and tenor drums pair well together, so in this rhythm my aim was less about comparing timbres and more about creating and developing a motif based on triplets. I also wanted to make use of accents (in this case marcato) that would help reinforce the unusual time signature and help the listener keep track of the pulse. I particularly enjoy the dynamic contrast in bars 7-8, and the triumphant accented finish.
Take Five / Take 2
For this piece I wanted a strong, ostinato-like idea that would be consistent throughout and which the second instrument could work around. For inspiration I turned to my music library, and immediately thought of Take Five performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. That piece has five quaver beats to a bar, and I decided to use the basic rhythm and construct my own complete piece around that framework. Every bar of my piece contains the core motif, played by either the woodblock or snare at varying times. I wanted to keep the texture in this piece quite light so that the main idea was never obscured. The accent on the last note of the motif, and it's being played alone in bars 1-2 and 11-12 also help to reinforce the motif's importance.
Reflection
Composing a percussion duet brought extra challenges to the table compared with writing a solo, but at the same time it also opened up new opportunities. I think having a basic idea of structure really helps even at this early stage, in order to avoid rambling on. Choosing the number of bars was usually one of my earliest decisions, and I tried to incorporate a beginning, middle and end into my rhythms. Creating a motif for the piece was probably the first consideration, and I tried to use this short idea as a sort of 'musical glue' with which to hold the entire composition together. I also strove to make the ending of the piece interesting and meaningful; articulations and dynamic contrasts were useful for this purpose.
I am excited to start the next stage, that is to compose for three percussion instruments. I also have an interest in seeing what Sibelius 7 offers in terms of sounds for different playing techniques on percussion instruments. I intend to look into this and hopefully incorporate what I find out into my next compositions.
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