TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023 - NATIONAL HUG A DRUMMER DAY

 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023 - NATIONAL HUG A DRUMMER DAY

NATIONAL HUG A DRUMMER DAY - October 10, 2023 - National Today

I’ve been around drummers since I started band in fifth grade.  Most of the early memories are of guys (boys) not paying much attention to the director, banging cymbals, beating on snare drums, and mostly obnoxious!!

In the last few years, I’ve changed my view.  Drummers (aka percussionists) are talented musicians.

In the Bluebonnet Philharmonic Orchestra, there is an excellent group of percussionists.  I think I started to appreciate percussionists when I heard Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony for the first time.  Since then, I wanted to play tympani on the finale.  BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!  The tympani really made the piece come alive.

Another Shostakovich piece - the Seventh Symphony (subtitled “The Leningrad Symphony”), has a masterful percussion part in the first movement.  Shostakovich modeled this symphony on the Nazi siege of Leningrad (now back to St. Petersburg).  The percussion handle the German infantry slowly advancing on Leningrad.  The percussion emphasis grows louder as the German  Luftwaffe bombs the city.  The first comparison is to Tchaikowsky’s 1812 overture - but that isn’t close - the percussion blends with the rest of the orchestra to make the onslaught so realistic.

In the orchestra, the tubas sit in front of the tympani - and I hear the multifunction of the tympani part - not just a tuned bass drum, but with rolls and changes from hitting the mallets in the center or on the edge.  And the percussionists for the BPO are excellent.  

But percussionists handle so many instruments.  I play one instrument - tuba; they play tympani, snare drums, cymbals, marimba, bells (and there are multiple varieties), gongs, bass drums, and even trap sets.  An orchestra percussion section must be multi-talented as it plays so many parts.  In our recent concert, a percussionist played bells, so they sounded like a telephone ringing. 

Back in high school, our music was mainly in 4/4 time (four beats to a measure, with a quarter note getting one beat).  In our recent concert, we had a piece in 5/4 time (challenging).  The solution is in the percussion section if conductors want to speed up or slow down.  

*****

I heard a commentator talking about Ringo Starr (the drummer for the Beatles) and how he made the Beatles superb. Moving from 4/4 to ¾ to using triplets, backbeats, after beats, and so many techniques, he moved rock and roll to a higher level (as did other drummers).  

Consider a typical drum set - the drummer uses one foot to beat the bass drum, then his hands to keep the beat on snare drums.  Throw a tambourine and multiple cymbals; a great drummer must have at least four hands. 

My son was a percussionist in high school and college.  (I wanted him to play a trombone).  In the field marching show, he played tom-toms (a set of four drums carried by one person).  

I talked to his high school director about percussionists, and he said he had picked Steve (my son) because he had piano lessons, could read music, and could play all the various percussion instruments.

So, on this National Hug a Drummer Day, I want to salute those in the back of bands and orchestras who help make the music come alive.  

Maybe some drummers don’t take music seriously, but many recognize their part in making the ensemble excellent.

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, OCTOBER 10, 2023