PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
_The kettledrums; the side-drum; the bass drum; the triangle;
the cymbals; the tambourine; the tambourin; the castanets; the
carillon, or glockenspiel; the celesta; the xylophone; the
wind-machine; the rattle; the anvils; the cuckoo; the bells._
There are two kinds of percussion instruments: those which produce
_musical_ notes; and those which only make _noise_.
These instruments have neither strings, nor holes, nor keys. They are
simply beaten, or shaken.
In his definition of percussion instruments Gevaert subdivides them
into two groups: Autophonic Instruments, and Membrane Instruments.
Autophonic Instruments are those in which the tone is produced by the
vibration of solid bodies (made of metal or wood), and which are of a
nature sufficiently elastic to keep up the vibratory motion that has been
given to them by the blow from the performer. These include instruments
of _definite_ pitch, such as bells, _glockenspiel_ and celesta; and
instruments of _indefinite_ pitch, such as the triangle, cymbals, gong,
castanets, etc.
Membrane Instruments are those that have a parchment, or skin, stretched,
over them. These are the kettledrum, which has a _definite_ pitch, and
the bass drum, side drum and tambourine, which have _indefinite_ pitch.
THE KETTLEDRUMS
The name of these instruments describes them precisely. We are perfectly
familiar with these huge copper kettles that stand at the back of the
Orchestra, adding no little to the picturesqueness of the stage.
The kettledrum is a big copper bowl, or basin, across which a piece of
parchment is tightly stretched to make the “head.” By means of screws
with T-heads, the parchment can be tightened, or loosened, and thus the
drum is tuned to a musical note of definite pitch. On the bottom of the
shell a hole is pierced so that the air may escape when a heavy blow is
struck. Otherwise the skin would split when the performer comes down with
a vigorous thwack upon the “head” with his stick. Calfskin is usually
employed for the “head,” and it has to be selected and prepared with
great care.
After being soaked in cold water until pliable, the “head” is tucked
around the “flesh hoop,” and, upon drying, it holds as fast as if it were
glued.
Before Beethoven’s day one drum played the tonic and the other the
dominant (which is a perfect fourth lower). Beethoven did nothing to the
kettledrums but change the way they were tuned; and _that_ made all the
difference in the world. Sometimes, as in the _Scherzo_ of the _Seventh
Symphony_ he tuned them a minor sixth. For the _Ninth Symphony_ he had
the original idea of tuning them in octaves.
Kettledrums are made in about six different sizes because there are only
_four good tones to each drum_. The drums, for instance, in the picture
facing page 122, are: 30 × 20, with compass E-flat to A-flat; 28 × 18,
with compass G to C; 26 × 17, with compass A to D; and 25 × 16, with
compass C to F.
There are many different kinds of sticks besides the felt-padded. Wooden
balls as large as a fifty-cent piece are used for certain effects;
ordinary street drumsticks for very fine crisp rolls, as required by
Elgar in his _Variations_; and the sponge sticks for delicate work. There
is no end to experimenting with different sticks for different effects.
Mr. Walter Damrosch tells an amusing story about the beginning of the
_Scherzo_ of the _Ninth Symphony_. It seems that one day when Von Bülow
was rehearsing his Orchestra in Florence, the kettledrum player could not
get the rhythm crisp enough, nor properly accented. He tried again and
again; and still it would not do. At last, Von Bülow called out: “Don’t
you see? It is _Tim_-pani, _Tim_-pani.” And, indeed, the Italian name for
these instruments—_Timpani_—gives exactly the right rhythm to this phrase
of Beethoven’s. The player had no more trouble.
We notice that the performer very often leans over his kettledrums with
the deepest concern and bends his ear over them, screwing his instruments
up or down, and again bending low and listening as he rubs a finger over
the parchment. He is altering the kettledrums so as to get notes that
will soon be required; for ever since Beethoven raised the kettledrum to
the rank of a solo instrument, composers have not hesitated to require
many changes of tuning in the course of a composition, only they are
careful to allow the player sufficient bars of rest, so that he may get
ready for the new requirements.
The kettledrum can make detached notes, deep rolls, long _crescendos_,
long _diminuendos_; and often it murmurs, or mutters, little, soft notes
that simply melt into the orchestral effects.
Musicians usually speak of them as “the drums.” Kettledrums are of
ancient origin. They come from the East. The Crusaders found them in
Arabia and introduced them into Europe in the Thirteenth Century, when
they were called “nakers” from their Arabian name, _naggareh_. Henry VIII
used them in his cavalry regiment. One was placed on each side of the
horse’s neck.
THE SIDE DRUM
The side drum, or “snare drum,” is the military drum. It is used,
however, in the Orchestra for many rhythmic effects. The cylindrical
“shell” is of brass; and at each end is a parchment “head,” held down
by a small hoop, which is, in its turn, held in place by a still larger
hoop. Cords with leather tags keep the “heads” taut.
The upper head, on which the drummer plays, is called the “batter head.”
The lower one is called the “snare head.”
Across the “snare head” the “snares” are laid. These are thin strings of
catgut, something like violin strings, and they are stretched back and
forth from nuts to screws. They have to be screwed down rather tightly.
There may be two or three “snares” only and there may be a dozen.
[Illustration: KETTLEDRUMS, SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
_Karl Glassmann_]
When the player hits the “batter head,” the vibrations start others
in the air that is inside the shell. These internal vibrations excite
the “snare head” and then the “snares” begin to rattle. Consequently,
a great racket is set up, which might be described as a peculiar
“crackling” tone.
The “side drum” is a very hard thing to play well. The technique is not
founded on a single stroke, but on a double alternate stroke with each
hand. It is played with a wooden drumstick in each hand.
In the roll, called the “Long Roll,” or “Daddy Mammy,” the drummer
strikes the “batter head” left-left, right-right, left-left, right-right
and so gets a kind of rebounding stroke.
In addition to the roll, there are two other strokes: the _flam_, a short
note before a longer one; and the _drag_, a sort of roll preceding a
note—buddledee DUM! buddledee DUM!
THE BASS DRUM
The bass drum is a large wooden shell, like a big cylinder over both ends
(or “heads”) of which parchment (or skin) is stretched. This parchment
is held down by hoops. The player loosens, or tightens, these “heads” by
means of an arrangement of leather braces and tags working on a cord that
is zigzagged around the cylinder.
The bass drum is struck with a stick ending in a soft, round knob. The
bass drum may be used for noisy moments to imitate the firing of guns
and the roll, or crash, of thunder and also to mark _crescendos_ and
climaxes. If played very softly, it is solemn and awe-inspiring.
The bass drum always stands sideways. The larger the drum, the more
sonorous are the sounds.
THE TRIANGLE
The Triangle is a steel rod bent in a three-sided shape and left open at
one angle. It is about seven inches each way and not quite an inch thick.
It is hung by a string at the upper angle. This string the performer
holds in his fingers so that the triangle hangs loosely. The performer
hits the instrument with a small spindle-shaped bar of steel, called a
“beater.”
The sound is clear as crystal. Sometimes it even seems silvery. It can
play from the lightest _pianissimo_ to the loudest _fortissimo_. The
pitch is indefinite. Thus the triangle can be used in all keys and with
all chords. In addition to simple notes, isolated notes and little groups
of notes, the triangle can play the most complicated rhythms and even a
_tremolo_.
Mixed with soft strings and woodwind instruments, the triangle is of
charming effect.
Liszt made almost a solo part for this instrument in the accompaniment to
his Concerto for the Pianoforte in E-flat.
Widor said: “At the climax of a _crescendo_, when the Orchestra would
seem to have reached the height of intensity, the introduction of the
Triangle converts red heat into white heat.”
Thus the Triangle seems to say the very last word.
THE CYMBALS
Like the triangle, cymbals are used to accentuate a climax, but more
vigorously than that little instrument.
Cymbals are round thin plates, or disks, of copper, or brass, slightly
concave in the centre. On the outer side of each plate a strap is
attached for the convenience of the player. There are several ways
of striking the cymbals. They may be clashed together with a kind of
brushing movement, called the “two plate stroke,” which is the ordinary
way of playing single notes; then there is a second way of rubbing the
plates together; then there is the “two plate roll,” which can be done
loudly or softly; and, finally, the player can hang up one cymbal and
beat it with a stick as if it were a gong.
Cymbals were known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans; but they
were chiefly used by the dancing-girls. The ancient cymbals were much
smaller than ours.
THE TAMBOURINE
The tambourine is at least two thousand years old!
It is a wide, wooden hoop, over which a parchment, or vellum, head is
stretched, which can be tightened, or loosened, by means of small rods,
or nuts. The other side is left open. The tambourine, therefore, looks
not unlike an old-fashioned flour-sifter.
Around the hoop, at intervals, are hung several pairs of little metal
disks, or plates. These jingle whenever the tambourine is struck or
shaken. Hence, they are called “jingles,” or “bells.”
The tambourine can be played in three different ways: (1) by striking the
head with the knuckles, which gives detached notes and simple rhythmical
groups of notes; (2) by shaking the hoop, which gives a rolling noise to
the “jingles”; and (3) by rubbing the head of the tambourine with the
thumb, which produces a queer, hollow, rushing, swishing kind of noise
accompanied by the roll, or tremolo, of the “jingles.”
The tambourine is used in the Orchestra to give “local color,” especially
to folk-music of Spain and Italy; to “gypsy-music”; and to some kinds of
dance-music. It is also called _tambour de Basque_.
THE TAMBOURIN
The tambourin is a long, narrow drum, which the performer beats with one
stick, holding a flageolet with the other hand. It originated in Provence.
THE CASTANETS
Castanets are generally used to accent the rhythm of Spanish dance-music,
or to give color to music of a Spanish character. They consist of two
small hollow pieces of hard wood, usually of chestnut, _castaño_ in
Spanish, whence their name. They are shaped something like the bowl of
a spoon, or a shell, and are held together by a cord, the ends of which
pass over the thumb and first finger of the performer. The other three
fingers clap the two halves of the castanets together. The sound is a
deep, hollow click, which, although not a musical note, is not unpleasing
when heard with its appropriate music.
The Spanish dancer holds a pair in each hand. The right hand plays the
full rhythm of the dance which is known as the _hembra_, or female part,
and the left, a simplified rhythm, on a larger pair of castanets, called
the _marcho_, or male.
Wagner uses both castanets and tambourine in the delirious revels of the
_Tannhäuser Baccanale_.
Saint-Saëns calls for castanets in his opera of _Samson et Dalila_.
[Illustration: PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS, SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
_Hans Goettich_]
THE CARILLON OR GLOCKENSPIEL
We sometimes hear what sounds like a chime of bells, or one little
silvery bell, pealing forth now and then. We do not hear bells at all.
The _glockenspiel_, or _Carillon_, is a series of small bars of steel,
or bronze, that are struck by two small hammers. Some orchestras use
a mechanical contrivance with a keyboard, which enables the player to
produce _arpeggios_, trills and rapid passages that otherwise would be
impossible.
A toy imitation of a chime of bells was used by Handel in his oratorio
of _Saul_ and by Mozart in the _Magic Flute_; but to-day steel bars are
preferred. They are called, however, “bells,” or _glockenspiel_.
Wagner made an interesting use of them in the Waltz in Act III of _Die
Meistersinger_ and also in _Siegfried_ and in the _Walküre_. In the
latter work the _glockenspiel_ is magical in helping to produce the
impression of fire. When Wotan strikes the ground with his staff and
calls Loge, the god of fire, to come and guard Brünnhilde, who is falling
into her enchanted sleep under the big pine tree, the red flames flicker
and soar into the air. We hear, with the slumber-song and other familiar
motives, the dance of the leaping flames. More and more furiously they
come, sparkling and gleaming like rubies and fire-opals; and as they rise
and crackle and soar heavenward the _glockenspiel_ adds its delicate,
silvery notes to the Fire-Music, making brilliant tips of light to the
soaring plumes of flame. And here, too, the triangle contributes its
white notes like vivid points of heat and light.
THE CELESTA
The celesta is a small, square instrument that looks something like a
parlor organ. It has a keyboard like the piano, with black and white keys
running to four or five octaves. Moreover, it has dampers and a soft
pedal like the piano; and the hammers are set in motion by a simplified
piano action.
The music is written like piano music for two hands in the Treble and
Bass Clefs; but sounds an octave higher than it is written.
The celesta is a new instrument. Tschaikowsky and Richard Strauss gave it
popularity.
The celesta’s silvery and resonant voice owes its charm to the fact that
under each note, a little bar of steel, a resonator of wood is fastened.
The celesta _never gets out of tune_. It is sweet, clear, fairy-like,
fanciful, light and graceful. It is something like the little glass
harmonica, which children play with.
THE XYLOPHONE
The xylophone (coming from two Greek words, wood and sound) is made on
the principle of the toy harmonica. It is an old instrument still used by
primitive and half-civilized tribes. A series of slabs of wood, graduated
in size, are fastened to two “guides,” or supports, also of wood. The
xylophone is played by two wooden “beaters,” which the performer holds in
each hand. The way of playing it is much like the Hungarian cimbalon. It
has a dry, hollow sound; and is only suited to grotesque music such as
Saint-Saëns’s _Danse Macabre_, or Dance of Death, in which it represents
the clattering of the bones of the dancing skeletons.
THE WIND-MACHINE
The wind-machine is very seldom used. Strauss calls for it in the
Windmill adventure in the _Don Quixote Variations_. It is a curious
_contrivance_ rather than a musical instrument. It is a sort of barrel
with some of the staves missing and the empty spaces covered with black
silk. The barrel is laid on its side in a “bearing,” supported by an open
“cradle.” It is then turned round with a handle, so that the silk comes
in contact with a “face” of wood, or cardboard, and makes a rushing noise
like the sound of wind, blowing violently.
THE RATTLE
Occasionally the rattle is used,—the old Watchman’s Rattle, a wooden
cogwheel, which is revolved against a hard, but flexible, spring of wood,
or metal. Strauss employs it in _Till Eulenspiegel_.
THE ANVILS
A blacksmith’s anvil is never brought into the Orchestra when “anvils”
are required. The effect is produced by means of steel bars. The player
beats them with a hard metal “beater.”
The famous Anvil Chorus in _Il Trovatore_ is played on such a substitute.
Wagner calls for no less than eighteen “anvils” in _Das Rheingold_ to
give an idea of the prodigious industry of the Nibelungs. They are of
three sizes—small, medium and large—and the music for them is written in
nine parts to get the effect that Wagner wanted.
THE CUCKOO
This toy instrument consists of two tiny pipes, made of wood and mounted
on a pair of tiny bellows. The pipes are stopped with a plug that is
pushed in and pulled out to get the sound of the bird’s voice.
The cuckoo is used in Haydn’s _Toy Symphony_ and in Humperdinck’s fairy
opera of _Hänsel and Gretel_.
BELLS
Bells are sometimes wanted by a composer. Meyerbeer used a big bell
in low F to give the signal for the massacre of the _Huguenots_ and
combined it with bassoons and clarinets, which give the music a sinister
quality that is very impressive. Rossini has a bell in the second Act of
_Guillaume Tell_ and Verdi has a prison bell ring in _Il Trovatore_.
“There is nothing more false,” says Lavignac, “than the saying ‘who hears
a bell hears one sound only,’ for of all sound-producing agents the bell
is perhaps the one which develops the greatest number of over-tones,
often discordant even, which sometimes causes a difficulty in discovering
which is the fundamental musical tone.”
Of course, we can easily see how such would be the case, when the sound
is reflected back and forth inside the bell and the old echoes do not
have a chance to die away before new vibrations are set in motion.
[Illustration: DRUM, XYLOPHONE, AND TRIANGLE, SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
_Samuel Borodkin_]
Modern composers rarely use real bells. They give the impression by other
means; for instance, for the midnight chime in his _Danse Macabre_,
Saint-Saëns has twelve notes plucked on the harp. Strauss in his
_Sinfonia Domestica_ tells us it is seven o’clock by seven little taps on
the _glockenspiel_ (see page 127). The Bells of Montsalvat in _Parsifal_
are usually played on the “Tubular Chimes,” a row of steel pipes, which
are shown in the illustration facing page 126.