When I play percussion, I wonder what it is like to have a performance tradition that is so refined and legendary as the violin. The closest instrument that percussionists have with a performance tradition is the timpano, which was not invented that long ago. But the idea of a tradition is a funny thing for percussionists, because if we look at cultures from thousands of years ago, there have been percussion instruments since man has been alive…shoot, some animals have been hitting things like hollowed-out trees as a part of their mating calls for centuries (maybe that’s why there are all those jokes about women liking the drummer in the band!). But animals have been howling and barking for just as long, so do we and the vocalists fight it out for whose craft has the longest performance tradition? For me, performance tradition is when a person/people try to standardize the way an instrument is played, and for percussionists this started around the early 1900’s and is still happening to this day (people constantly publish method books on things that have just recently come out such as roto-toms, an instrument that was made popular in the 80’s by heavy metal drummers who thought that they just didn’t have enough toms on their drum sets).
My question is to ask everyone in the class on how they think the history/performance traditions of their instrument/voice affect their learning edge in “American music history?”
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This would be my answer to my own question:
I have found percussionists more often than not enjoy a plethora of modern genres in music compared to some other instrumentalists. Is this due to the fact that the bulk of our music has been written in the last 75 years, which puts us directly in the middle of 20th and 21st Century musical traditions (of which there are so many compared to the few that were in other centuries)?
It is my understanding that people like what they know (usually), so if you have been steeped in the practices of 18th and 19th Century music, and only listen to the music of the 20th and 21st Century as a rarity, then you are probably going to be prone to having an affection for 18th and 19th Century music (I am not including pop music because pop music is around everyone all the time, which is probably why so many people like it). This is why as percussionists, I think we are a fortunate group, we are around compositions that span the time era this class aims to focus around. Which is probably why a good majority of the graduate percussion studio is in this class!
But what I think is funny about percussionists is that we are usually just as familiar with the Romantic, Classical, Medieval, etc. genres just as much as 20th Century music. I don’t know if it is because we start at the present in regards to musical composition and work our ways backwards through time in our studies, or if it is because we have such a small repertory that we yearn to learn as much as other instrumentalists and are forced to branch out of our own idiom. What I mean by that is how, for example, violinists are usually more comfortable in the classical traditions than in modern traditions, whereas percussionists must be able to play a Bach prelude just as well as a 20th Century multi-percussion piece. Maybe both of these ideas let percussionists in general appreciate more genres of music over other musicians (or maybe I am completely bias, let that discussion ensue!).
I also want to mention all of this because of the discussion on “What is Your Learning Edge?” and how (and maybe why) percussionists seem to have such a unique learning edge. Maybe it is because we have a duller edge that spans a larger time period, whereas other instruments may have a sharper edge that covers a smaller period of time?
I am by no means trying to say that other instrumentalist do not like 20th/21st Century music just as much as Baroque music, but in generalities percussionists usually seem more open to all kinds of music. Is this due to our exposure (or maybe over-exposure) to so many genres and cultures of music that we tend to be open to anything and everything?
My reason for writing this is not to start a fight, but to ask and see if there may be another instrument that is in a similar situation as percussion. Maybe an instrument like the tuba, which hasn’t been around for a terribly long time, has similar experiences?
A trifling gaggle of American composers have written a handful of clarinet solos which have been judged to be significant contributions to our repertoire. If you gave the four clarinetists in our class just 10 minutes, we could easily list off these compositions and others that have yet to be deemed worthy. Aaron Copland wrote a concerto that is occasionally performed as well as a much lesser-known sonata. Leonard Bernstein composed a two-movement sonata that is reviled by several clarinetists. Joan Tower contributed an unaccompanied solo, as did Donald Martino, Vincent Persichetti, William O. Smith, Alfred Fisher, Eddie Daniels, Eric Mandat, and Michael Webster. Another active composer is Scott McAllister, who likes to showcase virtuosity through Hendrix-like guitar riffs and other cool party tricks.
ReplyDeleteHowever, these pieces do not often receive the same degree of reverence as those enjoyed by European composers. During my studies, a major emphasis has been placed on music of the past. If you play the clarinet, then it is expected that you learn Mozart’s concerto, the Debussy “Premiere Rhapsody”, and anything written by Carl Maria von Weber. Although compositions like the Debussy or others used at the Paris Conservatory were written in the 20th century, our tradition is steeped on foreign “masterpieces”.
In many ways, the clarinet is old news. Our instrument has changed significantly for almost 200 years. What more do composers have left to explore? The prevailing method of teaching clarinet is predominantly based on the European tradition. Our etudes and technical exercises were written by professors at the Paris Conservatory. When we prepare for our own or attend others’ recitals, a kneejerk reaction is to look through the program for a “standard” work. No one can deny that Benny Goodman is an icon in the clarinet world, but how much does his influence continue to be felt today? This is not to say that clarinetists categorically deny American music, but our storied tradition from across the Atlantic seldom goes ignored.
My learning edge with American clarinet music is rather narrow. My background has provided a firm grounding in music through the 20th century, but very little of it was written by Americans. Furthermore, this European-centric knowledge base has nurtured my interest in classical European music. The only downside is that my appreciation for and curiosity towards music written in the United States has retained a supporting role through most of my career.