Clinician's Corner - Hey Percussionists: Hit it! Published Feb. 24, 2010 By Technical Sgt. Adam Green The USAF Band BOLLING AFB, D.C. -- When someone asks me what instrument I play, I usually say percussion. Without failure, the next thing they ask is, "So, what instrument do you play?" Then, I usually get a little more basic and say drums. "Ah," they say, "I used to play bass drum in high school marching band," or, "Oh cool, so you're the guy in the back that plays the triangle." Every once in a while, someone will understand the scope of what playing percussion means, but generally speaking, it's not like saying I play the cello. Truthfully, playing percussion involves an in-depth range of instruments. You might want to know what percussion instruments actually are. Simply put, they are any instrument that you hit. This is a broad range that includes instruments that are pitched, like the xylophone or vibraphone, as well as non-pitched instruments like the snare drum or cymbals. A true percussionist is someone who has the knowledge and skills to play all of these instruments. Another common question I get frequently is, "Do you play any other instruments than percussion?" As you can see, the percussionist has to play hundreds of them. When studying to be a percussionist, a lot of students start out on the snare drum and slowly work to some of the other percussion instruments like the bells or even drum set. This is done to teach the basics of how to hold a stick properly and to strike a drum. Quickly, students realize that there are lots of instruments that are expected of them. You may be thinking that there is no way that someone can be expected to play hundreds of instruments well. However, you can break down the number of instruments into basic categories that allow you to apply a set of techniques to a group of instruments. These categories are mallet instruments, battery, timpani, and hand drums. Mallet instruments are things that are pitched and played with some kind of mallet. Instruments like marimba, xylophone, bells, and vibraphone fit into this category. Mallet instruments are interesting because you can often be expected to hold more than one mallet in each hand. While playing marimba or vibraphone, you may often have to hold a total of four mallets. Mastering the art of holding two mallets in each hand is a very challenging step, but once accomplished, you can play chords like a pianist while playing the melody at the same time. Battery are the instruments that you hit with a stick or crash together. This group of instruments includes things like snare drum, crash cymbals, bass drum, and triangle. These instruments are particularly challenging because they combine the skills of knowing how to play the specific instrument with strong mental concentration. Although you can apply the same basic technique of playing a suspended cymbal as playing a bass drum, it can be very difficult to have the concentration to play them well. Consider for a moment that a musical selection is being played. It's a beautiful song with a flowing melody and thick harmonies, slowly building to a climax and bringing the tension of the music to a peak. The entire ensemble is singing along and at the perfect moment, a beautiful cymbal crash shimmers on top creating the triumphant climax. The piece continues on and has a beautiful conclusion. If the cymbal player wasn't paying close attention and got lost in his or her music, or if the cymbals were played a split second too early, the entire composition would fall short of expectations. In today's professional world, timpanists are not usually expected to play other percussion instruments. However, as a freelance percussionist, working and teaching, you are expected to know how to play timpani as well as all the percussion instruments. At some point in the evolution of the percussion industry, these two categories were split apart in the professional arena. This was done primarily because timpani play a very specific and prominent role in the orchestra or concert band. It became common practice to have one person dedicated to playing that instrument exclusively. Hand drums are some of the most enjoyable instruments percussionists get to play. These instruments are fairly easy to identify, because you play them with your hands. They are things like congas, bongos, tambourines and many other ethnic instruments. With a basic knowledge of how to make sounds on one of these drums, you can often apply the same technique to many other hand drums. For example, you can use the same technique to get a slap sound on a bongo that you would use on a conga. One of the great things about being a percussionist is that there is always something to keep you busy. Having the opportunity to learn and play all of these instruments is what makes being a percussionist so much fun. So, the next time someone tells you that they play percussion, you can say, "Ah--you have to play all of those instruments!" Percussionists are kids at heart, and nothing brings out the kid in us more than just banging on a drum. So, whether you are formally trained or not, grab a drum and see how playing it makes you feel! Click to read a short biography of Technical Sgt. Adam Green. For biographical information about other members of The U.S. Air Force Band, please see the Ensembles section of our website.