-----~~~-- -~

CREATIVE TAMBOURINETECHNIQUE

or

Everythingyou wanted to knowabout tambourine playing,

but were afraid to ask!

by Neil W. Grover

It is surprising to me that so few percus-sion students take the practice of percus-sion accessories seriously. I can honestlysay that in over fifteen years as a profes-sional I have been required to play tam-bourine and triangle more often thanmarimba. Yet most students fail todevote any time to the preparation ofaccessory playing. Why not spend sometime mastering these instruments as wellas snare drum, marimba and timpani?Don't fool yourself into thinking thatonce given a demanding tambourinepart you can just pick up the nearesttambourine and instantly do a crediblejob! It has been my experience to seemore than a few players fumble overstandard tambourine parts.

The purpose of this article is to outlinesome of the unusual techniques I haveacquired, developed, and refined over anumber of years. I'm writing with theassumption that most percussionistsknow how to execute a smooth thumbroll. If not, go back to the practice roomand master this technique, or if need befind a good teacher and take a lesson ortwo. You'll be glad you did.

HOLDING THE TAMBOURINE-ANGLE OF ATTACK

Most players give no thought to theproper way a tambourine is held. Unlikeother instruments a tambourine is not

stationary, in fact, it's sound qualitychanges depending on how it is held! Trythis, hold a tambourine in a horiwntalposition (parallel to the floor) and tapthe head. Now turn it to a vertical orien-tation (perpendicular to floor) and tap itagain. Notice the great change in tonal-ity! Rule #1 - A tambourine sounds mostarticulate when held in a horizonal orien-tation. When holding your tambourinedon't mindlessly hold it at the sameangle of attack for every situation! Todemonstrate proper use of this conceptlet's take the opening of Bizet's CarmenSuite (ex. #1). Start this excerpt holdingthe instrument almost fully perpendicu-lar to the floor. This will start you offwith a big, full sound and since it is atFF dynamic level articulation is no prob-lem. Use a closed fist in the center of thehead. In the 9th bar (where indicated)shift to using your fingertips and as youdiminuendo move from the center of thehead to the edge. At the same time gradu-ally change your angle of attack to amore horiwntal position. This shouldresult in a nice articulate sonority all theway down to the softest dynamic level.

CRADLINGAnother technique I use is called cradlingthe tambourine. Tchaikovsky's ArabicDance from the Nutcracker (ex. #2) is asituation where this technique workswell. Hold your hand open, palm faceup 'and extend your fingers as thoughyou were holding a basketball. Thenplace (cradle) the tambourine on top ofyour fingertips. Lightly tap the edge ofthe head (it is OK to play directly ontop of the rim). Notice how articulate,dry and clear the resultant sound is.Now try playing the Arabic Dance. This

should be practiced so that each andevery articulation sounds clean and even.By cradling the instrument you help toproduce this clear sonority.

THUMB ROLL WITH HEELRELEASE

While every good percussionist can playa thumb roll, few know how to articulatethe end of a roll. Any good roll shouldhave an attack, sustain and release, yetmost percussionists neglect the latter.Sometimes an articulated release is calledfor. This is achieved by snapping thewrist down into the head as an articu-lated end to the roll (see ex. #3 with dia-grams). If it helps, think about learningto play open stroke rolls on snare drum.You want to produce a clear articulatedend to the roll. An excerpt fromStravinsky's Petrushka is a good examplefor application of heel release. The open-ing eighth note rolls should end with anaccented articulation produced with theheel. This technique may take some timeto develop to the point of being able toexecute this passage.

FINGER ROLLWhile the thumb roll is an indispensabletechnique, sometimes a lighter, moredelicate roll is required. This is wherethe finger roll has its place. Using themiddle finger, (it can actually be exe-cuted with any finger), produce a rollsimilar in style and execution to thethumb roll (see diagram ex. #4). Themiddle finger, however, has less weightand carries less hand mass behind it thanthe thumb, thus producing a lightersonority. Make sure you supponthe mid-dle finger with the thumb. After practic-ing this for a while add the heel releaseand you'll have a technique which makes

GRoIIERPRO PERCUSSION TECH TALK - page 2

Finger Roll

Example #4 Carmen - Danse Boheme

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Example #1 Carmen - EntracteAIJ.groVivo J,TriOUri"C[~arr~8C~

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the execution of Danse Boheme fromBizet's Carmen (ex. #4) easier to play.Keep in mind, this whole excerpt shouldbe soft and delicate. Play all rolls withthe middle finger, release them with theheel (be careful not to accent these) andplay all other notes with the fingertip ofthe middle finger. Remember, light anddelicate!

RIGHT HANDED PIVOTARTICULATION

This technique is useful for execution ofvery fast, articulated passages. Before get-ting into execution we must discuss con-cept for a moment. Imagine two bananas

RIGHT HANDED SHAKE ROLLSometimes it is very difficult to producea long, sustained shake roll. Try this,holding your tambourine with one handtry to playa very long shake roll from pto ff to p. If you can execute this with-out problem, my hat's offto yoti. If you'relike me, this is very difficult to execute.One solution to this problem is the exe-cution ofa RH. Shake Roll (L.H. ShakeRoll for lefties). To execute this roll holdthe tambourine in a vertical orientationwith the left hand, place the right handpointer and middle fingers on the bot-tom (6 o'clock position) edge of theinstrument. Using a very slight, rapid,back and forth motion of the right handallow the tambourine to vibrate backand forth with the right hand fingers.Gradually increase the right hand shak-ing pressure, getting louder until the lefthand takes over the motion. The pointof transfer between hands should beinaudible (this will take a lot of prac-tice), The benefits of this technique arefound in the ability to play very long,sustained rolls from piano to forte.When you master this and are starting tofeel "cocky", try reversing the motionand going from loud to soft. This shouldreturn you to reality!

GROJlERPRO PERCUSSION TECH TALK -page3

Example #6 Gaite Parisiane

Example #5 Roman Carnival Overture

Right HandPivot

Articulation

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held together, curved inward towardeach other (). This should be used as amental image for proper execution ofthis technique. Keeping this image inyour mind hold the tambourine in theleft hand at a 45 degree (or less) angle toperpendicular. Resting the bottom,fleshy part of you right fist on the bot-tom edge (6 o'clock position) of theinstrument, slowly pivot both hands inan arcing motion (think of the bananas),until the top of the fist meets the top ofthe tambourine (see diagram ex. #5).Now slowly pivot back to the startingposition. Practice this pivoting motionusing a metronome set at quarter note =60. Practice playing quarter, then eighth,then eighth triplet, then sixteenth notes.Once this is mastered go on to theRoman Carnival Overture (ex. #5). Playthe first six notes with the right hand fistin the middle of the head, then play thelast three notes using Right Hand PivotArticulation.

EXECUTION OF GRACE NOTESWhile not common, grace notes aremost difficult to execute accurately ontambourine. The technique I use is apermutation of the technique used byBrazilian pandeiro playen. Holding thetambourine stiffly (no wrist motion) inthe left hand, snap the left arm (andtambourine) up about 1-2 inches. Usinga sharp motion, snap it back down tothe original position. This should createtwo equal sounding notes. Practice thismotion, getting quicker, so that the twonotes sound close together. Then end thephrase with a sharp right hand articula-tion. While the technique I use is amodification of this, it is based on thismotion. Try executing Offenbach sGaiteParisiane excerpt (ex. #6). The two gracenotes are executed by just the up/downmotion of the tambourine, while themain note is played with the right hand.

Fist/KneeArticulation

Example #7 Nutcracker- Trepak,.,..B"IEEErti~'~~

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BROilERPRO PERCUSSION TECH TALK - page 4

Example #8 Capriccio

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For the past fifteen years, Neil Grover hasperftrmed with the Boston Symphony andBoston Pops Orchtstras. He is also presentlyPercussionist/Assistant Timpanist with theacclaimed Boston Ballet. Neil has recordedwith the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops,Philip Glass Ensemble, Empire Brass,Music from Marlboro, and as soloist withthe Greek Rfldio Orchestra. Most recently,he recorded a music video with the kg-endary rock group ''Aerosmith''fOr MITAs fOunder andpresident ofGrover ProPercussion, Inc., Neil Grover's innovativedesigns and manufacturing techniques havecontributed immensely towards raising thestandards ofexcellence in the'"percussionindustry.

While it is difficult to explain musicalconcepts and techniques via the writtenword I hope this attempt has not been invain. By no means are these ideas pro-posed as unique solutions, they aremerely concepts t11at work for me. Iencourage you to absorb this informa-tion, process it and utilize that whichworks for you. Many ofyou will go onto discover alternate techniques whichextend beyond the scope of this article,and I look forward to learning from you.

Two HandArticulation

(knee support)

soft again. Once again, use your fore-arms to push the tambourine forwp-dand if you play all eighth notes withyour right hand you can use the lefthand to pull it back. Remember, themoving forward (getting louder) is grad-ual, only a little at a time. This willrequire practice and patience!

TWO HAND ARTICULATIONThe last technique I want to mention isuseful for playing repetitive passages thatneed to be clearly articulated.Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien (ex. #8)is a good example of passages that aresuited for the Two Hand Articulation.Before trying this excerpt try this exer-cise. Place the tambourine inverted onyour knee (use a chair to elevate yourknee). Make sure the tambourine doesnot extend beyond the end of your knee.Using the fingertips from both hands tryplaying the first two measures of thisexcerpt. You should be able to produce anice soft, articulate sonority. Now, tryplaying the same measures at a fortedynamic. Not so good, is it? To accomo-date increased dynamics move the tam-bourine so that half of it is sticking outbeyond the end ofyou knee. You mustsupport the instrument by pushing yourforearms down on the back rim. Nowplay the same measures at forte. Youshould be able to produce a much biggersound. Now, the trick is moving thetambourine back and forth on your legso that you can get from soft to loud to

FIST I KNEE ARTICULATIONThis is a standard technique used bymost percussionists to rapidly play artic-ulated passages. Holding the instrumentinverted (upside down), alternate strokesbetween the knee and fist (see diagramex.#?). It helps to hold the tambourinein a stiff, horizontal manner. Use a chairto elevate your knee (I don't recommendtrying this poised on one leg looking likean ostrich)! Once you're feeling confi-dent, try the excerpt from Tchaikovsky'sTrepak from the Nutcracker. All notes notmarked should be played with the righthand fist. Those notes marked with a"K" are played by striking the tam-bourine against the knee in the afore-mentioned manner.

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