William Cahn - Concepts of Sound
Concepts of Sound - Percussion Instruments in Western Classical Music explores the presence, or absence, of ideas about percussion instrument sounds in the pedagogy of performance in Western classical music from the mid 17th century to the present. Over the 419 pages, the history of such ideas is presented for each of the following Western percussion instruments: timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, gong, wood block, temple blocks, castanets, xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and vibraphone.
In Western classical music the notation for these percussion instruments, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, treated the sound of percussion instruments as archetypal - without specific qualities of pitch, overtone spectrum, or resonance. The author’s performance experiences and research suggest that, while much attention has historically been devoted to playing techniques, there has been little concern given to the subject of sound, particularly in the published pedagogy for percussion instruments - method books, instructors, articles, and reviews, etc.
Concepts of Sound objectively describes the audible aspects of sounds that are produced by the standard percussion instruments that are typically used today - a subject that has rarely been addressed in published sources. For example:
• Contrary to the conventional wisdom, virtually all the traditional Western percussion instruments are pitched instruments.
• The main audible aspects in the sound (or timbre) of any percussion instrument are the relative presence of the fundamental partial and the relative presence or absence of secondary partials (overtones) in the perceived sound.
• The relative presence of the fundamental partial and its overtones can be controlled, enhanced or dampened, in performance.
• The pitches and timbres of percussion instruments can be appropriately (and discreetly) applied to enhance the sound of percussion instruments in the repertoire of Western classical music.