ANOTHER TOPIC FOR PERCUSSION

Here is another assemblage of percussion instruments that I used recently for a special service at the Presbyterian church that I sometimes attend.  Because the church got new hymnals, the director of the children's choirs decided to select a handful of songs from the new edition and have the kids sing them to sort of "introduce" them to the congregation.  To spice up parts of the program, she asked me to provide percussionary support on five or six numbers.

Enlisting the help of my son and a friend, we were allowed only two rehearsals: one on a Saturday morning and another quick run-through just before the Wednesday night service.  This time constraint was a little problematic because there was no sheet music provided.  This meant I had to spend most of the first rehearsal experimenting with various instruments and making up the parts on the spot instead of practicing ones that had already been created.

After quickly figuring out what instruments would sound best, what rhythms would work and so forth, I then had to transfer all this information into the adolescent brains of my two accomplices.  This was difficult given the attention span of 13-year-old boys at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning, but the director wanted the children's choirs to be accompanied by junior percussionists, so I tried to hang back as much as possible and let them do most of the playing.

Here is a list of what was used:

Sabian 16" Hand-Hammered China Cymbal
Spectrasound Hollow Brass Bar Chimes
Treeworks Aluminum Studio Bar Chimes
Custom Aluminum Key Chimes
Treeworks Single Finger Cymbal
Latin Percussion 5" Triangle
Latin Percussion Hand-Held Bell Tree
LP Bongos
LP Afuche Cabasa
LP Claves
LP Tambourine
LP 40" Crystal Rainstick

One of the songs was called "Rain Down," so many of the above were used to create the sounds of a storm, such as the "water falling" of the rainstick, the "sprinkling and tinkling" of the bar chimes and key chimes, and the "rumbling thunder" of the China cymbal.

The bongos, cabasa and claves were used for other songs that had a Latin feel, and the tambourine was especially helpful in a "Gospel"-styled number that seemed to sway back and forth.

When the program was over, I was pleased with my apprentice percussionists.  They didn't play perfectly but they played enthusiastically, and the director was happy with their performance.  That was all we really needed to accomplish.  Nevermind those parents who thought our thunderstorm drowned out their kid's singing.