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Percussion: A Hit Job, Part I

This is such a huge topic with so many angles to explore that I’m not even sure where to begin! I think the best approach is to show how I write for percussion and compare that to some of the other standards out there. My overall philosophy for percussion writing—and for all my writing—boils down to keeping it clean and simple by using common sense.

I won’t go into exhaustive detail about the range or intricacies of each instrument; there are plenty of books and websites that cover that thoroughly. A resource to dive deeper into those specifics is the Vienna Symphonic Library’s Academy and I will link to that where possible. Please note that when I do link, it is for the description and audio examples. I am not endorsing the notation; in many examples, it is not how I prefer things to be done. In fact, just looking at them makes me ill.

As with the rest of this blog, my goal is to share the insights and practical tips that you won’t find in the orchestration manuals, things I have learned from doing and experimenting. Some things stick to traditional methods, others I have tried to improve. I know not everyone will agree with me on everything, so I have tried harder than usual to explain why I do things and what might be different and why. Putting this together has made me think even more about how I notate and why – some of it was quite hard to put into words as it does not all make logical sense! But here it is, my thoughts in 2025 and how, and why I do things the way I do.

Staves

Many people use single-line staves, one for each instrument, with the label at the beginning of the system. Historically, this has been done by many publishers and many of my colleagues, so I can’t say it is wrong. However, in my opinion, even though it can be easier for the orchestrator, it can easily become messy and difficult for conductors to sightread. I advocate for using a standard five-line staff for all percussion. Most studio percussionists I have spoken to also prefer a five-line staff.

By consistently assigning noteheads and staff positions, you can minimize the need for excessive labels. Another advantage of this method is that it allows you to place multiple instruments on a single staff while keeping them easy to distinguish. 

For all metal and wood instruments, I use x and diamond-shaped noteheads. Drums with heads are written with standard noteheads.

Notation and Organization

In film scoring, the percussion section typically plays from a “percussion score.” This provides a lot of flexibility since exact parts for each player don’t need to be worked out in advance and the players can share things around. For example, if we add something at the session, the players can easily work out who will do it and can shift parts around if need be. However, it’s still good practice to think through who will play what and to make it easy for them by being consistent with what staff you put things on throughout the cue. Remember, if you’re using the correct staff positions and noteheads, you can also put more than one instrument on each staff and save space. But also keep in mind that when I or my colleagues are working, we know that our copyists will take a close look at what we have done and improve the layout if necessary. So don’t assume that score you found on the internet is exactly what the players saw.

In the studio, there’s no need to direct the player on which instrument to play next or what mallet to grab, as is customary in the concert hall. Studio sessions are always fluid, with changes and additions happening constantly. Your careful planning is often outdated after one or two takes, so it’s best to leave it out!

On a recording session in LA, once a cue is called, the percussionists will huddle at the back to work out their plan. They then move to their stations and ensure they have everything they need. Meanwhile, the stage runner adjusts the microphones to ensure everything is captured properly. Afterward, they will write or print a list for the engineer detailing which microphone corresponds to which instrument.

For the concert hall, there are many differing opinions online about whether you should prepare a score, individual parts, or both. In my experience, players always prefer individual parts, and that’s what I’ve been doing on all of my pops arranging and never had an issue.

Save the Boxing for the Gym

While the choice of a single or five-line staff can be argued either way, I am struggling to find a reason for the practice of putting a box around the instrument name, other than that it is a holdover from handwritten scores.

If you look over published scores, you will see plenty of single line percussion staves, but you won’t see boxes! With modern notation software, I don’t see how a box makes any difference to the readability. The text ‘SD’ is just as legible and means the same with or without a box, so I say ditch the box and keep it clean. I have heard people say it helps it stick out, as it is the most important information. I would argue that if you have so much text on the staff that you need some to jump out, perhaps, you need to question why there is so much text! It is my goal here to show you that you probably don’t need that text anyway, problem solved!
Because it is the current practice of all the Hollywood music prep houses, nearly every up-and-comer sees it and seems to be following suit, to my annoyance! And while my style is not always in agreement with Gould, as we are coming at it from different places, there is no mention of boxes in Behind Bars. Of course having a box does not harm your music, it is just one of the long line of things I question the actual need for.

To Ring or Not to Ring—That Is the Question

In many scores, the decision to let an instrument ring is left entirely to the players. For familiar works, established performance practices will guide their decisions. But for a new composition, what’s the best approach?

Percussionists are skilled at interpreting your intentions and will likely figure out what you want quickly. However, like in all of my work, I prefer not to leave such decisions to chance. In the chaos of a recording session, where I might be focused on other things, I could miss whether, for example, the bass drum is ringing when it shouldn’t. So I make my preferences clear.

The easiest way to indicate that something rings is with what we call the ringover articulation in LA. The more traditional term is laissez vibrer, often abbreviated as l.v. What really bakes my noodle is that many people—even some very famous and experienced ones—use the ringover symbol and text at the same time!

Also, please don’t be lazy and use a tie. A tie often ends up stretching out and looking wrong—because it is wrong.

1. The ringover, perfect!
2. Lazy ringover, a tie, gets the point across but technically the wrong ‘character’ as it is too long.
3. Abbreviation for laissez vibre, nothing wrong with it, but more ink than using the ringover.
4. Why say the same things twice?

Now, wouldn’t it be a simpler world if, in the absence of specific instructions to let it ring, players would just choke the instrument, and not let it ring? Unfortunately, that would make far too much sense. I know there were a few hundred years when it was all left up to the player, so I realize I’m fighting an uphill battle with something that no one else seems to care about or be bothered by but why do most orchestrators go out of their way to say when it rings but then also when it does not. What is the default? Is it lost with the ark somewhere?

I have been experimenting with this for the last few years and have simplified my approach. The best way to show this is to look at each instrument individually, as their unique qualities and traditions influence how I notate them. As I have found with notation in general, some traditions make sense and are worth keeping, while others make no sense at all, then or now, so I have come up with better alternatives that make more sense and are often easier and quicker to notate.

Rolls

All percussion instruments can sustain sound by rolling. Different instruments use different techniques to perform rolls, but these techniques do not require specific notation; players know what to do based on the instrument and context.

Rolls are notated similarly to string tremolo: three slashes (indicating 32nd notes) represent unmeasured rolls, regardless of tempo. A lot of people seem to just add three slashes to everything, this is grammatically wrong and can look weird as it lengthens stems.

1. The total number of lines/slashes should equal three which is 32nd notes, the accepted shorthand for unmeasured tremolos or rolls.
2. Adding three slashes to everything is just not correct.
3. Adding four is not needed, even at slow tempos. The 32nd note ‘rule’ is a shorthand for unmeasured, it is not based on tempo.

The one difference in how I notate percussion rolls is that I use ties, whereas for strings, I do not. Years ago, I asked a few percussion players about their preference, and they said they preferred it this way. Historically, ties were not used for either string tremolos or percussion rolls. Both are interpreted the same way and are not broken or articulated unless specifically indicated. I know if you are not experienced and or in front of an orchestra every week, your brain and 90% of the people on forums will try and tell you otherwise, but it is just not the case. That said, using ties is by far the most common way to do it these days.

There is another tradition of notating rolls for percussion as a trill, with or without ties. However, this practice is now considered outdated and is not recommended by anyone I know.

You’ll also notice that I tie all rolls over the beat. While it doesn’t make a practical difference whether you do this or not—the outcome will sound the same—this is simply my personal preference. If a roll is tied onto a beat, the player will time their hands to ensure the final stroke lands precisely on it.

• How I do it.
• Old School, will sound the same.
• Older Schooler, will sound the same, but avoid it these days.

I realize this contradicts how I write for tremolo for strings. Maybe one day I will change that, but for now I am sticking with it, even though it is illogical!

Rhythmic Spelling

Since percussion instruments are most often struck just once—setting aside sustain and rolls for a moment—this has led to a style of notation similar to that of pizzicato. Short notes are typically rounded up to fill the beat, while longer notes are rounded down to just a beat. This approach is generally applied to un-pitched instruments and is how I like to write. Traditionally, many pitched instruments were written the same way, for example Timpani. For pitched percussion, however, I usually write proper durations. I will address this in more detail when I cover those instruments in Part 2.

1. Round down to the beat, traditional and how I do it.
2. Will sound the same, but not how un-pitched percussion has traditionally been written. The dotted crotchet in measure two is a toss up, I would not do it, but some on my team would not bat an eyelid at it.
3. For shorter/faster notes, round up to the beat as it is cleaner.
4. I see a lot of contemporary composers writing like this, but as the instruments are just struck, the note length should be in its simplest form.

Un-pitched Instruments

Snare Drum

The Snare Drum is written with regular noteheads on C5. Since it doesn’t ring, there’s no need to indicate damping, but it can sustain through rolls.

Apart from rolls, rhythms should be notated in their simplest form, as explained above.

You can ask for different types or colors of snare drums. I feel that it is best to use words like high or low/deep as opposed to small or large as not everything is determined by the size of the drum. The type and tension of the head and the snare wires have a lot to do with the sound and percussionists are masters of these aspects, so give them an idea of the pitch or tightness you are after and leave the rest to them.

I’ve noticed a trend among orchestrators of adding staccatos to snare drum parts (and other non-sustaining instruments like wood blocks). While some may argue that this has an impact, in 99.9999% of cases, it does not. Instead, it tends to give the impression that you don’t fully understand how the instrument works.

Bass Drum (Gran Cassa)

The Bass Drum is written with regular noteheads on F4. Since it rings, it’s important to notate whether it is to be dampened or not.

• A short note, is a short note! Just like on the piano, the instrument is dampened at the end of the note length. If you are worried, a staccato dot will clarify you want a short note, just as it does for the rest of the orchestra. However, in most cases, the staccato is redundant if you are clear and consistent.
• If I want it to ring, indicate this explicitly with a ringover marking.

If you are going to try this approach, make sure you are always consistent or you might sow doubt.

Rhythms should be notated in the same style as the snare drum, but now taking into account when a note should ring.

1. How I like to notate the snare drum, simple rhythm.
2. Note that the roll on the 8th only needs two slashes as the beam is counted as one and you only should have a total of three. This follows the same rules as string tremolo.
3. As the snare has no sustain, writing a half note does not make sense and is not traditional.
4. Example of an incorrectly notated roll as there is one too many lines.
5. GC notation: I want the 1/4 to ring so I add the ‘ringover’. Beat 4 does not need it as the drum will be struck again on the next beat. As I was clear on the first note to let it ring, I feel that beat 4 of the 2nd measure is equally as clear that it should not ring. This is a place where I am changing the traditional and just being literal, as it is for every other instrument in the orchestra.
6. Even though the bass drum could be written as a dotted half note here, as it would imply to sustain, I stick with the traditional way. I don’t really have a good reason for it!
7. This is one way many would write that the drum should not ring. Some might say dampen, or choke, use the caesura (see suspended cymbal example below) or the string dampening symbol used for the harp. First of all, no need to say the same thing twice, but isn’t the way I did it in measure 2 cleaner, more to the point and faster to write?

In the United States, this instrument is referred to as the Gran Cassa, while in most other English-speaking countries, it’s simply called the Bass Drum.

In both the concert hall and the recording studio, the bass drum produces a large, booming sound. Overusing it can diminish its impact and clutter the low end, creating challenges for the mixing of the music. To address this, when a score requires more rhythmic clarity in the bass drum range, I use two instruments:

• The traditional large bass drum, written on F.
• A smaller, less resonant bass drum, written on A.

This approach provides the accents and hits needed without overwhelming the mix or losing definition in the low frequencies. As this is not a traditional approach, I will need to explain to the percussionists what I am after, or make sure a note is put in the score if I am not going to be there.

And finally, like for nearly all percussion instruments, size is not everything. Next time you’re in a studio or concert hall, take note: the bass drum is often not as big as you might think it could or should be. Many factors contribute to the pitch of a drum—or cymbal, for that matter—and the diameter is not the be-all and end-all. The depth, the tuning, the type of heads, and the space it is being played in all play a role.

Just know that when you ask for a bass drum, that’s what you’ll get. Asking for the “largest bass drum in the world” or the “bass drum of doom” will likely only earn you a few laughs from the section and maybe make you “Insta-famous” for a moment. Also, be sure not to regurgitate patch names. Quite often samples with a little processing have catchy or silly names, when it is really just a bass drum. I have seen scores where from the instrument name, no one has a clue what the instrument is as the orchestrator just pasted it and either did not listen, or could not identify the sound. If in doubt as your local friendly percussionist.

It’s also important to note that the sound the player hears and the sound heard in the hall—or on tape—will be different. Be sure to consider these perspectives when requesting changes in pitch or tone.

The staff positions of the Snare and Bass Drum are not really negotiable, given the long tradition behind them. That said, from now on, we really just get into personal preference.

Suspended Cymbal

Suspended cymbals use x/diamond noteheads on E5. The positioning of the cymbals in the upper parts of the stave comes from the drum kit world.

The same ringing rules apply as for the bass drum. I often see scores with markings like a caesura or the word “choke” to indicate the cymbal shouldn’t ring. To me, this approach is unnecessarily complicated and redundant. Why say the same thing twice? If you want to clarify that it shouldn’t ring, just use a staccato marking, as you would with any other instrument.

The most common use for suspended cymbals is the crescendo roll. With cymbal rolls, the most critical element is the ending—specifically, how loud it should be and whether it should ring. Over time, I’ve realized that specifying a starting dynamic for a suspended cymbal roll is unnecessary. The standard practice is to start softly, warm the cymbal up, get it vibrating, and finish at the desired final dynamic, regardless of what the start dynamic is. It’s rare to need a roll that starts audibly, so, for the typical effect, save yourself a few clicks and leave out the starting dynamic. The most common thing people say to justify over-notation is that they want to avoid wasting time with questions, but I guarantee this will not get a question. My whole reputation and career is based on what results I get from an orchestra either at a session or doing a show on one rehearsal. If someone asks about this one, DM me and I will send you $100.

1. No need for a start dynamic, it is redundant.
2. Here we have a redundant start dynamic and redundant text saying the same thing as the ringover.
3. If I don’t want it to ring, I don’t put the ringover, common sense! Write the cut off as a short note, to reinforce the idea.
4. I see this so often, the caesura and the word “choke”, and why do people put the exclamation mark? Is it funny, or is it pointing out the irony of their incompetence?
5. If you do wish the keep it simple, but ensure they choke/play short, I suggest using a staccato. It works for every other instrument in the orchestra, is clean, and doesn’t require text to explain it.

Sounds and Mallets

You can request different types of sounds from the suspended cymbal, but keep the descriptions simple. Terms like dark, bright, high, or low can be useful, while references to size should be avoided—size doesn’t always correlate with the sound characteristics. That said, 99% of the time, there’s no need to specify anything. The players will intuitively choose the right cymbal for the context.

For both the bass drum and suspended cymbal, unless you’re an expert seeking a specific effect, there’s no need to indicate what mallets to use. You can trust the players—they know what works best.

Clash Cymbals (Piatti, Crash Cymbals)

Clash cymbals are written with x/diamond noteheads on G5. If you want them to ring, indicate it explicitly. If not, write them as quavers to show a short duration. I put Clash as the main name here because, when I studied in Australia, our teacher was from Britain, and that’s what we called them. Plenty of people, especially in the concert band world, call them Crash Cymbals, and in the United States, they are referred to as Piatti in orchestral situations.

Tam-Tam

The Tam Tam uses x/diamond noteheads on D4. Its immense sustain means that even when you mark it to ring, players will likely dampen it slightly to manage the resonance. For rolls, I follow the same principles as with the suspended cymbal: typically, no starting dynamic is required.

While the default is to hit it with a large mallet, it can also be played by scraping. To notate this, simply write ‘scrape’. Players will default to using a metal stick or comb. Other options include:

• Superball: Write ‘w/superball’. The player will rub the Tam Tam with the superball for the duration you notate. If you don’t like to live as dangerously as I do, you could always say ‘rub with superball’
• Bow: Write ‘arco’. 

Tam-Tam vs Gong

What most non-percussionists refer to as a gong is actually a tam-tam. A tam-tam has no definite pitch, whereas a gong does. While there are many styles and cultures that use gongs, the Indonesian gamelan is likely the context where most people have encountered them.

Another visual distinction is that tam-tams are flat and usually have a curled edge. There is a variation called a flat tam-tam that has no curled edge. In contrast, a gong typically features a raised dome in the center, often referred to as the dome or nipple.

These distinctions are independent of size. However, in an orchestral setting, it is assumed that when you ask for a tam-tam, it will be large.

Keep it straightforward. Some orchestrators write instructions as if they are inventing something groundbreaking and never done before when describing how to scrape or use a superball on a tam-tam—techniques the player has likely been doing their entire career.

1. No start dynamic needed (if it is obvious it comes from nothing/soft, which in this case it is). Ringover to tell player to let it ring.
2. No ringover and a short note = choke it.
3. Single hit with ring out, will be with a regular Tam Tam mallet by default.
4. Choked note, as this is not as common, add staccato to be clear.
5. Scrape, will be with metal by default.
6. Strike. As the default is a mallet, you need to say if you want something other than that, so I say w/metal.
7. Superball, default is to rub it, so just the duration is needed, no other funky lines or text required.
8. Arco, speaks for itself. Some might say bowed or with a bow, but that is more text than just saying arco.

Triangle, Wood Blocks, Mark Tree, and Bell Tree

Use x/diamond noteheads. I don’t adhere to a strict rule about which staff line to use for these instruments, but consistency is key. For rolls, follow the same conventions as for other instruments—three slashes for unmeasured rolls.

Triangle

Unless it is a ‘pop’ or ‘latin’ style part, the notes will always ring, but to be consistent with my other notation, I will add the ring notation. If it is a pop rhythm, with open and closed notes, use the + for closed/dampen and ○ for open/ring. These are universal symbols that require no text clarification.
I’ve noticed that some notation programs and publishers, especially in the band and education world, think a triangle notehead should be used for the triangle. That’s cute—it will obviously make it sound more like a triangle.

Wood Blocks/Temple Blocks

Similarly, use x/diamond noteheads and stay consistent with staff positioning for each piece/cue.

Mark Tree

The Mark Tree is straightforward to notate. Some scores overcomplicate this by marking rolls or adding wavy lines, and while this does look better on Insta, it is not needed. The default way to play the Mark Tree is to gently sweep the finger along the chimes, so simply notating the duration is sufficient.

While 99.5% of the time players will let it ring after the duration ends (as damping is impractical and not idiomatic), I’ve encountered one instance where a player tried to dampen it, so I add the ringover marking to stay consistent with other ringing instruments.

It is named after its inventor, Mark Stevens; however, it is known by several other names in different countries and contexts. In Australia and the UK, we call them Wind Chimes. Of course, there is another kind of wind chime—the ones that hang outside your house—but in the orchestra, pop and band world, if you ask for wind chimes, the Mark Tree is the default. In the US band world, they are often referred to as bar chimes, as they seemingly dislike both Marks and the wind.

Bell Tree

The Bell Tree is scraped with metal by default. If you write a note, players will naturally scrape it—no need for fancy arrows or arpeggio markings unless the direction is important. 

Additional techniques include:

• Sustained tinkle: Notate this as a roll. The player will continuously scrape the bells. This is a very cool sound, not often used, but if you want some magic, and not as cliched as a mark tree, this is a great alternative. 
• Individual bells: For striking individual bells, write separate pitches and indicate “individual bells” if needed.

1. Triangle, let ring.
2. Standard way to write open and closed ‘rhythm section’ style triangle.
3. Being lazy and assuming that, unless you say closed, it will be open, just like I write french horn stops for example. If I put the + it is stopped, if I don’t, it is not! No other text or clarification is required.
4. Wood blocks, will be a hard stick or beater by default.
5. Mark tree, the default is to swipe it with your finger, so you don’t need to do anything other than give duration and ring.
6. Example of a redundant line. Feed and water it and it might grow into an even bigger redundant line.
7. Bell tree will be a swipe with metal by default.
8. A roll, metal with be swirled up and down, often two sticks to create a more magical sound.
9. Pretty obvious here you are asking them to strike individual bells and a downward pitch direction. One could clarify all of that with lots of text, but…

Tambourine

The Tambourine is notated with regular noteheads. I don’t have a hard and fast rule on staff positioning, but I typically place it on C5 if there’s no snare drum in the way, or D5.

There are two main types of tambourine:

1. Traditional orchestral tambourine with a wooden frame and a head.
2. Pop-style tambourine made of plastic with no head.

The traditional tambourine is notated just like a snare drum. Rolls can be performed either by shaking the tambourine or using a thumb roll—where the thumb is slid around the edge of the head, causing it to vibrate. The musical context  will dictate which style of roll is required, and it could change from phrase to phrase so just leave it up to the player.

While the tambourine is frequently used in orchestral repertoire, it’s less common in film scoring. Aside from occasional use for pop tambourine parts or comedic effects, it’s rarely employed in its traditional form in modern film scores. In fact, I can’t recall using it that way in any recent scoring projects, it is a very ‘dated’ sound.

Tom Toms

Tom Toms are notated with regular noteheads and I like them in the spaces of the staff. While toms do sustain slightly, especially larger ones, this is not notated. They should be written in their cleanest rhythmic form, similar to the snare drum.

By default, toms are played with sticks, but can be played with mallets. 

One important thing to consider is that the lower the pitch of the toms, the more they tend to blend together and sound similar. If you want to clearly distinguish between 3 or 4 toms, you want to have quite a large pitch difference between low and high. The more going on, the more it will all sound the same.

1. Nice, simple notation, easy to read.
2. Same rhythm, but more complicated to read, avoid this type of writing.

Large Drums/Epic Percussion

There are many elements that fall into this category. When composers aim for an epic percussion vibe, they often copy and paste MIDI data to multiple instruments or use a virtual instrument (VI) that handles this internally, like Damage 2 or Action Strikes. How we approach this on a session varies from project to project and involves discussions with the composer, contractor and studio as the costs can add up pretty quickly.

On large budget projects, we will have 3-5 players in the room, layering many passes. On some, even when money is not an issue, we will leave the samples, especially if the composer has put a lot of time into the programming and it already sounds great. Then, there is the middle ground where we will keep the samples and overlay some live players.

I have seen some orchestrators try and recreate the sound by notating every instrument in the demo, sometimes 10 or more of them. This is not the best way for several reasons. Firstly, some of the instruments are difficult to source and you need a lot of players or budget for multitracking (LA and London). There are also some that are recorded in ways that are very hard to recreate. For example, a soft instrument is recorded and processed to make it sound much louder. 
A better approach, I have found, is to listen to the result and come up with something cool that gets the main elements, but will then be unique to this score. This is the same approach I use with string gestures. When a composer layers four different gestures, each played by a full string section, trying to recreate them—each with only a quarter of the forces—is futile. Instead, listen to the final mixed sound and create something that matches the essence of that while blending into the cue. This way, you produce something unique that won’t appear in any other score. This approach is even more useful if you are overlaying samples with live players.
More often than not, you can break it down into two or three layers: a high ticker or shaker type line, a mid-range rhythmic part, and the low, big hits. I usually notate these with descriptive labels (High, Middle, and Low or Big) and work out the specific instruments during the session. Every percussion section will have its own selection of instruments, and the same instruments can sound different in every studio. This method ensures the result is distinctive. We typically handle this type of percussion in a separate session, allowing for experimentation without wasting the orchestra’s time.

When it comes to notation, keep it simple. The sound world we’re working in generally assumes that large drums ring by default. Therefore, only mark it when you don’t want the drums to ring or if you prefer a dead, muffled sound.

By default, percussionists will strike each drum with one stick at a time. However, to get achieve a bigger sound, I will ask them to double up when possible. They can play the same drum as a flam, or split their hands between different drums. A flam involves playing one hand slightly before the other, with the second (on-the-beat) stroke usually louder. This is notated using a grace note. One way is to have them play both hands on all accents. While you could notate this with two noteheads or flams, it’s simpler to instruct: “flam the accents” or something to that effect. You could notate all of these things in great detail, but percussionists can easily embellish and improvise when requested, so I find that keeping it simple and letting them do their thing gets you the best result. This is the same approach one should take to notating hand drums such as Djembes, Congas, and Bongos.

Taiko Drums

These are the big disappointments in the percussion world, to me, and every sound engineer I know! They look fantastic on insta and in the EPK but often sound much smaller and less impressive in real life compared to the visuals and samples. Usually, you’re after the larger ones, the o-daiko, but the larger the taiko, the more disappointing it will sound! That said, if you use them as part of a large ensemble or other large drums, you will see the Taiko and hear the other ones, pretty fitting for Hollywood actually.
The sound of the sticks hitting the rims is also commonly used—use an X notehead to notate this.

Anvil

I spoke too soon. There is an instrument even more disappointing than real Taiko drums: the real anvil. I’ve been in sessions where a massive blacksmith’s anvil has been wheeled in on a cart—it looks impressive, but when struck, it sounds so underwhelming. It’s nothing like what we’d imagined. Often, brake drums or metal pipes are used as substitutes. Sometimes, we end up creating a completely new sound—perhaps hitting metal sheeting, a cymbal stack, or some other piece of metal junk, anything but a real anvil.

This section has turned into percussion instrument Festivus. I will now stop airing my percussion grievances and move onto Feats of Strength.

Mallet Choices

As I have mentioned several times already, there’s rarely a need to specify which mallet or stick to use. Each instrument and dynamic range has its default. For example, suspended cymbals are played with yarn mallets by default. Scrapes on cymbals and tam tams are always done with metal. If the Gran Cassa is playing a pianissimo roll, they will naturally use soft mallets—why would they choose anything else?

Pictograms for Mallets or Instruments

Hard no on these. They aren’t standard, they require explanation, and they’re simply unnecessary. The only thing they accomplish is making you look like an amateur.

Part II: Tuned Percussion will be ready soon!

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