Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Grade 3: Percussion: Instrumental Tutor

Four Pieces For Orchestra was composed by Hans Abrahamsen in 2000-2003. Programme note: In 1983 Hans Abrahamsen wrote the first seven of his Ten Studies for Piano. In the early eighties most composers who wrote for the piano were still making strenuous efforts to distance themselves from the instrument?s romantic past for example treating it as a percussion instrument rather than exploiting its expressive ?singing? potential. The piano?s modern identity as a mechanical rational emotionally cool instrument is reflected in Abrahamsen?s studies 5 7; but in the first four studies Abrahamsen allows the piano to?recollect? its past: especially what the composer calls ?the golden German romantic time full of expression night timelessness dream and the irrational?. Accordingly these first four studies were given German one might specifically say Schumanesque - titles: Traumlied (?Dreamsong?) Sturm (?Storm?) Arabeske (?Arabesque?) and Ende (?End?). While Abrahamsen was in no way dissatisfied with the first four Studies as piano music he soon felt the urge to expand them in both time and space. In their new identity as Four Pieces for Orchestra created between 2000-2003 the original studies nearly doubled in length while the forces required expanded from one soloist to an orchestra of Mahlerian/Straussian dimensions including instruments beloved by the late-romantics: Wagner tubas bass trumpet guitar mandolin and the hammer used so memorably in Mahler?s Sixth Symphony and Alban Berg?s Three Pieces for Orchestra. The results are not so much ?arrangements? of the four piano studies more recompositions. A helpful comparison might be made with certain painters: Cézanne portraying the same mountain from different angles; or Monet obsessively returning to Rouen Cathedral in different lights and weather conditions. Abrahamsen himself remembers an important visit to the Munch Museum in Oslo where he saw how Munch painted the same subject

Percussion teaching material-This book contains pieces and studies for Trinity College London Snare Drum examinations from 2007 for Grades 1 - 5.

Traditional and Modern Rhythms
After the publication of his first two method books 'Brazilian Percussion' and 'Atabaque ' the Brazilian Conga', the Brazilian percussionist Gilson de Assis is now introducing 'Brazilian Pandeiro', a book which features the broad and diversified sound range of this wonderful instrument.

This method book aims at all levels of students, from beginners to pros. The author presents traditional pandeiro rhythms, rhythms that were originally not played on the pandeiro but have especially been adapted to this instrument, modern rhythms, odd rhythms as well as short compositions for pandeiro, triangle, agogo and tamborim. Due to the fact that the human voice and the pandeiro are closely coupled with each other in Brazilian music, an entire chapter of this book has especially been dedicated to the combined use of pandeiro and vocals ' something that will prove to be very helpful and important for the development of each percussionist's coordination and independence.
Each chapter includes a list of selected pieces of music (specifying performer(s) and available recordings) out of the huge repertoire of the Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) to further illustrate and explain the examples and their variations presented in the book. The rhythms and variations on the accompanying DVD are performed slowly but also at their customary tempo.
Gilson de Assis brings in many years of experience working with his favourite instrument, the pandeiro, and wishes to help all those interested gain an easier access to this fascinating instrument. Enjoy your pandeiro studies!