Scotch for Solo Snare Drum, Bass Drum and Cymbal

Alastair McKean

General Info

Year: 2011
Duration: c.
Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher: Rhythmscape Publishing Australia
Cost: $30.45

Description

The ever pervasive 'Scotch' rhythm forms the basis of this set of variations. Alastair McKean's deft and insightful composition continues the unique expansion of new repertoire for Snare Drum! This work is a commission for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Snare Drum Award.

Instrumentation

Snare Drum
Bass Drum
Suspended Cymbal

Sticks / Mallets

2 Swizzle Sticks
2 Superball Mallets
2 Brushes

Program Notes

This work is entitled 'Scotch' mainly because it uses a rhythmic figure called the Scotch snap. So known because of its frequent appearance in Scottish traditional music, this consists of a strong, short note, followed by a longer one.
Scotch consists of a theme followed by five variations. In the first variation, the theme is atomised over a funereal heartbeat on the bass drum. In the second, the theme is greatly sped up and played on the rim of the drum, for what can only be described as a rickety-trickety, fiddle-de-dee-de-dee effect. The third variation utilises brushes and the suspended cymbal, and is jazzy in an extremely approximate way. The fourth variation is a fairly manic and is loud. The fifth returns to the heartbeat mood of earlier, and leads into a grandiose repetition of the theme. A brief coda finishes the pieces.

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Works for Percussion by this Composer

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