When we play timpani, we produce our sounds through the movements of our hands and arms. When we strive for rhythmic precision, we should therefore accordingly organize and give structure to these motions. But what does that mean? How can movements be executed, in order for them to be favourable for precision? When single movements are constantly repeated without interruption, they develop into regular cyclical motion sequences. And since they are so uniform and predictable, they are particularly suitable for our purposes. Examples of cyclical motion sequences are familiar to us through walking, when we want to get from point A to point B. Once we get started, the movements always follow the same patterns, largely automatically. It's not necessary to consciously command the individual steps. The size and speed of our steps change only through a conscious decision on our part. This autonomy and independence of movement has the advantage that we can do other things simultaneously: we can chat, converse, do something with our hands at the same time, etc.. However, this independence of regularity is by no means reserved just to our feet and legs. Through evolution (formerly we were four-legged!) our hands and arms are fundamentally capable of doing this too. For example, if I play a flowing continuous series of strokes with one hand, I'm not actually thinking about things like tempo, rhythm, meter etc. Regardless of the necessary acoustic control of what is happening, it is particularly important for me to feel the regularity of movement, which I perceive in various ways: • by the same constant size of movement • by the same constant speed of movement • by the same constant activity of the muscles involved • by the same constant “answer” (rebound) from the vibration of the skin Here too, these strokes become more or less independent, so in turn this gives me the opportunity to do something completely different with the other hand. And that is a good thing, because we shouldn't be doing incessantly the exact same strokes. With regard to the rhythmic accuracy that we are aiming for, our challenge is now to retain as much of our steadiness and reliability as possible, even when playing more complex rhythms. The more the individual movements are combined to achieve a continuous flow of movement, and the better the movements of each hand interlock, the calmer and more predictable the movements become. Obviously this has an immediate effect on your rhythmic steadiness. Ideally, a feeling could arise here that some people may know from juggling: an automatic and perpetual interlocking of activities of both hands, that never seems to stop and is by the way a lot of fun! The fact that the whole process also has a positive effect on your sound is of course a very welcome aspect. It also has its own personal aesthetic! The following exercises illustrate how exactly just a careful adjustment of repeated stroke sequences can succeed in coordinating your hands effectively while playing. And it works like this: We have 13 examples of different movement and coordination models to deal with. At the beginning of each of these models an idea is presented in a reference measure. Here your hands are simply synchronized. This way you can evaluate your movements effectively to assure that both sides are identical in quality. Then your hands carry out the exact same movements, but time-shifted, which causes changes in rhythm. Here it is extremely important that the indicated tempi are strictly observed. Furthermore all exercises should be played with rather large movements (in the forterange) in order to perceive and comprehend the coordination process. Instead of using sticking indications (R and L) I have chosen a means of notation where one hand is notated above the line and the other below the line. I recommend working through each model with the same assignment (eg. left hand above, right hand below) and afterwards do them all over again the other way around. Each practice measure should be practiced in two different ways: • Repeatedly as a continuous loop. • As a single measure in order to practice the preparatory up-beat movement from the standstill and also to be aware of the conclusion of the motion. It should be pointed out here that after every stroke without any exception the mallet is to be actively pulled away from the playing surface: • Either the next stroke follows directly • or there is an intermediary swing • or the movement of the mallet concludes after this last motion away from the skin.weiterlesen