How do you notate for Percussion Instruments....

[Damo 0]

Forgive me for asking something dumb here but....I'm using a notation software called Sibelius 4 to compose my music. However when it comes to certain Percussion Instruments such as Tom Tom or Roto Tom where it has like 5 lines in a stave. Considering I'm a piano player....I don't much about notating for other instruments especially for Percussions. Those 5 lines aren't all Tom tom right considering I get a different percussion sound other then Tom Tom in that stave for that instrument.

Can someone help me or explain about this?

[Seth 67]

Toms have relative pitches from high to low. Other percussion is unpitched and can be notated on a single line. On a 5-line staff bass drum usually gets the bottom space, snare drum gets the treble clef C space, and others fall in as needed (to the best of my knowledge).

[Greg1138 3]

Toms have relative pitches from high to low. Other percussion is unpitched and can be notated on a single line. On a 5-line staff bass drum usually gets the bottom space, snare drum gets the treble clef C space, and others fall in as needed (to the best of my knowledge).

Spot on.....different copyists use different lines for toms and other instruments - there is no real stadard apart from the snare and bass drum that you mention.....

Cybals are usually in the space above the stave and notated by an "x" instead of a meat pie with a stick attached.....

[Damo 0]

Considering I'm basically talking about Tom toms or Roto-Toms... I meant where specifically on which line on the stave represent the sound of tom toms or Roto-Toms?

[Composer_Fan 2]

Well, if there's 4 toms, then you would use FACE low to high, respectively.

For 5 toms, use EGBDF, low to high, respectively.

[Damo 0]

What about Roto-Tom?

[AI 0]

All Toms are notated between the stave lines. Use your initiative to figure it out

[Greg1138 3]

Not always - depends on the copyist.....

[AI 0]

Copyists are just that, copyists. Get it, they copy?

You go and consult the definitive texts of orchestration on this matter, and if you can prove me wrong, I will gladly

eat my words.

[pi 0]

just get a john williams score and everything you need to know is in there, guaranteed.

[Greg1138 3]

Copyists are just that, copyists. Get it, they copy?  

You go and consult the definitive texts of orchestration on this matter, and if you can prove me wrong, I will gladly

eat my words.

I am a Conductor of no small experience, and have been playing percussion (among many other things) for over 25 years. I do not need to prove you wrong.

[Jacck 23]

It really does not matter if the notes are written between the stave lines or on the stave lines. Because they are only an indication of relative pitch the percussionist is going to interpret the notation exactly the same either way.

[Datameister 2,044]

They can be indicated on lines or spaces. Doesn't matter, although it's nice for the players if they don't have to deal with ledger lines. (It annoys me to no end when a part calls for five drums and they are notated on the spaces, with the highest one sitting above the staff...totally pointless.)

On a personal note, I prefer reading percussion music on the lines. But as JackChapple said, these are only relative pitches and can therefore be placed...well, wherever you want them to be placed.

As far as Sibelius itself goes, I can't help you there. I'm a Finale guy myself, although its percussion notation can be bothersome.

[Jacck 23]

As far as Sibelius' percussion notation goes.. Any 5 line percussion stave is just mapped to random MIDI percussion sounds in a pretty pointless way. So although it wouldn't sound like Pitched Toms when played back, obviouslly the percussionist would play it fine in real life. You can also (I think) create custom staves and map various MIDI sounds to different notes on the stave to make it sound right.

[Damo 0]

As far as Sibelius' percussion notation goes.. Any 5 line percussion stave is just mapped to random MIDI percussion sounds in a pretty pointless way. So although it wouldn't sound like Pitched Toms when played back, obviouslly the percussionist would play it fine in real life. You can also (I think) create custom staves and map various MIDI sounds to different notes on the stave to make it sound right.

yeah that's the problem with MIDI percussion sounds which is annoying...But I'm using Kontakt Player Gold but yeah it just better high quality realistic sounds compared to MIDI sounds....With Kontakt Player Gold it just works the same way with MIDI does...

[bruckhorn 105]

When in doubt about how to notate music, I consult Read's Music Notation. There's a lot of variance with percussion, so no matter what you choose, I'd recommend that you make a note of explination on the instrumentation page. That way the conductor and musicians won't have to guess at what you want or mean.

[AI 0]

Copyists are just that, copyists. Get it, they copy?  

You go and consult the definitive texts of orchestration on this matter, and if you can prove me wrong, I will gladly

eat my words.

I am a Conductor of no small experience, and have been playing percussion (among many other things) for over 25 years. I do not need to prove you wrong.

really. well I ain't impressed. A conductor who plays percussion too? pull the other leg.

You don't what you are talking about. You can't prove me wrong, that's the bottom line.

[Damo 0]

I think he saying not only he is a conductor but he can play percussion instruments....but is he a professionalist???

[Greg1138 3]

Copyists are just that, copyists. Get it, they copy?  

You go and consult the definitive texts of orchestration on this matter, and if you can prove me wrong, I will gladly

eat my words.

I am a Conductor of no small experience, and have been playing percussion (among many other things) for over 25 years. I do not need to prove you wrong.

really. well I ain't impressed. A conductor who plays percussion too? pull the other leg.

You don't what you are talking about. You can't prove me wrong, that's the bottom line.

LOL

Don't be so ridiculous....I think you'll find that most conductors can play other instruments too.....even JW has been known to sit at a piano now and again! First and foremost I am a trumpeter (again, over 25 years), but I also play percussion (preferably un-tuned, and I certainly don't do Xylophones/Glocks), piano (to a pretty basic level), guitar (to a VERY basic level).....I do indeed know what I am talking about - and as I said, I do not need to prove you wrong....you can either read the books, or take some comments from people who have actually been there and experienced it.....

The books are fine - but not everything is as cut and dried as that (books usually say that a trumpet's highest note is top C - 2 ledger-lines above the stave - but there are more than a few trumpeters that can get over 2 OCTAVES above that - so are the players wrong, or the books?).....there is no substitute for getting out there and seeing the real thing - it doesn't always follow the books, which are almost always generalisations - I am well aware of this from the various music qualifications I have falling out of my arse.

Please do not talk to me like that again, eh?

[Gibbke 0]

Ok, now that we've got that p!$$ing contest out of the way, everybody listen to Bruckhorn. There are too many percussion variants to have a rock solid standard, so a key at the beginning is the best way to avoid confusion. Happens in most rock transcriptions (and yes, that's also because most buyers of those scores can't read!). I would also say that you line the toms on adjacent lines AND spaces (e.g. top F-E-D-C, etc), and not FACE or EGBD as was suggested earlier.