Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Music

The role of the percussionist in the large ensemble has changed greatly over the last few decades and a staggering amount since its introduction to the medium. What has failed to evolve at the same pace is the way in which composers notate for percussion. The history of other instruments has led to a standardized notation with few techniques or possibilities left unexplored. Due to the ever-evolving nature of percussion, composers and publishers often find themselves having to create new markings to express their intentions. These new markings lead to discrepancies between different composers writing for the same thing, which leads to confusion for the percussion section. By examining a major, contemporary work by a well-known composer, this document will create a set of rules of engraving for the composer and publisher. Juilliard faculty member Robert Beaser's Manhattan Roll will be used to demonstrate many frustrations encountered by the percussion section. This document will then present solutions to these problems and explain how and why said problems should be avoided. Should these established rules be followed, a more standard notation can be achieved for percussion and in doing so, many inaccurate performances avoided. Concluding this document are appendices containing a re-engraving of the entire work including individual percussion parts along with the original music for comparison.

Committee: Susan Powell (Advisor); Katherine Borst Jones (Committee Member); Russel Mikkelson (Committee Member); Thomas Wells (Committee Member) Subjects: Music