Improving efficiency in the practice and performance of contemporary percussion repertoire

Tom De Cock
Promotors: Peter Swinnen, Gert François

This research project assesses new ways to advance in practice and performance of demanding contemporary percussion music.

In my career as a contemporary percussionist I encountered the emerging problems posed by the existing contemporary repertoire and the fact that some students and performers find the threshold to tackle some of these magnificent pieces too high. The aim of this research project is to lower this threshold for percussionists to deal with major pieces of the contemporary repertoire by cataloguing practical experience and knowledge into a new working method and to attract more players to this particular repertoire.

The choice of the repertoire for this research project was intuitive: all of the pieces presented are pieces that were important in my personal performing career and that triggered new esthetics, interests, or ways of playing for me. The particular lack of study material and documented know-how, as well as the often problematic scores and electronics in the existing repertoire, demanded a very practical approach to this research. Although the choice of the pieces was intuitive, I believe that the results that came out of this thesis are generic: the approach and the tools that were applied to the researched pieces can be adapted to almost all contemporary repertoire for all instruments.

The methodology started with an analysis and inventory of the main problems presented within the contemporary percussion repertoire. This was furthered with solutions developed in cooperation with the respective composers, musicologists, and researchers who specialized in the respective pieces. These solutions were then brought to practice by means of recordings, lecture-recitals and performances. An improved learning strategy was developed through an experimental approach in close collaboration with the percussion classes of Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, KASK Conservatorium (Gent), Conservatorium van Amsterdam, ArtEZ Hogeschool (Arnhem, Enschede and Zwolle), and Hochschule für Musik Detmold.
The end result is a ‘Thesaurus’ for contemporary percussion: concerts, recordings, lecture- recitals and an online web platform that was developed in collaboration with Vincent Caers: “Living Scores Learn”. This platform contains all the theoretical and practical output of the research project: analysis of the pieces, annotated scores, click-tracks and practical playing solutions.