Timpani. Ma secco, per favore.

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Yinyue
Posts: 25
Joined: 30 Sep 2019, 17:16

Timpani. Ma secco, per favore.

Post by Yinyue »

Hi Forum,

Can somebody tell me, is the plus sign "+" the right way to indicate secco for the Timp. player?

Thanks.
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RMK
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Re: Timpani Secco, per favore.

Post by RMK »

No, at least I've never seen it notated as such.
Yinyue
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Re: Timpani Secco, per favore.

Post by Yinyue »

Okay. How is it done, then?
RMK
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Re: Timpani Secco, per favore.

Post by RMK »

Well, you could change the quarter note to an eighth note and an eighth note rest plus add the direction "secco". There are also various articulations you could use, however, you need to be careful they don't encourage the player to play louder than p (unless that's what you want).

I suppose you could add the indication "damp" at the end of the note as well, although this may be a bit fusssy.
Yinyue
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Joined: 30 Sep 2019, 17:16

Re: Timpani Secco, per favore.

Post by Yinyue »

RMK wrote: 16 Dec 2019, 00:08 […] There are also various articulations you could use
Thank you for your advice.

Could you elaborate on the 'various articulations'? A quick finale/sibelius sample would be deemed most kind.

Thanks
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David Ward
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Re: Timpani. Ma secco, per favore.

Post by David Ward »

Any of these should result in a secco attack, varying according to tempo and dynamic. You may choose to add sec., especially when very loud, but the articulation on its own ought to be enough.
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OCTO
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Re: Timpani. Ma secco, per favore.

Post by OCTO »

A dot is enough! :)
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Yinyue
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Re: Timpani. Ma secco, per favore.

Post by Yinyue »

David Ward wrote: 16 Dec 2019, 08:13 Any of these should result in a secco attack, varying according to tempo and dynamic. You may choose to add sec., especially when very loud, but the articulation on its own ought to be enough.
Ah, of course, staccato; almost self-explanatory.

Thank you all for the clarifications.
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