The Rite of Spring-EPIC PERCUSSION MOMENT

#stravinsky #percussion #riteofspring
There are a ton of polyrhythms happening during this section and I go over them in my new book: The Rite of Spring-A Percussionist's Guide. All you need to know about the percussion and timpani parts and all the discrepancies throughout the editions. Pick it up in paperback or ebook here-
buy.bookfunnel...
Since the piece was written, there have been countless revisions and discrepancies in the percussion writing. This book helps to provide historical context throughout the many scores and provide the percussionist with a roadmap for:
*Choosing the right instruments
*Choosing an ideal set up, especially for the timpanists
*Practical performer considerations within the context of real orchestral experience
*Historical context that helps all of the above
*Thinking about the specific sounds for each instrument’s part
*Options for performing certain passages
*Musical examples providing harmonic and rhythmic context with other percussion instruments and the rest of the orchestra
buy.bookfunnel...
The video above is the section from 3 before 65 to 71. I start with the percussion alone and then add the orchestra in for context.
There was nothing like this being remotely written before this! And this was 1913. Technically 1912 when Stravinsky was actually writing it out.
The washboard I'm playing is commonly used instead of the original güiro that's in the part. A washboard is much louder and Stravinsky wants this to take over the orchestra anyway.
Enjoy!

[@hunterharris4869]

I think Stravinsky knew the percussionists would be moving their bodies to keep time which adds to the jagged rhythms & choreography. Great job!

[@Deech72]

Glad you like, thank you!

[@alexbonahue3322]

Bernstein‘s way of putting it; “prehistoric Jazz“ seems so true

[@Deech72]

Oh yeah. Love that video!

[@juliusseizure591]

My only problem with that is that makes it seem like jazz originated from a white dude.

[@rosshopkins2063]

I can hear blues, jazz, rock, metal, hip hop, edm, and alternitive in that.

[@rosshopkins2063]

@@juliusseizure591 ok well will it make you feel better if i told you bethoven could have been black?

[@metroidfoosion73]

Julius Seizure Everything comes from somewhere. These primal rhythms date back to ancient Africa. When it comes to music, it’s best to just enjoy its developments instead of fretting on what came from where. No music exists in a vacuum, and every genre built off of a previous genre

[@taureanmixing9644]

I'd add to Bernstein and even say "prehistoric METAL." Stravinsky's Rite of Spring is so beautifully savage and 'ugly.' By far one of my favorite pieces still to this day. Nice job Chris.

[@Deech72]

I agree! Thanks so much Taurean Mixing 🙏🏻

[@pattyluss]

Yes! This has always been a rhythmically mind bending part in this song, even as a percussionist. Love the snapshot of the percussion, then hearing it in context. Stravinsky is my favorite, great job with this!

[@Deech72]

Thank you Patrick! Glad you enjoyed it. The güiro is the hardest part for sure. I suggest many ways of thinking about each part in the book if you want to check it out. The link is above! :)

[@mogmason6920]

Song????

[@itamarbar9580]

When I listen to it and think how I'll conduct it, I just know I'm gonna say "fuck it" and do one on the bass drum and the two on the gong.

[@hongyimo]

Oh my god! As a violinist who played this piece dozens of times, this is the first time I know what is going on here !!

[@Deech72]

Awesome!! I'm sure you're pretty busy yourself ;)

[@MusikschuleClavina]

🤣👍

[@sym667]

I've always been curious about this author and piece, since Frank Zappa used to say that he was inspired by them.

[@Deech72]

Well this is a good place to start. Petrouchka and Firebird are the other classics, but it's all good!

[@sym667]

@@Deech72 Thanks a lot!

[@tytywuu]

this piece is a bible for many contemporary composers, including those from the rock and indie world.

[@Deech72]

@@tytywuu For sure! Even John Williams stole from ROS in Star Wars...

[@Deech72]

The Bad Plus does a great arrangement of it!

[@JonathanGilmer]

Cool video! I love how without the melody, it sounds like a totally different meter, but with it, it makes the bass drum syncopated. Love Stravinsky and his poly meters and poly rhythms!

[@Deech72]

Me too!

[@KevinGonzalez-rg8jv]

At first with the bass drum and the timpani I had no idea what part it was, but then with the rhythm of the tam-tam and the guiro I exactly knew what part it was, thank you for uploading.

[@itamarbar9580]

Wait. So the gong is a tam-tam and the washboard thingy is a guiro?

[@KevinGonzalez-rg8jv]

@@itamarbar9580 yes

[@Deech72]

@@itamarbar9580 Technically a gong has a specific pitch (like tuned nipple gongs, etc). The guiro part is usually played on washboard for more volume:)

[@ScherzoMusic]

A defining characteristic over whether I judge a Rite of Spring recording to be good or not, is based on whether or not I can hear the Guiro well in this passage! It’s its only appearance in the piece, but has such an impact, alongside the duplet bass drum and tam-tam in this section. Too many recordings are engineered badly and the percussion just doesn’t cut through!

[@Deech72]

Agreed! Sometimes people double the part so it's heard more. Also, there is a version where there is a guiro scrape into the penultimate beat. You need my book to read about it! ;)

[@ScherzoMusic]

@@Deech72 yes indeed!! So when I’ve played it in the past, we’ve had the guiro part doubled (I’m always jealous because despite loving the BD part, this section is amazing for guiro!), which gives such a good effect. Also yes the original version had the guiro into the final note. For anyone else who reads this comment, there’s a very good performance from the BBC Proms with both doubled guiros and the guiro at the end, by a great period orchestra called Les Siècles, that is on KZbin! It’s a fascinating to hear The Rite re-enacted on “period” instruments and using the original orchestration, as opposed to the 1947 one we are used to nowadays.

[@Deech72]

@@ScherzoMusic I've seen that I think. When they use the brush on the bass drum too? Yeah "period" instruments. Can't really have period timpani and play the timpani part too well...;)

[@Dresdentrumpet]

I was blown away the first time I heard the Rite of Spring live. I didn't know how much of a percussion piece this is.

[@Deech72]

@@Dresdentrumpet Glad you liked the video! I didn’t know what I was hearing when I first heard it...

[@thechemmajor8105]

PROCESSION OF THE SAGE!! I loved this part bc the percussion combined with the brass made it so invigorating for the strings to play those hair-raising trills!

[@Deech72]

You got some notes there!!

[@ethandegroat4471]

Reason I also love the possession of the sage is the percussion, mainly the tam tam and timoaniy

[@donnawalsh1294]

Great editing!! Sounded beautiful

[@Deech72]

Donna Walsh thank you! 😊

[@giocosovelasco]

Epic -bruh- percussion moment

[@samsing2300]

I'll never forget the first time I heard this. Changed the way I look at music forever!

[@PSchearer]

I was perhaps thirteen when I heard it on the radio with my father. It changed me too, but not just that. At the end my father pronounced it junk and we were never close again.

[@Deech72]

@@PSchearer WOW!!

[@Deech72]

It never gets old. So ahead of its time. Check out my book if you want to read about the percussion and timpani parts! :)

[@betaomega04]

Splitting your soul in that many pieces to play Rite of Spring? Voldemort has nothing on you...

[@Deech72]

🤘😆🤘

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Even before I clicked I knew exactly what moment this was going to be. My favourite recording of it comes from Seji Ozawas Boston recording. It is vile. And thus absolutely perfect.

[@Deech72]

Haha nice! And you probably heard his with Chicago then...??

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

@@Deech72 That's the one I meant. I remembered Boston because it is coupled with Petrouchka, and that one is Boston.

[@Deech72]

@@Quotenwagnerianer The ending of ROS is a trainwreck though!

[@utha2665]

My favorite is by the London Symph conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (from memory). Amazing. That same section is ~13:35 of the version linked below if you're interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5zaooOAj8pro9U

[@Deech72]

@@utha2665 Nice! When I did it with Eschenbach, he did it from memory as well. Thanks for sharing!

[@DylanOndine]

I love this piece so much and cannever get over how amazing the guiro sounds against everything else.

[@dmytrotsvyntarnyi799]

Oh, so it's just 6 over 2 over another 2 over 4. Yeah, it deffinetly was very obvious to me after having played this piece as a violist and I have absolutely understood what the percussion was doing there before watching this video. (NO)

[@keithmoon3190]

The music sounds like something from when a nuclear bomb drops. Or even a shark attack.

[@icecreamget]

Imagining a drummer doing this... one handed low tom roll while doing ride mutes, pretty ridiculous.

[@多田桂司]

子供の頃、初めて聞いた時はなんて聞きにくい音楽と思いましたが、歳を取るにつれ良さがわかり、名曲と思うようになりました。ストラビンスキーも若い時に傑作を3曲も書いて、後々大変だったろうにと思います。

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

In 1913, the music of a new age! Things would never be the same again.

[@Deech72]

Indeed!

[@jakubkopczynski779]

I love how the procession of the Sage totally interrupts the previous part with gran cassa coming "off beat" and I always pictured horns screaming "there they come!"

[@Mur4dMusic]

Amazing! Thanks for uploading this :D

[@Deech72]

Glad you like, thanks! :)

[@davidreece6193]

Wow quite hypnotic by just itself🙂

[@Deech72]

Awesome!

[@hisham_hm]

at first I was weirded that the notation looked so wonky with the pauses since the rhythms seemed so simple but then in context it's clear that everything is shifted off the beat so that explains it!

[@rhodellfields6802]

Just FANTASTIC presentation. Kudos

[@Deech72]

Thank you so much!

[@parmati28]

What is the name of the first instrument?

[@Deech72]

Bass Drum

[@joaquinpercusses]

Great video and an amazing-sounding bass drum. What are its dimensions if you don't mind me asking?

[@Deech72]

Glad you like, thanks! Not at all - offhand I think it's a 14"x36" I can measure later if you want the exact dimensions but it's very close to that. It might even be 36.5!

[@dawlims1334]

procession of the sage

[@mercharris5266]

Sounds like a Star Trek scene with Kirk on alien planet

[@Richard.Atkinson]

One of my favorite moments! Great job!

[@Deech72]

Thank you Richard!

[@Richard.Atkinson]

If I ever get around to analyzing The Rite of Spring on my channel, I will include a link to this!

[@Deech72]

@@Richard.Atkinson I appreciate that Richard! If you haven't seen it, there's a link to my new book on all the perc/timp parts in the description. You can always contact me if need be as well. Thanks again!

[@mikechad27]

I swear i thought i heard a drumset in the recording. I was like, "what the hell? Was this the first use of drumset?" Lol

[@Deech72]

You mean the way the parts are written?

[@mikechad27]

​@@Deech72yes. some bad compression from a score video made the scratchy thing and bass drum sound like "one" instrument. lol.

[@paullennox2404]

Thankyou for this video - I've been intrigued by this section for years - glad to know what is actually going on!

[@Deech72]

Glad you like it, thank you!!

[@catfdljws]

(and meanwhile, the winds, strings, and brass all have their own rhythmic families that are totally unrelated to these 4 parts - wow...)

[@Deech72]

Yeah!

[@bassist789]

Heard those bassoons as soon as the video ended! haha

[@3alexander3]

epic video man thank you

[@Deech72]

Appreciate it! :)

[@DmitriShostakovichDSCH]

i’m was princ. cellist of my orchestra and the way our cramped-asf pit was set up i was right next to our five percussionists- so yes, my eardrums did go, but on the bright side i got to listen to this gem a lot

[@Deech72]

Nice! And glad you’re still with us DS 🤣

[@DmitriShostakovichDSCH]

i am shostakovich i am immortal, my music is always with you

[@JuanOrtiz-wv3zw]

Epic DUUUUDEEEE moment

[@MikePulcinellaVideo]

One of my fav moments in all of music. Thanks for breaking it down for us

[@Deech72]

Glad you like it, thank you!

[@rloomis3]

With a name like yours, I would certainly hope you'd like Stravinsky! ;-)

[@MikePulcinellaVideo]

@@rloomis3 LOL! Imagine my shock when I was a classical music loving teen and first discovered The Pulcinella Suite in a record store! (Yes I'm that old.)

[@rloomis3]

@@MikePulcinellaVideo Hey, I actually _worked_ in a record store (yes, _I'm_ that old)!

[@richardwilliams473]

Very CLEVER! The same Percussionist in a combined video of all the Percussion instruments used in this piece of music

[@Deech72]

Glad you like thank you!

[@ahaahahha]

Боже, эти полиритмия и полиметрия тупо убивают мой мозг

[@Deech72]

Haha..I break it down piece by piece in my book. Just compare two instruments at a time:)

[@oscargill423]

Nice.

[@Deech72]

Thanks:)

[@HSDarke]

fantastic.

[@Deech72]

Thank you!

[@MarimbaPlayr]

I’d love and hate playing this lol

[@Deech72]

You'd only love it! ;)

[@MarimbaPlayr]

@@Deech72 yah the only thing I’d hate are the time signature changes lol

[@Deech72]

@@MarimbaPlayr As a percussionist, that's something that might be kind of important :)

[@EM-ue4nm]

The brilliant Stravinsky

[@Deech72]

Indeed!

[@brunoandrade8619]

SO NICE!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Deech72]

Thank you!!

[@jacobrubanov4932]

Incredible. Percussionist are probably the ones struggling the most during rite of spring

[@scj6693]

i’m sure your neighbors love you after this lol

[@Deech72]

I play a lot of drum set too...:)

[@wormswithteeth]

I can hear the trumpets.

[@footfucka]

That's because they're playing in the video.

[@wormswithteeth]

@@footfucka that'll be the reason then.

[@michaelrg3836]

When I die I want to time travel to that first performance!

[@Deech72]

Me too!!

[@fiddlersontheramp5417]

Ah, yes. The greatest moment in all orchestral music.

[@Deech72]

YES!

[@aeroncerezo8165]

cani i ask, What is the diameter of your tam-tam?

[@Deech72]

28” Not too big not too small

[@aeroncerezo8165]

Thank you very much

[@Deech72]

@@aeroncerezo8165 Anytime!

[@MusikschuleClavina]

Please more of That!

[@dedede5586]

could you do rehearsals 174-180 next? that has to be one of my all-time favorite percussion moments!

[@Deech72]

I don't know why I didn't already, but thanks for the reminder!!

[@Deech72]

@@dedede5586 there’s actually a live performance from 1999 somewhere on KZbin at Schleswig Holstein…

[@Deech72]

@@dedede5586 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3_clKOpgpV0gpY

[@enriquesanchez2001]

@@Deech72 SUPER! THXXX

[@enriquesanchez2001]

@@Deech72 THX for the recommendation!

[@bassist789]

badass

[@adityabiswas7686]

Procession of the Sage?

[@Deech72]

Yes! But some scores might say Procession of the Oldest and Wisest One...

[@adityabiswas7686]

@@Deech72 Ok thanks, great video btw! I love the Rite of Spring!

[@Deech72]

@@adityabiswas7686 no problem, I’m glad you like it! I like it too:)

[@anne-mariebergeyre5773]

Très intelligent ! J'ai bien aimé , bravo !

[@Deech72]

Thank you! :)

[@rye5458]

I love this ballet so much! good job :)

[@Deech72]

Thanks!

[@swiatlowiekuiste]

One of the most epic parts

[@Deech72]

For sure.

[@jeanlucchapelon]

Very interesting Thanks

[@Deech72]

Anytime!

[@ПавелПодъячев-т2х]

Трещетка неровно получилась

[@piotrtchaikovsky20]

Congrats!

[@specialagent400]

Why does that gong sound like the Tardis

[@Deech72]

Tardis?

[@specialagent400]

@@Deech72 Dr. Who, the Tardis is what he uses to get around. Look up the noise

[@Deech72]

@@specialagent400 whoa! Craziness

[@sivadepilif]

Washboard?

[@Deech72]

Yes it’s very common. More volume than a güiro.

[@giannibianconcini7993]

enlightening

[@Deech72]

Glad you like it :)

[@MichaelWilliams-jz4te]

What type of timpani is that?

[@Deech72]

Adams Revolutions with hand hammered copper bowls.

[@MichaelWilliams-jz4te]

Thanks!

[@jmg1884]

It is not together!!!!

[@ishtar2848]

Fantastic 👍👏👏👏👏Thank You very much 🙏

[@Deech72]

I appreciate it! You're welcome:)

[@ishtar2848]

@@Deech72 it's really very helpful and wonderful to hear that 1 by 1 and then with the orchestra! Thank You 👍🙏👏👏👏

[@Deech72]

@@ishtar2848 Anytime! It seems people are really enjoying this, so I'm wondering what else might be good to do...

[@ishtar2848]

@@Deech72 Yes, such videos are enormous helpful! You could some passages of the Carmina Burana!

[@ishtar2848]

@@Deech72 or schostakovich symphony number 7

[@jujoropo]

Sooooo epic!!!

[@Deech72]

Glad you like it!!

[@dylangamble4810]

Thanks for this!

[@Deech72]

Welcome!