William Vean

Big Fun On The Bass Drum

Beating a drum is fun. Beating a big drum is even more fun. Being a soloist and beating a bass drum is best of all. In 'Big Fun on the Bass Drum' the dream of every starter percussionist is realized. He/she is soloist and is allowed to really beat the drum hard without the conductor putting a stop to it, but beware: a new skin is rather expensive. 'Big Fun on the Bass Drum' is not only about hitting as hard as you can, though. A lot of attention is paid to playing the bass drum very softly. And what is more, the composer has found room to offer the soloist a real cadenza - at this point in the composition he/she can either play the part prescribed or give the audience an improvisation of his/her own.