Yamashita performing selections from the settings (Twelve Pieces for Percussion Ensemble) at his recital on November 28, 2022.

Author: Yoshio Yamashita | Major: Music Composition | Semester: Fall 2022

Yoshio Yamashita is a senior music composition major in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. His thesis is mentored by Professor Chalon Ragsdale, University Professor of Percussion. This semester’s research centered on revising three of the twelve composed settings for percussion ensemble in preparation for performance at Yamashita’s senior recital. Yamashita plans to graduate at the conclusion of the Spring 2023 semester and pursue a graduate degree in orchestral conducting.

Research and Impact:

Jacques Delecluse’s Douze Etudes (Twelve Studies) are one of the cornerstones of advanced snare drum literature; they are found in almost any repertoire list ranging from undergraduate study to professional orchestral auditions. However, they present a significant musical challenge to the performer and listener due to their formal and rhythmic complexity. This thesis project is dedicated to writing settings for the Etudes, pieces in which the snare drum etude is included as a part of the ensemble, not a solo. These settings will provide a musical roadmap to the performer and the audience, hopefully providing a framework in which the Etudes can be more widely understood and appreciated.

Research Experience:

I chose this topic while studying the Douze Etudes in the fall of 2020; Professor Chalon Ragsdale introduced the percussion studio to the work of Pablo Rieppi, a faculty member at the Juilliard School. Prof. Rieppi’s work regarding the Etudes was composed of piano accompaniments to the Etudes, though, making each etude a solo centered around the snare drummer. From my further research, it seems that Delecluse meant these Etudes to be precursors to orchestral playing—teaching students the nuances they would need to know in order to successfully integrate themselves into an ensemble. To that end, I decided to compose settings in which the snare drum etude was integrated into the ensemble rather than soloing with accompaniment. Professor Ragsdale was interested in my work on the Etudes from the beginning and was more than willing to assist with my thesis when asked.

In this research, I faced the challenge of composing a piece that precisely matched the framework of the Etude in question, while still creating a coherent piece of music. An apt comparison might be writing a book in which the number of chapters and number of pages/paragraphs per chapter are predetermined. In each case, I had to analyze the form of the Etude (most were in an A-B-A type of form) and then write melodies based on the rhythms of the Etude. This proved rather difficult at first due to the irregular nature of the rhythms found in the Etudes and the lack of formal indicators. In many musical forms, sections are demarcated by a change in tonality (key change, major to minor, etc.). In the Etudes, however, the snare drum is incapable of producing either melody or harmony in that sense, making form difficult to discern at times. Form was determined in each Etude by analyzing the main rhythmic components and grouping them into sections which later composed the form.

This semester, I focused primarily on revising the settings for Etudes 1, 7, and 11. Revisions primarily regarded making sure that the rhythms of the setting matched the rhythms of the Etude and making certain harmonic passages clearer (making the harmonies make more musical sense). I also spent time working on the other settings and preparing to analyze each of them for my thesis defense.

Professor Ragsdale played an active role in reviewing the settings as I composed them and also aided me in preparation for my recital performances of Etudes 1, 7, and 11 this fall. My primary study of the Etudes has been with Professor Fernando Valencia, who has helped me in preparation of Etudes 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Professor Ragsdale also connected me with a number of his colleagues who were interested in my thesis work; due to scheduling conflicts and changes in pedagogical plans coming out of the pandemic, my work with them remains ongoing. Additionally, Dr. Robert Mueller, professor of composition and theory, helped me in reviewing the settings and suggesting revisions as I composed them.

In continuation of my thesis work, I need to continue to revise the settings and write detailed analyses of each in preparation for my thesis defense in Spring 2023. I will also be looking for opportunities to present this research at pertinent conferences and will seek to publish this work in the future.