For solo percussion. Time and timbre study gives the creative percussionist an opportunity to demonstrate sensitivity of touch. Instrumentation calls for orchestra bells, marimba, vibraphone, five Almglocken, three suspended cymbals, triangle, castanets and two wood blocks. Graphic score is playable at any experience level. duration: variable
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Review from Percussive Notes:
William Duckworth – Time Fields
“Time Fields” is a graphic-score percussion solo that has been largely overlooked in percussion repertoire of the last 50 years. Though there is not a lot of ink on the page, the score is detailed and thorough in instructions for instruments, beaters, sequence, and timing. Each event is preceded by the instrument it is to be played on and the type of beater to be used. Events in boxes detail the number of times that the event should be played. Mallet instruments are notated in the treble clef with the standard five-line staff. The notes and sequence are specified in these events, but the performer decides the rhythm. The nature of the graphic score calls for a certain amount of improvisation from the player within these set guidelines. The piece calls for a large setup, but nothing out of the ordinary for a college percussion studio. Though most of the techniques are standard, the score asks for a “metal washer taped to finger,” which adds a small extended-technique experience to the piece. Because “Time Fields” requires preexisting knowledge of standard notation and rhythmic systems, as well as playing techniques, this piece wouldn’t be appropriate for a beginning percussionist; however, due to the straightforward nature of the graph, the brevity of the score (five pages), and the homogenous tonality of the instruments and themes, this piece would be a great first introduction to graphic notation for a college percussionist.
—Marilyn K. Clark Silva
