For solo percussion by Ned F. Smith. Performed at PASIC 2008 Focus Day, this piece is inspired by the "Ritmica" system of rhythmic independence as developed in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Jose Eduardo Gramani. The title is a phonetic representation of the central motif of four sixteenth notes and an eighth note. Instrumentation includes bongos and four pedaled instruments of the performer's choice. This is an ideal recital piece that requires only a medium-sized setup with a fairly short duration that includes an improvisation section midway through the piece.
Print size: Letter (8.5 x 11")
Review from Percussive Notes:
Ned Smith – Daku Daku Deh
“Daku Daku Deh: The Spider” is a piece full of high energy and excitement. With the hands playing just two bongo drums throughout, Ned F. Smith uses four pedaled instruments to create rhythmic and color relationships for both interest and development. The choice of foot instruments is left up to the performer, but the program notes relate which instruments were used at the premiere: djembe, darabukka, hi-hat, and bass drum. “Daku Daku Deh” combines a few familiar elements of popular percussion solos into one high energy, unrelenting work. With footwork reminiscent of Lang’s “Anvil Chorus,” polyrhythms similar to the middle section of Kopetzki’s “Canned Heat” or Kitazume’s “Side by Side,” and rhythms faster than any of the previously mentioned works, Smith’s solo drives forward to highlight the interplay between changing pedaled instruments and a perpetual rhythmic pattern in the bongos. Two main challenges exist for the performer: speed in the hands and feet, and the complexity of switching polyrhythmic activity underneath a varying bongo pattern. The solo begins with a statement of the theme in the bongos, and then the feet come in with dotted-quarter notes until the downbeats align. Then the feet begin a diminution process, with each new rhythmic duration playing out until the downbeats align again with the opening statement. This continues throughout the beginning of the piece, but the hands also undergo a diminution process of their own. Parts of the opening theme are chopped off until there is nothing left but one note endlessly repeating. This kicks in the improvised section of the piece. The third section takes ideas from the beginning along with varying rhythmic layers for all four limbs and intertwines them until the end. Starting out as an exercise in both independence as well as rhythm studies, the piece develops into a story of relationships: the sounds occurring in the feet, the relationship between rhythmic layers amongst all limbs, and even the relationship of variations on the simple sixteenth-note pattern for which the piece is phonetically named. Performed properly, this four-minute senior recital piece is well worth the effort to learn. Deft footwork, quick hands, and limb independence yield this fast-paced opener or closer.
—Matthew Geiger
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