Diabelli Project 055 - Percussion Trio

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

My undergraduate degree is in percussion performance. My major instrument was keyboard percussion. So it was fun to return to my roots somewhat by dashing off the opening to a percussion trio. The trick, I think, to writing for instruments of indefinite pitch is to find something the listener can hold on to. Since a hummable tune isn't an option, one can go with a rhythmic cell, or even a pattern of timbres.

In this case, I used both. This is one I might continue, and if I do, I'll continue to develop the tension between the sixteen/eighth figure, and the irregular pulse of the music. The number of instruments would expand as well, changing and adding to the texture of the work.

What would you do? That's up to you. As with all the Diabelli Project sketches, this one's available to any and all who would like to use it as a starting point for their own composition. No strings attached, either; just a request that you share your results.