Percussion/cymbal notation

is there any standardized way to notate hitting different parts of a cymbal (dome/ edge etc), apart from writing the name of the part above the note (not really practical in the context of what I'm writing)? Should I just use different noteheads and reference them inthe performance notes?

You could probably use different noteheads and write it in performance notes at the beginning of the composition.

yeah like this or invent a system of your own. I am thinking yuou could use a regular 5 line staff, where the upper is the dome, the lowest is the edge, and all in between. Or just a 3 line staff, what ever you want... Just an idea...

I found this on the web. Dunno if it'll be practical for your purposes, but here ya go!

Guide to Drum Notation

is there any standardized way to notate hitting different parts of a cymbal (dome/ edge etc), apart from writing the name of the part above the note (not really practical in the context of what I'm writing)? Should I just use different noteheads and reference them inthe performance notes?

not just the performance notes, but write what they are the first time they appear in the sheet music as well. the only real standard that i know of is that you never use full noteheads on cymbals ¯\(º o)/¯

Cool thanks, I was also wondering, is there a standardised way of notating that the performer is to stop something from ringing out after it has been l.v.-ing for say a few bars? I notice Berio used a triangle in "Circles", but I've never seen that anywhere else

Just write out the full duration of the ring as tied notes, then indicate "choke" or w.e when it is to be stopped.

oh also, is it ok to have the tam-tam played by the kind of soft mallet one might use on a cymbal, rather than the regular tam-tam beater? It would make this piece much easier to play if the percussionists didn't have to swap mallets.

is there any standardized way to notate hitting different parts of a cymbal (dome/ edge etc), apart from writing the name of the part above the note (not really practical in the context of what I'm writing)? Should I just use different noteheads and reference them inthe performance notes?

There's no standard way. Adler suggests using different spaces/lines on a 5-line staff to indicate the different places, but that may be a bit misleading since those different places are rarely of different pitches (relatively). I prefer to either use different noteheads, or a 3-line staff showing clearly which line is which. But I always reserve 5-line staves for different pitched parts only (such as with Temple blocks or tom-toms).

oh also, is it ok to have the tam-tam played by the kind of soft mallet one might use on a cymbal, rather than the regular tam-tam beater? It would make this piece much easier to play if the percussionists didn't have to swap mallets.

Any mallet used on the cymbals will create a harsh metallic sound no matter how soft because they simply aren't large enough to get sound out of the thing. In order to make the tam-tam move at all, they would have to hit it rather hard. The larger tam-tam beater is intended so that very little force causes the tam-tam to move effortlessly, which is a very heavy instrument, one of the heaviest in the percussion. So you have to have an equally heavy (or rather, "large") mallet for it to make any impact. That's why the tam-tam has such an amazing dynamic and timbre range, because of its large mallets.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about such trivials. Let the percussionists figure it out and, if you're in a real bind, then look over carefully where the percussionist can hold two different types of sticks at once. But most of the time, it never gets complex enough for that. Often, it takes no more than 3 seconds to swap a sticks, and in this case, it would only be one stick.

Hey, thanks for the advice Tokkemon. what I'm writing is a percussion duo, so it's actually quite involved for both percussionists and I want to make sure I'm not writing stuff that's impossible.

I was wondering, say a percussionist is playing tam-tam with one hand and cymbal with the other (with the appropriate beater/mallet in each hand), to what extent can short rolls be played on each instrument, considering they are played single-handedly? Does that make sense? Can I write the short rolls and leave it to them to play them as best as possible?

Also, are tam-tams usually only played with one beater, or two? I just realised I didn't know...

I'd consult with a percussionist regarding the one-handed rolls.

The Tam-tam can use one or two mallets depending on context. Two mallets are often used for rolls but not always. It's much like the bass drum which sometimes uses one mallet, sometimes two. It depends on the context and player preference.