Witch Doctor
General Info
Year of Publication: 2012
Publisher: Row-Loff
Series: Jamsicles!
Instrumentation
Player 1: Snare Drum 1
Player 2: Timpani & Suspended Cymbal
Player 3: Shaker & Sleigh Bells & Tam Tam
Player 4: Snare Drum 2
Player 5: Hand Drum
Player 6: Bass Drum
Performance Notes
"Witch Doctor” is a medium tempo lumbering tribal groove. The combination of snare drums with snares off, djembes and/or congas, a large concert bass drum and rhythmical timpani figures give the ensemble a mysterious feel. If you have them, use three to six hand drums. It’s not at all necessary for them to be of the same type, a combination of different kinds of hand drums will give the ensemble more interesting colors. You can even use drum set toms played with the hands. Muting for the timpani is accomplished with small squares of felt attached to the drum with a shoe string. Put the string through a small hole in the felt and tie it around a lug screw so when it’s placed on the head of the drum it’s 6” to 8” from the rim. The suspended cymbal should be placed to the right of the timpanist’s music stand 12” to 15” above the heads of the timpani. The snare drums are placed on opposite sides of the set-up so you create an antiphonal effect. This makes the ensemble a little more challenging for the two snare players, so they will have to listen closely to each other in order to make sure they’re rhythmically accurate. At Letter F the timpanist sets the tempo. The [[bass drum[[ enters in the next measure so it’s essential that he/she lock in with the timpanist. The timpani solos through Letter G are a little challenging, but making sure your timpanist uses the notated sticking will make the figures relatively easy for a moderately experienced timpanist to master. The accelarando in the final section is marked to accelerate to 144, but can go faster if you’d like. Play this ensemble with lots of style and fire!
Recent Performance
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Concerto
Concerto for Vibraphone and Orchestra - Vibraphone, Orchestra
Percussion Trio
Emerald Rainbow
Mr Powers
Three Times Three
Wop Upside The Head
Percussion Quintet
Howl of the Groove King
Let the Big Dawg Eat
Not Your Grandfather's Clock
Puttin' Out the Cat
Toms, Baby, TOMS!
Percussion Sextet
1.21 Jiggawatts
30 Gallon Groove
A Little Lood-vig
Count de Monet
Mambo Schmambo
Strateejurie
Witch Doctor
Percussion Septet
A Few Good Men
Men At Work
Seven Come Eleven
Percussion Octet
Percussion Nonet
Large Percussion Ensemble
Echoes of Babylon - Percussion (15)
March of the Emperor - Percussion Ensemble (10)
Millennium - Percussion Ensemble (14)
Mozambique - Percussion Ensemble (10)
Rapid Transit - Percussion Ensemble (14)
Ritual of the Tribe - Percussion Ensemble (11)
Streets Of Ankara - Percussion (15)
Tools of the Trade - Percussion Ensemble (12)
The Evening News - Percussion Ensemble (10)
Valley of Nepal - Percussion Ensemble (14)
Marching Percussion
Beyond the Stars
Can't Stop M'Leg
CANtastik
Excalibur
Groove Machine
Ivory Passage
Jamaican Holiday
Siesta
Space Mambo
Will William Tell?