Today I am going through the entire work and organizing the percussion. Percussion instruments are selected for their use in textures and rhythms. Logistics, such as how many, what kinds, where and when they will be used, and how a percussionist might arrange them comes later in the work. At this point in the process it becomes crucial to take stock of what I’ve used, where I’ve used them and how practical the arrangement is for the percussionist. I may discover certain instruments that have been underused, and could be put to use in another movement, or instruments that are superfluous and perhaps serve no practical purpose, such as the Tom-toms, which I removed from the score today.

Here is the current list of percussion instruments:

Pitched

Timpani (suggested 32-30 inch (D to A) 26-25 inch (Bb to F) , 23 inch (D to A high)
Tubular Bells (only need 5 pitches: D#4, F#4. A#4, B4, D#5)
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Non pitched

Bass drum
Concert cymbals
Hi-hat
Ratchet
Snare drum
Suspended cymbal
Tambourine
Temple blocks, wood or plastic
Water gong (also suspended and used without water)

Miscellaneous

Bass bow for cymbals and vibraphone
Brushes for Hi-hat
Bucket of water for the water gong
Metal rod to scrape the sus. cymbal
Usual assortment of mallets