Carl E. Gardner

Last updated
Carl E. Gardner
BornApril 13, 1885
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
OccupationAuthor, Percussionist, Drum Maker
NationalityAmerican
GenrePercussion Instruction, Music Theory

Carl E. Gardner was an American percussionist, drum maker, and method book author.

Contents

Career

Carlton Edward Gardner was born in 1885 [1] in Massachusetts. [2] He published a book called Music Composition sometime before his book on music theory, Essentials of Music Theory, in 1912. [3] Gardner was the timpanist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1915-1920. [4] During this time he also published a rudimental drumming manual called The Military Drummer (1918), which was "indorsed [sic] by the U.S. Army and Navy authorities," [5] Music Composition: A New Method of Harmony (1918), [6] and The Gardner Modern Method for the Instruments of Percussion (1919). [7] [8] In 1919, Gardner partnered with BSO trombonist Fortunato Sordillo [9] to form the Sordillo-Gardner Music Company, which manufactured Gardner-designed Free Tension Drums. [2] After leaving the Symphony in 1920, Gardner helped form the Boston Society of Musical Instrument Manufacturers in 1922. [10] In 1925, he contributed to Carl Fischer's Drum Fife and Bugle Corps Leaflets along with Francis Findlay and W.A. Maynard. [11] 3 of the 8 lessons in the leaflets were on the snare drum and each leaflet cost 10 cents. Gardner wrote several volumes of Progressive Studies for the Snare Drum, the first of which was published in 1928. [7] [12] Gardner was the program director for the Music Supervisor's National Band Conference Band Festival at Boston Commons at least 4 times, the 4th being in 1928. [13] He went on to serve as the Supervisor of Bands and Orchestras for Boston Public Schools in the 1920s, [13] 1930s [14] and 1940s, [15] where he taught de:Joe Cocuzzo. [16] Gardner published a timpani method in 1944, [17] a percussion method in 1945 called Drums, Cymbals, Accessories, [18] and a book called Reading Lessons for the First Year Drummer in 1950. [19] His book Modern Method for Bells, Xylophone, Marimba, and Chimes is a recommended volume for teachers of percussion. [20]

Publications

All of Gardner's publications were released with Carl Fischer Music

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum</span> Type of musical instrument of the percussion family

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a percussion mallet, to produce sound. There is usually a resonant head on the underside of the drum. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum kit</span> Musical instrument

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. Both hands of the player hold drum sticks, and their feet operate pedals that control the hi-hat and beater for the bass drum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percussion instrument</span> Type of musical instrument that produces a sound by being hit

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding zoomusicological instruments and the human voice, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snare drum</span> Type of percussion instrument

The snare drum is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used in orchestras, concert bands, marching bands, parades, drumlines, drum corps, and more. It is one of the central pieces in a drum set, a collection of percussion instruments designed to be played by a seated drummer and used in many genres of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drummer</span> Percussionist who creates and accompanies music using drums

A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timpani</span> Pitched percussion instrument

Timpani or kettledrums are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. Thus timpani are an example of kettle drums, also known as vessel drums and semispherical drums, whose body is similar to a section of a sphere whose cut conforms the head. Most modern timpani are pedal timpani and can be tuned quickly and accurately to specific pitches by skilled players through the use of a movable foot-pedal. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of ensembles, including concert bands, marching bands, orchestras, and even in some rock bands.

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A drum roll is a technique used by percussionists to produce a sustained sound for the duration of a written note.

All drum figures are based upon three fundamental beats, technically called roll, single stroke, and flam...Sustentation is accomplished upon wind instruments by blowing into the instrument; it is accomplished upon the violin and the allied instruments by drawing the bow across the string; it is accomplished upon the drum and allied percussion instruments by the roll.

THE SNARE DRUM ROLL.

The roll consists of an even reiteration of beats sufficiently rapid to prohibit rhythmic analysis. To produce an impression of sustentation, these beats must be absolutely even both in power and in sequence. Uneven beats in a roll destroy the impression of sustentation. Evenness is then the primary quality to strive for in roll; speed is the secondary quality to strive for.

There are two possible ways of producing an absolutely even sequence: (1) hand alternation of single stroke and (2) hand alternation of double strokes...The snare drum roll is produced by hand alternation of double strokes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clash cymbals</span>

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Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands use such harnesses and instead use traditional baldrics to sling their drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum rudiment</span>

In rudimental drumming, a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associated with various forms of field drumming, where the snare drum plays a prominent role. In this context "rudiment" means not only "basic", but also fundamental. This tradition of drumming originates in military drumming and it is a central component of martial music.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martial music</span> Genre of military music

Martial music or military music is a specific genre of music intended for use in military settings performed by professional soldiers called field musicians. Much of the military music has been composed to announce military events as with bugle calls and fanfares, or accompany marching formations with drum cadences, or mark special occasions as by military bands. However, music has been employed in battle for centuries, sometimes to intimidate the enemy and other times to encourage combatants, or to assist in organization and timing of actions in warfare. Depending on the culture, a variety of percussion and musical instruments have been used, such as drums, fifes, bugles, trumpets or other horns, bagpipes, triangles, cymbals, as well as larger military bands or full orchestras. Although some martial music has been composed in written form, other music has been developed or taught by ear, such as bugle calls or drum cadences, relying on group memory to coordinate the sounds.

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References

  1. Udow, Michael (2019). Percussion Pedagogy: A Practical Guide for Studio Teachers. Oxford University Press.
  2. 1 2 "The Carl e. Gardner Free Tension Drum".
  3. Gardner, Carl. Essentials of Music Theory. Carl Fischer, 1912.
  4. "Boston Symphony Orchestra Musicians List".
  5. Gardner, Carl E. The Military Drummer. Carl Fischer, 1918.
  6. Gardner, Carl E. Music Composition: A New Method of Harmony. Carl Fischer, 1918.
  7. 1 2 Beck, John H. Encyclopedia of Percussion. Routledge, 2013.
  8. Gardner, Carl E. The Gardner Modern Method for the Instruments of Percussion. Carl Fischer, 1919.
  9. Jacobs, Walter. Jacobs' Band Monthly. Volume 6, 1921.
  10. "Manufacturer of Instruments Organize Society in Boston". Music Trades, Volume 64, 1922.
  11. Soracco, Joseph P. "A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BUGLES, AND A SURVEY DETERMINING THEIR PREVALENCE AND STATUS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF MASSACHUSETTS." BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 1951.
  12. Gardner, Carl E. Progressive Studies for the Snare Drum. Carl Fischer, 1928.
  13. 1 2 JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC SUPERVISORS NATIONAL CONFERENCE. Chicago, Illinois: April 15–20, 1928.
  14. "Eastern Conference, Boston - March 14–17." Music Educators Journal. Volume: 25 issue: 3, page(s): 48-51. December 1, 1938.
  15. "The Wartime Program in Action." Music Educators Journal. Vol. 29, No. 4 (Feb. - Mar., 1943), pp. 42-47.
  16. Iero, Cheech. "Talking Drums With Joe Cocuzzo." Modern Drummer. August/September, 1980.
  17. Reifel, Edward Martin. (2011) “Timpani: New Suggestions for Excerpt Practice Based on A Survey of Literature.” University of Toronto.
  18. Gardner, Carl (1945). Drums, Cymbals, Accessories. Carl Fischer.
  19. Gardner, Carl E. Reading Lessons for the First Year Drummer. Carl Fischer, 1950.
  20. Pearl, Jesse. (1971) Music: Instrumental Techniques and Percussion. US department of Health, Education, and Welfare.