Timpani. Ma secco, per favore.

[Yinyue]

Hi Forum,

Can somebody tell me, is the plus sign "+" the right way to indicate secco for the Timp. player?

Thanks.

[RMK]

No, at least I've never seen it notated as such.

[Yinyue]

Okay. How is it done, then?

[RMK]

Well, you could change the quarter note to an eighth note and an eighth note rest plus add the direction "secco". There are also various articulations you could use, however, you need to be careful they don't encourage the player to play louder than p (unless that's what you want).

I suppose you could add the indication "damp" at the end of the note as well, although this may be a bit fusssy.

[Yinyue]

[…] There are also various articulations you could use

Thank you for your advice.

Could you elaborate on the 'various articulations'? A quick finale/sibelius sample would be deemed most kind.

Thanks

[David Ward]

Any of these should result in a secco attack, varying according to tempo and dynamic. You may choose to add sec., especially when very loud, but the articulation on its own ought to be enough.

[OCTO]

A dot is enough!

[Yinyue]

Any of these should result in a secco attack, varying according to tempo and dynamic. You may choose to add sec., especially when very loud, but the articulation on its own ought to be enough.

Ah, of course, staccato; almost self-explanatory.

Thank you all for the clarifications.