The Uncertainty Principle for Percussion Septet (Digital Download Score & Parts) Intermediate
The Uncertainty Principle is a percussion ensemble composition for seven performers inspired by Werner Heisenberg’s 1927 uncertainty principle, which states that one cannot precisely know both the position and momentum of a particle at the same time. In this piece, six players represent photons orbiting the drum set player, who embodies an atom. Through energetic exchanges, the photons excite electrons and release new, lower-energy photons, mirroring the unpredictable nature of quantum behavior. Dedicated to the talented students and staff of Cooper Middle School—with special thanks to co-percussion teacher Julianna Lee—the work celebrates curiosity, energy, and the beauty of musical and scientific uncertainty.
Instrumentation (Note -all keyboard percussion and some other percussion is shared; see setup diagram for details):
Player 1 - Boading Balls, Glock, Metal Plate (or cowbell), Triangle, Tam Tam, Vibraphone
Player 2 - Boading Balls, Xylophone, Chinese Cymbal, Glock, Small Rack Tom, Vibraphone
Player 3 - Vibraphone, Glock, Xylophone, Large Rack Tom
Player 4 - 4 or 4.3 Octave Marimba, Glock, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Vibraslap, High Clave, Chinese Cymbal, High Opera Gong
Player 5 - Vibraphone, marimba, Xylophone, Suspended Cymbal, Small Rack Tom, Piccolo Woodblock, Low Opera Gong, Boading Balls
Player 6 - Boding Balls, Xylophone, Marimba, Flexitone, Floor Tom, Splash Cymbal, Ride Cymbal, Headless Tambourine, Vibraphone
Player 7 - Drum Set with Mounted Metal and Wood