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Danish Taptoo

Composer: Børge Ritz

Instrument: Snare Drum

Level: Advanced

Published: 2013

Price: €12.00


Item details

  • Description +
    • Duration: 3 min.

      Danish Taptoo (Dansk Tapto) is a snare drum piece composed in 1963 by timpanist, Børge Ritz. Since then, Danish Taptoo is the most played snare drum piece for competitions in Denmark and its neighbouring countries.    

      For quite a number of years, there has been many and different handwritten versions in circulation of Danish Taptoo. However in 1973, Palle Ritz (the son of Børge Ritz) revised Danish Taptoo on behalf of his father, and it is this edition that is now in print and is published by Edition Svitzer.

  • Instrumentation +
    • Snare Drum

  • Watch+
  • Reviews +
    • Percussive Notes, May 2014

      The Danish are coming! The Danish are coming! This “test piece” for concert snare drum is perfect for competitions, auditions, and juries. Originally composed in 1963 by Danish timpanist Borge Ritz, and popular for many decades throughout Denmark and its neighboring countries, it has circulated among percussionists in various dubious handwritten formats. However, the work is now available in bona fide publisher form.

      The work strives to test a variety of playing techniques common to concert snare drumming. The first minute or so consists of buzz rolls at various dynamic levels, followed by a single to double stroke (“open to closed”) roll passage. This is followed by several brief sections featuring flams, rolls, and accents amidst shifting tempos. The final section is a none-too-subtle nod to the rudimental classic “Three Camps.”

      While being a solid test piece for the intermediate to advanced snare drummer (think Delecluse’s “Test Claire” without all of the orchestral references), “Danish Taptoo” is a bit too disjunctive to be a convincing recital solo. However, it would certainly be effective in an audition or any adjudication setting.

      —Jason Baker

  • Credits +
    • Front cover graphics and layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell  
      Preface: Tom Nybye
      Translation: Robert Oetomo
      Copyright © Edition Svitzer
      Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark