3.

Stravinskys set-up diagram places the tambour (field drum) on the

performers right, mimicking the traditional configuration of the drum set. Figure 2.6
contains a re-drawn version of Stravinskys diagram. If the player disregards this
diagram in favor of a set-up similar to a common timpani configuration also shown in
figure 2.6, he would place the highest drum (instead of the tambour) on the right. A
familiarity with this common timpani set-up, in addition to experience with
traditional melodic notation which places the highest pitches higher in the staff, could
lead a performer to play the highest snare drum for the notation in the top staff.

Stravinskys Set-up.
low
snare drum
bass drum
field drum

Common Timpani Set-up.

lowest
highest

high
snare drum
Figure 2.6. Stravinskys set-up (left) and a common timpani set-up.
These three factors contribute to the common misinterpretation of the term
tambour. Percussionist and composer William Kraft, who recorded LHistoire du
Soldat under Stravinsky, was able to clarify the uncertainty surrounding this issue. In
an interview conducted in 1989, Kraft stated that Stravinsky intended tambour to
designate a field drum.9 Kraft also revealed that in response to the question of why

David Early, Percussion Performance Issues in Stravinskys Histoire Du Soldat, Percussive Notes
31, no. 5 (1993): 75.

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