Whiplash by Aaron Ward

Whiplash is a work for percussion quartet composed in the spring of 2019. The piece was originally written to have 7 parts, including keyboard parts throughout. Eventually the instrumentation was condensed down to a quartet and more drums and auxiliary percussion instruments were added to cover melodic themes originally written for keyboard instruments. The result is a unique work in which the performer must project complex melodic themes using a wide variety of different instruments throughout the piece. Whiplash relies heavily upon the combination of contrasting 3 and 4 note patterns to create a unique sense of time for the listener. The title Whiplash was inspired by the feeling of intense uncertainty which can be felt when driving at high speeds in heavy traffic.