Tapeta
tapeta
tapeta...
This is a form of background music designed to increase anticipation for whatever
The Reveal is. (BOOM!)
Happens both in
Real Life and in audiovisual media.
Less common than it used to be: Some rock stars abused drum roll privileges with their ten-minute drum solos, and not every drum machine can pull off a drum roll. Instead, producers use the visual equivalent, cutting every two seconds (or is that two frames?). But true drum rolls still get used, especially by shows wanting to evoke nostalgia, and have the advantage of not causing epileptic seizures.
Drum rolls are frequently the subject of, or the announcement for,
parody these days.
Compare
Fanfare,
Rimshot,
Dramatic Timpani.
Examples:
The Abridged Series
Film
- When, during Spaceballs, Spaceball 1 is transformed into (BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM)...Mega Maid. They even cut to a shot of the drummer.
- And we're not talking your ordinary, run of the mill snare drum roll: We're talking Dramatic Timpani, here.
- Spoofed at the climax of Zorro The Gay Blade.
Live-Action TV
- Late Show with David Letterman: When someone is about to perform a stunt, Dave will often ask the drummer to provide a drum roll accompaniment.
- Used unironically on Happy Days when Fonzie set a world record of jumping over 14 garbage cans on a motorcycle.
- Spoofed several times on Beakman's World:
Music
- Fairly common in reggae. Bad Brains uses it a bit (Right Brigade and I and I Survive).
Western Animation
Real Life
- It's not rare for emcees at various awards shows to ask for a drum roll, though this usually consists of the audience drumming on their laps.
- If "The Star-Spangled Banner" is being performed by a band, it typically starts with a drum roll.
