Vic Firth has always been on the leading edge of percussion education content. Their website includes educational resources including rudiments, drumset grooves, DCI play alongs, and more. Recently, they released their Marimba Literature Library. The goal of the resource is to create high quality videos of the “top 100” marimba solos. There are currently 10 videos on the site. Thanks to the Vic Firth team for creating this incredible resource.
Where has the year gone? I can’t believe it is December and the holidays are upon us. As we get closer to the end of the year, I hope you can take sometime to reflect on the year. Think about your successes and failures. Or about your great concerts and not-so-good concerts. What were your favorite classes and new pieces you learned? All these things shape who you are and who you will become. Value these new friendships, experiences, and moments and learn what you can while you are still in school. Don’t take it for granted. I know you have heard this over and over again, but it is the truth. It is difficult to appreciate this when you are in school, but trust me, it only gets harder. Ok, I’ll get off my soap box. Check out my suggested readings and let me know if there are more articles I should add next week. (more…)
In the past couple of days, Kevin Bobo has been posting some videos on YouTube. Kevin is on the faculty at Indiana University and these videos are unbelievable. Spend 30 minutes and watch them all. You will not be sorry. Bravo Kevin!
Zildjian has always been one of the leading cymbal manufacturers and curator of great educational content. In this video, Jake Nissly, Principal Percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony, talks about hand cymbal basics.
I am always looking for ways to improve the concert-going experience. As artists, I think we need to find a better way to attract and retain an audience. We need to think about concert programming and how to put pieces together that will be interesting to the audience and help our students learn about musicality and programming. I have always disliked going to percussion concerts and/or recitals and watching percussionists move equipment in between pieces. For this reason, I generally choose to have three parts on my percussion ensemble programs with minimal (or no) movements in between pieces. This takes some planning, but I think it is a more enjoyable show for the audience. (more…)
Skype Lessons with Dr. Gerhart