I have featured the original recording of Andy Aikido’s Karakurenai a couple of months ago. It is a great piece for steel pan and marimba. During the summer, a former student, James Yoshizawa, recorded a video of him playing it on marimba.
“Originally composed in 2012, I made significant revisions to the piece in 2015, with the inclusion of an entirely new section. The piece combines two of my favorite instruments to perform on: marimba and drum set. The outer portions feature the marimba, with contrasting sections that use a variety of time signatures and harmonic ideas. By design, some phrases place the marimba in the role as accompanist, while most phrases see it scored as the solo voice. The middle section is meant to be a fun jam section based on the groove the underlies the piece from the very beginning. While portions of the middle section are open for improvisation, certain sections are written out to aid with transitions.” (From YouTube Description).
For more information about Rob and his compositions, contract Rob Sanderl.
The Great Plains International Marimba Competition just completed three days of great marimba performances. There were 30 semi-finalists (16 high school and 14 college) that competed for the top three spots in the high and college divisions.
Congratulations to the 2016 Great Plains International Marimba Winners! (more…)
It is hard to believe that 20 years ago, Mark Ford, Director of Percussion at University of North Texas, released his CD Polaris. I remember listening to Polaris and Suite for Marimba as a student and unfortunately, the music for Suite was not available. Earlier this year, Mark Alan Taggart made the piece available as a free download on Mark Ford’s website. Check it out and add it to your next recital. As always, if you play the piece, be sure to send a program to Mark Alan Taggart. It is a great piece and more people need to hear it. Be the first one to put a recording on YouTube!
Have you ever needed the perfect mallet for that particular piece? There are so many mallets available from Innovative Percussion, Vic Firth, Mike Balter (and more manufacturers) the you can buy the exact mallet that you need. But what if you are on a budget and wanted to make some mallets? Before all of these great companies, this used to be the norm. I remember many nights in college trying to learn how to wrap mallets. There are many different techniques involved in wrapping mallets. I have compiled some of the best videos on YouTube regarding mallet wrapping. Go out there and wrap some mallets.
How to Make Marimba/Vibe Mallets – Sam Oss
Drummer Talk’s Guide to Wrapping Mallets – Dave Kropf
Mallet Wrapping
I first heard this beautiful piece performed live at PASIC 2015. Thomas Burritt performed this piece as part of his showcase concert.
This recording is composed and performed by Patrick Long.
Skype Lessons with Dr. Gerhart