unBENt is the new solo for marimba and crotale by Chad Floyd. We have featured Chad’s music before on Percussion Education. This new piece is inspired by and dedicated to Ben Martin.
Written and performed by Chad Floyd on December 23, 2015. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, visit Chad’s website.
I know, Star Wars is the talk of the web this week (and for that matter, the past 3 months). So, hopefully, this will be a welcome break from the Star Wars hype. Axel F, performed by Harold Faltermeyer, was the theme for the 1984 movie Beverly Hill Cops starring Eddie Murphy. (more…)
Jeff Porcaro was arguably one of the top professional drummers of the 80s and 90s and best known for his drumming with the band Toto. His iconic shuffle on Rosanna is one of his signature grooves. Here’s the audio of the drum track. I have also included a recording of the original tune. Classic! If you are interested in learning the groove, check out the numerous videos on YouTube.
Rosanna – Drums Only
Original Recording
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.
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.
Skype Lessons with Dr. Gerhart