It has been a while since I posted a Percussion Education Reads. The past couple of months have been crazy and I hope to be more regular about my posts on PE.com. It is hard to believe that we are 61 days away Christmas, 15 days until PASIC, about 6 weeks left in the semester and only 3 more games until the Dodgers win the World Series. Time is flying and before we know it, it will be 2018. Here are some of the posts I have been reading in the past couple of weeks. Please share your favorites in the comments below. (more…)
Do you listen to 80s music? The 80s music channel is my favorite on Pandora. Growing up in the 80s and learning how to play drum set to Huey Lewis and News, I always wondered how to tune my snare drum the way I heard on recordings. This video explains how gated reverb became the iconic 80s snare drum sound.
For some audio examples of gated reverb, check out this Spotify playlist that Vox.com compiled.
The Concord Blue Devils won their 18th DCI World Championship on Saturday night in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils scored a 98.537 in their final performance. The Santa Clara Vanguard (97.600) won 2nd place and The Cadets (96.875) placed 3rd. The Blue Devils had an amazing year, winning every competition leading up to finals. The Santa Clara Vanguard placed first in percussion for their final performance.
For complete results and recap analysis, check out DCI.org. Congratulations to The Blue Devils.
Were you there or did you watch it live? What were your favorite moments of the season? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the 2017 DCI season.
I am writing this post today instead of my typical Percussion Education Reads. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post called “You must read these 5 Books this summer.” Over the past couple of years, I have found that I have been reading less and watching more shows on Netflix and Amazon video. I want to read more, so I have put together my wish list of what I am going to read in the coming months.
The collection below is non-fiction, business and fiction books. I hope you have the opportunity to pick up some of these and read them. For a complete list of the books I am reading/have read, check out my GoodReads profile. I would love to hear about what you are reading. Leave a comment below and leave a link to the books you are reading. (more…)
Last week, I posted about Gary Burton’s final concert. Today, I ran across this great live performance video featuring Gary Burton (vibes) and Pat Metheny (guitar) performing Falling Grace.
June 21 is Make Music Day (#makemusicday). According to their website, “Make Music is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st. Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, it is now held on the same day in more than 750 cities in 120 countries.” Today at Yamaha, the employees played on the front lawn. I am proud to be part of the Yamaha team. Below are some articles I have been catching up on. Let us know what you have been reading. (more…)
Happy Sunday. It’s June and we are halfway through 2017. Wow! I am attending the International Katarzyna Myćka Marimba Academy in Arcata, CA. The faculty includes Jean Geoffroy, Katarzyna Myćka, Juan David Forero, and Andreas Boettger. The week is full of lessons, masterclasses and concerts. Last night’s faculty concert was an unforgettable experience. Jean Geoffroy’s performance of J.S. Bach’s Chaconne was magical and I am glad I was in the audience to experience that performance. What summer programs are you attending? Leave a comment below and let me know. Here are some articles to check out. Enjoy and let me know what you are reading. (more…)
There are many people who play Bach on marimba, but no one does it better than Jean Geoffroy. He is a member of the Percussions de Strasbough and professor of percussion at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon. He has multiple recordings of Bach, including:
