An Evening of Tibetan Singing Bowls II

Last year, the chair of the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, Carolyn Bremer, began collecting a lot of Tibetan Singing Bowls. I am not sure the exact number of bowls that she owns, but it is probably around +/- 50. During the Spring 2011 semester, Carolyn decided she wanted to record the bowls and I asked if I could come to the session and bring a bunch of my mallets. An hour or so later, we had recorded many different sized bowls with many different mallets. (I will have to see if I can get some of the samples to post here). After the recording session, we talked about...

Bossa de los Changitos

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on a new steel drum piece called Bossa de los Changitos. The piece will be premiered while during my residency at the University of Texas at Austin on February 21, 2012. Here’s a midi realization: I hope you enjoy the recording. In the next couple of weeks, I will be refining the piece and adding percussion. Share this:Twitter

IronWorks CD Review in Percussive Notes

The Percussive Arts Society is the largest professional organization for percussionists. They society publishes 6 journals yearly and supports percussion education throughout the world. In the January 2012 issue of Percussive Notes, Darin Olson gave a great review on the new IronWorks Percussion Duo CD – I. Thanks to PAS and Darin for including our CD in the recent publication. IronWorks Percussion Duo (Self-published CD) Formed in 2006, the IronWorks Percussion Duo aims to expand the repertoire written for their medium. Attempting to explore new possibilities for...

John Wooden Quote

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” – John Wooden Share this:Twitter

“Do I really need to learn Snare D...

Originally posted on DrumChattr.com on March 29, 2011. The short answer is YES!! The 40 Standard American Drum Rudiments are a set of short patterns that are essential in building technique. Rudiments on snare drum are like scales on marimba. Over the past couple of months, I have been thinking a lot about how to incorporate rudiments into the college curriculum. It is almost assumed that by the time a percussionist gets to college, they already know their rudiments, but I have been finding that most students don’t know their rudiments as well as they should. I think...

Open your Mouth

Originally posted on DrumChattr.com on January 31, 2011. “Music to me is like breathing—I don’t get tired of breathing, I don’t get tired of music.”- Ray Charles At the end of last semester, I had an “ah ha” moment during the final lessons with a couple of my students. You never know when you are going to have one of these moments and I want to share it with you and get your thoughts. Have you ever sat in an audience in a recital and started to feel uncomfortable about the performance on stage? Other than the occasional memory slip or stick drop, I think we...

How Do You FInd New Music?

Originally posted on DrumChattr.com on January 24, 2011. For most college students, it is the beginning of the Spring semester. (Only 4 months until summer!!!) It is also time for a lot of recitals. One question I get a lot during this time is “where do I find a solo/chamber piece for my recital?” I have a lot of suggestions that I give my students, but I would like to also find out where the DrumChattr community finds new music or repertoire. Check out my resources below and then add a comment in the Chattr Section and let me know if I missed anything. 1) Colleagues...

NAMM Report #4: Sticks, Mallets and Head...

Originally posted on DrumChattr.com on January 17, 2011. It is sunny and warm in Southern California and today is the last day of the NAMM show. It has been a great show full of new products. In this final post, I will talk about some products from Vic Firth, Remo and Innovative Percussion. I realize that I have only begun to scratch the surface of all of the releases at NAMM. If you have anything to add, please leave your reviews in the Chattr Section. REMO The big news from Remo was the introduction of the Powerstroke Pro Bass Drumhead. With all of the noise on the...

NAMM Report #3: Electronic Percussion

Originally posted on DrumChattr.com on January 16, 2011. One of the most interesting electronic percussion products that was announced at NAMM 2011 was the inHEAD acoustic/electronic hybrid drumhead by Miditronix and Aquarian Drumheads. The drum head allows the drummer “the ability to have the best of both worlds- great sounding acoustic drums and the power and the control that comes with triggering electronic drum sound modules.” Miditronix.com says, “You play your drums your way; no sacrificing your technique or adjusting your playing style to...

NAMM Report #2: What is your Cymbal?

Originally posted on DrumChattr.com on January 15, 2011. There were a lot of cymbals released at NAMM, including cymbals from Paiste, Zildjian, and Sabian. In yesterday’s post, I talked about the new Gen16 cymbals by Zildjian. I really think these cymbals were one of the top announcements at NAMM and I look forward to hearing your thoughts once people start using them. Today, I want to introduce the new lines by Paiste and Sabian. SABIAN Let’s start off with Sabian. They added three new cymbals to their inventory: 1) AAX OMNI This cymbal was developed with the...