Tuned Percussion

ryanlikealion

Senior Member
Any tuned percussion enthusiasts out there? I've just borrowed a 3 1/2 octave xylophone which i have use of for six months. Going to utilize it in some of the improvisation workshops that i run.

Its the vibraphone i really fancy playing but they are very expensive.

Anyone got any examples of their work or any pointers as to where to go for inspiration?
 
Yes. I have my degree in classical percussion, actually, so I have quite a bit of experience/knowledge about mallet instruments. Feel free to PM me, if you want. What are you inspired by? Jazz? Percussion ensembles? Classical?

There's a TON of music out there. If you dig jazz, pick up The Real Book and get shedding. You can check out scores and percussion parts from the library if classical is your thing. If you want to play some percussion ensemble pieces, or even solo mallet literature, you usually have to buy them, but if you have an "in" with the head of the percussion department at a college, you can probably borrow some.

Or, you can just practice your scales and arpeggios 'til you're blue in the wrists and go to town playing by ear.

For mallet inspiration, I like listening to some of the great mallet players of jazz like Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton, etc., but inspiration should come from players of ALL instruments.
 
As I type type this I'm listening to Bach chorales being played by my 16 year old on the marimba. He is interested in xylophone rags, marimba solo material and has shown an interest in vibraphone recently. He is inspired by Becker, Stout, Burritt, Wu, and a pile of orchestral players like Deviney, Cahn, Liuzzi, Druckman, Lamb, oh god the list is long.

He is working on Bach, Sammutt, Green at the moment but has done lots of other stuff as well.
 
I`d love to extend my drumming knowledge to some sort of tuned percussion (i`d choose xylophone), but i`m not sure where to start, and what can i do with it. It`s exactly like my fantasy of learning brushes in circumstances of me being a metal drummer, there`s no use even if i have the skills....
 
As I type type this I'm listening to Bach chorales being played by my 16 year old on the marimba. He is interested in xylophone rags, marimba solo material and has shown an interest in vibraphone recently. He is inspired by Becker, Stout, Burritt, Wu, and a pile of orchestral players like Deviney, Cahn, Liuzzi, Druckman, Lamb, oh god the list is long.

He is working on Bach, Sammutt, Green at the moment but has done lots of other stuff as well.

Nice! I LOVE to hear about teens getting into the classics...they have so much potential to go far with it!

I started in my early 20s, and played Bach's 3rd Cello Suite for my senior recital. I dug Bach so much that I went back and learned 2 more. Such great stuff! And, the Green xylo solos are so much fun, too. I wouldn't recommend them to somebody starting from scratch, but they will definitely up your musicianship by leaps and bounds when you're an intermediate player...
 
Good replies.

I don't have a particular route i want to take with the Xylophone - i enjoy classical music and jazz. I play in drums in a 'free improvisation' band with a saxophone player and a bass player and sometimes want to escape the limitations of the drum kit. I also like the potential of percussion instruments for creating mood/sound effects/ sound scapes.

I'm considering getting the ABRSM grade books for Xylophone and working through it so that i learn about reading the musical stave.

I'll be sure to check out some of the examples on this page.

Hammered Dulcimer sounds great would love to have a go one one of them!
 
Hammered Dulcimer sounds great would love to have a go one one of them!

It's a wonderful sounding instrument. It's a lot like a piano because the mallets in the piano are hitting the strings, and oddly enough, a piano is considered a percussion instrument too.
 
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