Marimba:
George Hamilton Green’s Instruction Course for
        Xylophone: A Complete Collection of Fifty Lessons,
        ed. Randy Eyles & Garwood Whaley

Percussion Keyboard Technic by Thomas McMillan

Wohlfahrt Foundation Studies for the Violin, Books I
and II, ed. K.H. Aiqouni
Modern School for Xylophone, Marimba, and
Vibraphone by Morris Goldenberg
Method of Movement for Marimba by L. H. Stevens

Timpani:
Etuden für Timpani Vol. I, II, and III by R. Hochrainer

Fred D. Hinger Timpani Player’s Orch. Rep: Vol. 1- VI

The Hinger series of timpani repertoire is presented in progressive difficulty in the order of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Strauss, and Stravinsky. There is so much repertoire to learn that following these books as if they were etude books is effective and time efficient. The Hochrainer books are good supplemental studies because the etudes reflect the kind of part writing common to the symphonic masters.

Drumset:
Progressive Independence: A Comprehensive Guide to
Basic Jazz Drumming Technique by Ron Spagnardi

The Big Band Drummer: A Complete Workbook for
Improving Big Band performance by Ron Spagnardi
Brushworks: The New Language for Playing Brushes by
Clayton Cameron

Progressive Independence: Rock by Ron Spagnardi

The Art of Bop Drumming by John Riley

Rudimental Jazz: A Modern Application of the Rudiments
to the Drum Outfit by Joe Morello (continuation of
his Master Studies)

World Music Rhythms as applied to Drumset:

Drummers Collective Afro-Caribbian and Brazilian
Rhythms for the Drumset, ed. by John Castellano

Vodou Drumset: Drumset Applications of Traditional Afro-Haitian Rhythms by J. Armstrong and T Knepper

Vibraphone/Jazz Studies:

The Real Book

Jazz Improvisation: A Comprehensive Method for All
Musicians by David Baker

Jazz Treble Clef Expressions and Explorations by
David. Baker

50 Essential Bebop Heads, ed. by Hal Leonard Corp.

Charlie Parker Omnibook, Pub. by Michael H. Goldsen

Jazz Theory and Practice by R. Lawn and Jeffrey Hellmer

Orchestral Repertoire: Repertoire is introduced throughout the year on various instruments. Attention to band repertoire currently being performed at the University during the applied lesson time is encouraged.

Recommendations for Jury/Recital Music for Freshmen-Junior

Marimba/Keyboard, two-mallet:

Concerto for Violin and Orch. in A minor by J. S. Bach

Tambourin Chinois by Fritz Kreisler

Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms

Rhapsodic Fantasie by Franz Liszt

Furioso and Valse in D Minor by Earl Hatch

Masterpieces for Marimba arr. by Thomas McMillan

Concertino for Marimba by Paul Creston

Concertino for Xylophone by Toshiro Mayuzumi

Concerto for Orchestra by Robert Kurka

A Ragtime solo by George Hamilton Green, Harry Breuer, or
Red Norvo

Marimba/Keyboard, four-mallet:

Album for the Young, Opus 68 by Robert Schumann

The Album for the Young by Peter Illyich Tschaikowsky

“Sweet Dreams” and “The Doll’s Burial” are especially
recommended for the beginner.

Yellow After the Rain for Marimba by Mitchell Peters

Snare Drum:

Three Dances for Solo Snare Drum by Warren Benson

Six Concert Solos by George Frock

Two Side Drum Solos by Paul Sarcic

Multiple Percussion:

French Suite for Percussion Solo by William Kraft
Partita for Solo Unaccompanied Percussion by W. L. Cahn

Timpani:

Three Designs for Three Timpani by Robert Muczynski

Three Movements for Timpani by Ian Corbett

Statement for Timpani by Garwood Whaley

Vibraphone: I recommend using the Gary Burton four-mallet grip for vibraphone and jazz playing and the Leigh Howard Stevens four-mallet grip for the classical marimba repertoire. It is important that the students are familiar with both grips because each student is different and one of these grips may feel more comfortable to them in the future. By learning both, they have the flexibility to use what they need, when they need it. I personally use a hybrid of both grips for added strength without losing any of the flexibility and speed of the Stevens grip.

Contemporary Solos for Vibraphone and Marimba by
Gitta Steiner

8 Miniatures for Vibraphone by Gitta Steiner

Children’s Songs: 20 Pieces for Keyboard (pno) by
Chick Corea

Fundamental skills are emphasized during the first two years. For the remaining two years, they will continue to progress in the etude books per their individual needs. Most students have a natural ability in a particular area of percussion. I feel that it is most important to address each student’s weaknesses during their early undergraduate years in order to round out their development as much as possible. Percussion is a very diverse and exciting field. The students need to be as flexible as possible as performers in order to take full advantage of the job oriented playing opportunities available to them.

UNDERGRADUATE EXIT RECITAL MUSIC

Keyboard:
A vioin or cello sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach
My Lady White by David Maslanka

Variations on a Lost Love by David Maslanka

Eight Miniatures for Vibraphone by Gitta Steiner

Night Music by Gitta Steiner

Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by Robert Kurka

Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by Ney Rosauro

Concertino for Marimba by Paul Creston

Timpani:
Sonata for Timpani by John Beck

Variations for Solo Kettledrums by Jan Williams

Images by William Kraft

Four Verses by Murray Houliff

Eight Pieces for Four Timpani by Elliott Carter

SD/Mult.:
Percussion Fantasy by Gitta Steiner

Inspirations Diabolique by Ricky Tagawa

6 Unaccompanied Solos for Snare Drum by M. Colgrass

Spider Walk by Marta Ptaszynska

Any of the Encounters pieces by William Kraft

Douze Etudes pour Caisse-Claire by Jacques Delecluse

Stamina, The Winner, and Tornado by M. Markovich (rud)

Norman by John S. Pratt (rudimental)

Percussion ensemble pieces such as ragtimes, string quartets, small jazz combinations, and multiple percussion pieces are strongly encouraged.

SUMMER ORCHESTRAL REPERTOIRE CLASS

A summer orchestra repertoire class (usually informal) is encouraged. To fully prepare orchestra repertoire, the student must do extensive score study, practice the part, and play in front of their peers. The hardest repertoire can require years to learn adequately. Students are encouraged to come to the class regardless of their current ability level and learn as much of the repertoire as possible for them. A cross-studio blend of older and younger students is preferred because the younger students will be inspired by the performances of the older students. The older students, in turn, will feel a responsibility to play well for the younger students. The informal nature of the class encourages interaction among the students, bringing them closer together as a studio. Toward the end of the summer, the repertoire for the University’s Orchestra or Band auditions will be stressed and mock auditions behind a screen may be held to prepare the students for the audition. The summer is usually the most preferred time for this type of endeavor because most Universities hold performance group auditions in the fall.

ORCHESTRAL PERCUSSION EXCERPTS

*emphasized in the summer repertoire class and most frequently asked for on auditions

List has been compiled from a variety of sources including recommendations by Robert Hohner, The Detroit Symphony Orch. Audition List, New World Symphony Audition List, and various Military and Air Force Band audition requirements.

SNARE DRUM

*Prokofiev: Lt. Kije, Symphony No. 5, Peter and the Wolf

*Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade, Cappriccio Espagnol

*Ravel: Bolero

*Shostakovich: Symphony Nos. 5, 7, and 10 (Scherzo from
No. 10)

*Rossini: La Gazza Ladra Overture
*Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra

*William Schumann: Symphony No. 3
*Delecluse Douze Etudes #9 and #12

Neilsen: Clarinet Concerto and Symphony No. 5

Debussy: Nocturnes

Berg: Wozzeck

Britten: Peter Grimes

XYLOPHONE
*Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Overture, An American in Paris

*Kabalevsky: Kolas Breugnon Overture

*Copland: Appalachian Spring

*Stravinsky: Firebird, Les Noces, Petrushka

*Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite

William Schuman: Symphony No. 3

Strauss: Salome

*Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste

Shostakovich: *Polka from the Golden Age Ballet,
Symphony No. 7

Messiaen: Exotic Birds

Saint-Saens: Dans Macabre, *Carnival of the Animals
Berg: Wozzeck

Britten: Billy Budd and Death in Venice

GLOCKENSPIEL
*Mozart: Magic Flute

*Dukas: Sorcerers Apprentice

*Debussy: La Mer
*Respighi: The Pines of Rome

Delibes: Lakme Bell song

Stravinsky: *Petrushka, Firebird

Kodaly: Hary Janos

*Wagner: Siegfried-Waldweben

Messiaen: Exotic Birds

Strauss: Don Juan

Saint-Saens: Samson and Dalila

MARIMBA

J.S. Bach: Fugues from Sonata 1, 2, and 3 for solo violin

J.S. Bach: Partita in A Minor for Solo Flute-Courante

TAMBOURINE
*Borodin: Prince Igor from Polovetsian Dances

*Dvorak: Carnival Overture

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade

*Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Ballet- Trepak

Britten: Peter Grimes

Stravinsky: Petrushka

*Bizet: Carmen Suite-Act IV

TRIANGLE

*Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture

Bizet: Carmen Suite

*Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in Eb

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade, Cappriccio Espagnol

*Brahms: Symphony No. 4

BASS DRUM

*Stravinsky: Rite of Spring, Petrushka

*Mahler: Symphony Nos 1 and 3

*Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and 1812 overture

*Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2

CYMBALS

*Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Romeo and Juliet

*Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2

*Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain

Mascagni: Cavaleria Rusticana

CASTANETS

Wagner: Tannenhauser Bacchanale Scene I

Prokofiev: Piano concerto No. 3

BASS DRUM WITH CYMBAL ATTACHED

Stravinsky: Petrushka

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Ballet

VIBRAPHONE

*Schuller: Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee

*Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Berg: Lulu

Britten: Death in Venice

CHIMES

*Messiaen: Et Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum

Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique

Puccini: Tosca

TIMPANI

Beethoven: Symphonies 1,5,7,8, 9

Brahms: Symphonies 1 and 4

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra

Elgar: Enigma Variations

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis

Mahler: Symphonies 7, 2, and 5 (start with 7)

Martin: Concert for Seven Winds

Mozart: Symphony 39

Strauss, R.: Death and Transfiguration

Stravinsky: Rite of Spring, Firebird

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4,5,6, and Romeo and Juliet

Wagner: Siegfried Funeral March

Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique

Prokofiev: Classical Symphony

Schumann: New England Triptych

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1

Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

GRADUATE LEVEL PERCUSSION PERFORMANCE

In the graduate level percussion performance classes, the student’s strengths begin to be emphasized. Skills on all of the percussion instruments are still worked on, but at this point, the student should begin to develop their personal style. If a graduate student has the kind of comprehensive training that the undergraduate is given under this kind of program, then as a performer they should see percussion as a single instrument. The technique required for snare drum transfers to all of the other instruments and all of the instruments are interconnected. With this holistic view of percussion, the performer is flexible enough to meet the demands of any performing ensemble. However, sometimes a student shows a particular aptitude in one performing area and, because they enjoy it, their most creative work can be developed with that instrument. The pedagogical materials explained in the undergraduate curriculum are continued according to the student’s needs as musicianship maintenance. Solo repertoire, orchestral repertoire, and/or drumset and jazz skills, however, are to be heavily stressed.

Suggested Graduate Solo Recital Repertoire:

Keyboard:
Night Music for Marimba by Gittal Steiner
Sonata for Solo Vibraphone by Gitta Steiner

Reflections on the Nature of Water by Jacob Druckman

Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone by Darius Milhaud

Dances of Earth and Fire by Peter Klatzow

After Syrinx II by Richard Rodney Bennett

Fantasy/Japanese Woodprints by Alan Hovhaness

Night Rhapsody for Marimba by John Serry

Velocities by Joseph Schwantner

See Ya Thursday by Steven Mackey

Marimba Spiritual by Minoru Miki

Mirage for Marimba by Yasuo Sueyoshi

Multiple Perc:
Psappha by Iannis Xenakis

Duettino Concertante by Ingolf Dahl (with flute)

Concerto for Percussion by Darius Milhaud
Idyll for the Misbegotten by George Crumb (with flute)

Multiple Percussion Ensemble:

Ku-Ka-Ilimoku by Christopher Rouse

Ogoun Badagris by Christopher Rouse

Bonham by Christopher Rouse

The Second, Third, and Fourth Constructions by J. Cage

Lift-Off by Russell Peck

GRADUATE SOLO REPERTOIRE CLASS

It is recommended that at least one semester of a graduate pedagogy class be required for both the Masters and Doctor level students.

The student must perform 5-10 minutes of music in class every two weeks. Musical selections must be approved by the teacher two weeks in advance and can be a single movement from a larger work. Memorization is not necessary because of the time constraint.

Music selections must include one work in each of the following areas: two-mallet marimba, four-mallet marimba, timpani, and multiple percussion.

For the final exam, the student must perform a complete work. The work must be at least ten minutes in length. The piece for the final exam must be approved by the teacher at least one month before the final.

The class will be held in a two-hour session once a week as an interactive masterclass. A performance class of this kind introduces the graduate student to the concept of learning high quality level music in a short amount of time. The performances are expected to be of professional quality. This class will address musicianship skills while giving the students frequent solo performance experience in front of their peers. Interactive discussion about each student’s performance is encouraged among the students of the class. Recommended class size is six to eight students.

Philosophy of Percussion Teaching

It has been my experience as a performer that all of the various musical genres are somewhat tied together. A development in all types of music provides a stronger base for growth. Learning string music on marimba will increase a student’s understanding of lyrical expression while performing jazz provides the student with strong rhythmic skills. While orchestral repertoire is considered the “bread and butter” music of the instrument, learning percussion solo and ensemble works teaches the student how to deal with the instrument in many different situations. I find that when percussion ensemble is used as the laboratory for learning about percussion as a serious performance instrument, the student learns the ability to adapt to any symphony orchestra’s demands. Percussion ensemble teaches the students how to deal with percussion on a large scale so that when an orchestral piece such as West Side Story is performed, the percussionists approach the set up as one instrument. With most percussion instruments, sound stops or decays immediately upon contact. The challenge is always to fill out the sound for warmth and depth. For this reason, we use string instruments as our inspiration. For example, string players use their bow arm in many different ways to achieve various sounds. A percussionist can also use the weight of the arm, forearm, wrist and fingers in various ways to change the kind of sound they produce. By thinking out of the instrument and feeling the weight of the mallet as it “falls through” the instrument, we can achieve a full-bodied sound without any “smack” of the mallet.
A marimbist’s technique is similar to that of a string player in several ways. To keep the body balanced and relaxed, the feet should be shoulder width apart with the weight balanced on both feet. The mallets are an extension of the arm. The movement across the marimba is in a smooth horizontal motion simulating the fluidity of a string player’s bow arm. String performance class coach from The University of Texas at Austin, Professor Roger Myers, talked with his viola students about using their fingers in a dropping motion to add speed to the bow stroke while relieving tension in the upper arm and shoulder. This idea of naturally dropping into the stroke applies directly to percussion as a whole. On marimba, most of the drop/release action comes from the wrist. However, after taking into account the huge difference in sound it creates on a viola to have more flexibility in the fingers, I have at times experimented with adding a release in my fingers in addition to the release in my wrist--so that wrist and fingers move in one fluid motion. For example, in addition to added speed and flexibility on the marimba, I have been able to create cymbal crashes with more control and warmth by adding a release in the fingers which produces a “sizzle” if done very slowly.
Releasing the fingers entirely with the drop of the wrist is not always appropriate with percussion instruments and one should never initiate a stroke from the fingers. In other words, the stroke itself is always created from the wrist and the finger release is simply a continuation of the initial wrist motion. The stroke must also be allowed to finish by relaxing the hand to allow it to follow the momentum back to the starting position. If a player stops the stick or mallet close to the playing surface using fingers, the vibration of the hit surface is absorbed by the arm, thus causing inflammation and injury. By allowing the hand to follow the momentum of the stick upward, the vibration of the instrument is released from the hand, protecting both the player’s hands and the instrument by allowing the energy to be released naturally. Think of a golf swing. The most important element to a golf swing is to follow through the swing, releasing the energy of the swing. If a golfer hits a clump of dirt and is unable to follow through, driving the golf head into the earth, they may seriously injure hands, arms, shoulders, and neck because their body absorbs the kinetic energy of the swing instead of naturally releasing the energy during the “follow through.”
The marimba as a classical instrument in the United States did not exist before the 1900s. As a result, marimbist must borrow from other instruments to perform baroque, classical, and romantic period styles of music. The music most transcribed for marimba is violin, cello, or guitar because the idiomatic styles of melody and filling out harmony with arpeggiation are also particularly suited to the marimba. In my study with Robert Hohner and later in the string performance classes at UT with Roger Myers, several considerations about how to choose string music to play have arisen.
The best possible range for dynamic contrasts and flexibility with sound is G3-C6 (G below middle C to two octaves above middle C). IN the lower range of the instrument the bars resonate longer, but the volume drops out. Hitting the lowest bars of a marimba with a hard mallet only results in a “whack” sound with a complete loss of fundamental pitch. In the highest octave of the marimba, a clear, biting sound is possible with very hard mallets. The mallets that are required to get the highest octave on the marimba to speak, however, are too hard for the middle range of the instrument. When choosing slow, lyrical music for the marimba, the melody should not go higher than C5 because it is much easier to create smooth, legato rolls without “beat” from the mallets in the lower range of the instrument. The choosing faster music, particularly in the Baroque styles of arpeggiation and Alberti figures, it is best to find violin music that will not go much lower than middle C. In faster tempos, melodic patterns can become blurred in the lower range of the instrument because the bars resonate longer after being struck. In many violin sonatas and most guitar music, a lower pitch bass fundamental is sounded, usually as a whole of half note, under the faster arpeggiations. This does an especially excellent job of filling out the sound and is most frequently found the fugues of J.S. Bach. If using harder mallets for clarity in the upper range it is very important to “cushion” the low bass pitch with full use of wrist and weight of the upper arm and hand.
Because the most difficult xylophone/marimba orchestral repertoire is in tutti with the string section, the Wohlfahrt Foundation Studies for the violin, ed., K.H. Alguoni is a recommended part of a percussion student’s development. Orchestra repertoire such as “Porgy and Bess” by Gershwin, “Petrushka” by Stravinsky, “Colas Breugnon” by Kabelevsky, and “Rocky Point Holiday”(for wind ensemble) by Nelson must be approached from a string player’s point of view in order for the xylophone player to blend with the string section. This illustrates the importance of a marimbist learning the music of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, and Corelli.
However, not every work written for the violin transfers easily to the marimba. The limitation of the instrument mentioned above must be taken into account when choosing solo repertoire. One piece that transfers well to marimba is Concerto in A Minor by J.S. Bach. The difficulty in a piece of this nature for marimba is accuracy even though the leaps and broken chordal figures all fall within diatonic patterns that are easily navigated with careful attention to stickings. An important element to playing this music is recognizing when it is most comfortable to lead with the left hand as well as being able to change which hand is leading smoothly so that there is no break in a phrase. This concept is best illustrated in the third movement which contains a rapid arpeggio pattern that is most easily played on a right hand lead and standing sideways to the instrument.
The section at letter “T” is clearly easier to play on a right handed lead while the section at “V” fits better on a left-handed lead even though the two section s are exactly the same rhythmic pattern. The most important consideration here is the actual physical shape the pattern creates on the marimba and how the player has to adjust his/her body to accommodate that shape while staying as balanced and relaxed as possible. One performance issue that arises with this particular pattern is the emphasis of the “core” rhythm. For example, Isaac Stern very clearly emphasizes the quarter-eighth “swing” rhythm with the inner notes much softer. Most marimbists, however, tend to play the inner notes much louder and can have trouble sometimes making the eighth note loud enough to be heard as an integral part of the rhythm. This results in a heavy-handed emphasis on the beats instead of the lighter triplet “swing” style. A marimbist can correct this problem with a lot of repetition with the “outside” hand only until the swing triplet comes out easily. The distance the mallet must jump is accomplished by rotating the wrist in addition to the movement of the forearm up and down the instrument.
Of the Baroque era, the Fantasies by Georg Philip Telemann and the violin sonatas of J.S. Bach are recommended. The fugues by J.S. Bach are particularly well suited to the marimba. Many of the Bach violin sonatas are asked for on Orchestra auditions and the Fugue in G Minor is considered a standard part of a marimbist’s repertoire. I also recommend Partita II in d minor and the “Preludio” from Partita III in E major by Bach.
From the classical Era, in general the sonatas for violin by Wolf gang Amadeus Mozart tend to be easier for the marimba idiomatically, yet are very difficult musically. Sonata No. 3 in D major for violin, K306 is a good example of a sonata by Mozart that can work well for marimba is careful attention to detail is employed. Another classical era violin sonata that works well for marimba is Sonata No. 3 in Eb, Op. 12 by Ludwig van Beethoven. This sonata is more difficult but well worth the effort for the of the sound blendings that occur due to the marimba’s tendency to resonate after a note is struck. Mm37-43 in the first movement sound particularly beautiful when the arpeggios are played fast enough to hear the composite chord.

Michelle (Mickey) Martin

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