Sorry for the super late upload! I've been sick the last couple of days but I managed to pull this one together slowly - hope it helps you out with your rep choices over the next few months :) Thanks for watching! #TheStudioFamily
Here we go! 10. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 9. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 8. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 7. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 6. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 5. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 4. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 3. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 2. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain 1. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain Obviously.
My personal favorites (in no order in particular) 1 White Knuckle Stroll 2 Land 3 Furioso Tango 4 Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum 5 Arabesque 1 6 Odessa 7 Velocities 8 Rotation 2 9 Libertango 10 Genesis
I'll bite! 10. "Opening" by Philip Glass 9. Bach 3rd Cello Suite 8. "Caritas" by Michael Burritt 7. "Memento" by Ivan Trevino 6. "Merlin" by Andrew Thomas 5. "Scirocco" by Michael Burritt 4. "Reflections on the Nature of Water" by Jacob Druckman 3. "From my Little Island" by Robert Aldridge 2. "Variations on Lost Love" by David Maslanka 1. "Three Moves" by Paul Lansky
Sorry I’m late to the party here’s my top 10 10. Concerto no. 2 Cangelosi 9. Time for Marimba Miki 8. Dance of the Knights Sammut 7. 4 Movements Burritt 6. 2 Movements Tanaka 5. Velocities Schwanter 4. Reflections on the Nature of Water 3. Merlin Thomas 2. Northern Lights Ewazen 1. White Pines. Burritt
Hey Adam, I'm glad you included the Sejourne Concerto, it is one of my favorite works. I played the slow movement for my recital. Fun fact: I had a lesson with a guy that was on Mr Sejournes email list and he informed me that Sejourne added a new "first" movement Avec Force. It is different than the other two but still fits nicely. I'm working on it for my senior recital. There is an album with the whole concerto and a few others on iTunes called Lauda Concerto if you are interested. But currently there is only one live recording of the new movement. Hope you enjoy it!
I love the Sejourne Concerto and it's so awesome all you guys have played it! I will have to check out this new movement, thanks for letting me know :)
No order... Memories of the Seashore - Abe Mexican Dances - Stout Words Unspoken - Harnsberger Two Fountains - Bobo Variations on Japanese Children's Songs - Abe Prism - Abe Nagoya Marimbas - Reich (not a solo, still putting it on here)
Some of my my favourites include "A Cricket Sang and Set the Sun" by Blake Tyson, "Butterfly" by Nils Rohwer and "Tambourin Paraphrase" + "Prism" by Keiko Abe!
"Over the Rainbow" is on my list of pieces to learn as soon as I finish what I'm working on right now. I've been slowly piecing together "Strive to be Happy" by Ivan Trevino over the past few months. (the hard part about working at a high school. Not as much practice time as I used to have. Almost makes me miss college) You've given me a new piece to obsess over, with "Odessa". It's so intense! I.must.play.it. Love you videos!
+Thomas Woolfolk Awesome that you're still finding time to practice and setting clear goals amongst all your work! And yeah Odessa is sooo addictive, I wish I played it in uni... thanks for watching! 😄
I don't really understand Merlin enough to put it on my list, but here you go 10. Over the Rainbow - Oetomo 9. See Ya Thursday - Mackey 8. One Study One Summary - Psathas 7. Marimba Variations - Wuorinen 6. Prism - Abe 5. Northern Lights - Ewazen 4. Variations on Lost Love - Maslanka 3. Hard-Boiled Capitalism and the Day Mr. Friedman Noticed Google is a Verb - Wahlund (not marimba but w/e) 2. Reflections on the Nature of Water - Druckman 1. Velocities - Schwanter
1. Moon Chaser by Mark Ford 2. Ghost Garden by Adam Hopper 3. Emily’s Dream by Mark Ford 4. Libertango by Eric Summet 5. Caleidoscópio by Gene Koshinski 6. Sweet Dreams by Mark Ford
This video was came out at the perfect time! I'm starting to pick out pieces for my first undergraduate recital and some of these will be perfect. Thank you!
Thank you for using my video as a reference for Wind :) I suggest you listen Rose of Sharon (song of Almah') by Andrew Beall. Not a marimba solo but, for me, one of the best duet with cello! ;)
Lorenzo Capasso Ah yes I have heard that one, one of the few and best duets for cello indeed! by the way your video was beautiful, thank you for sharing 😀
Thanks for rendering a contemporary list of marimba favorites. It's amazing how the past 40 years has produced individuals who understand the instrument and how to showcase the instruments' attributes. With that being said, lest we never forget the heritage of the marimba and the literature that promulgated the cornerstone of both composition and performance standards by which we live today. Let us always remember names like; the Creston, the Kurka, The Bagatelles written in World War 2 (Vida Chenoweth), the Basta, and the complete Musser cycle etc. Believe it or not, these were the pieces of yesteryear that aided in the acceptance of the instrument amidst the uneducated populous. In addition, it's most important to never constrain our movement by only performing works that will aid in acceptance in the inner circles of the craft, but rather perform and create selections that will minister to the general populous. If we forget this concept, than what we do will all be in vein.
I attend university in Oregon and am very lucky to work with Pius and Eriko- They're so talented and passionate that it's inspiring. Later in my university career I'm going to tackle some of his pieces for sure. Some of my favorites on on this list ♥
Whoaa I'm a prep student at New England Conservatory! There are photos of that concerto literally all over our campus :) That piece is such an inspiration for all our percussionists
Over the Rainbow arranged by Robert is the piece that inspired me to pursue being a professional percussionist. I've got a long way to go from being there, but that piece and how he flows across the marimba like water still inspires me to this day.
Hey Adam! Hope things are going well! In no particular order, here are a few pieces to check out if you haven't already (I tried to avoid the REALLY well known stuff like Khan Variations, From My Little Island, and Velocities and such). "In the Fire of Conflict" or "Fertility Rites" - Christos Hatzis (two great pieces for marimba and tape) "One Study One Summary" - John Psathas (I actually am performing this on a recital in a couple days. It is a beast of a piece to learn but is super fun to play) "The Trees Where I Was Born" - Jacob Bancks (I just recently found this one and it has be growing on me...its free on IMSLP too!) "Long Distance" - Steven Snowden (Solo piece for vibes, marimba, and tape, with two movements on vibes and two on marimba) "Five Scenes from the Snow Country" - Hans Werner Henze (A piece that absolutely does not get the credit it deserves) "Snow is Dancing" - Debussy (transcribed piano piece that fits REALLY well on a marimba. I believe both Leigh Howard Stevens and Nancy Zeltsman have transcriptions if you want to see what they did with it). "Ragamuffin" - Michael Hedges (arranged guitar piece, Nancy Zeltsman has a killer version in the back of her technique book) I wouldn't call these necessarily part of my top 10, but they are pieces you might not have heard of and I really enjoy on marimba. So enjoy!
Colin! Thanks for watching man :) Great list as well, I've only heard of Ragamuffin and One Study One Summary (the fact you're playing it is AWESOME), but yeah I will check lots of these out!
I always smile when I see your notification :p Are there any other marimba / vibraphone channels simillar to this one? I know about those that you sometimes link in your description, but that's pretty much it.
Unfortunately I don't know of any other than Casey Cangelosi, Marimbalogy and of course the one and only Rob... I hope someone else joins me on this video making crusade ;)
Svit Starkl Liquidrum (Todd Meehan) has a pretty cool channel. Also, Casey Cangelosi does a podcast called @percussion with his wife Laurel Black, and friends Ben Charles and Megan Arns. They always have guests too. Its a great podcast and they cover all kinds of topics related to percussion.
I think it’s a really cool work that is not only a classic but also different to the typical moto perpetuo style straight solos... not exactly my first choice for a five octave virtuosic solo but definitely deserving of its place right now!
Awesome pieces and video! My favorite piece right now is Maslanka's "Variations on Lost Love" (great video on the Vic Firth channel) Although not technically difficult at all, a piece that I've loved for quite a while is Lymon's "Of Thoughts and Thinking" - perfect opportunity to just relax and feeeeel the marimba :)
I played Wind last year (my sophomore year at college), one of my favorite pieces. I'll be doing Land for my senior recital next year along with a marimba arrangement of Bach's Air on a G string by Rudi Bauer. After that, looking at doing a Sequoia, a marimba duet and Suite for Marimba by Fissinger!
This video is definitely what I needed!!! This season I'm playing Rain Dance by Alice Gomez as a piece I can perfect and make sound good; but I'm also working towards Rob's Over the Rainbow - although it will probably be next year by the time I perfect it!
I've become a pretty big fan of your videos since I am also a percussionist that is currently an undergrad in the US. I just wanted to ask what makes you favor marimba one over other brands such as malletech? I feel marimba one is way over priced and that malletech boards and mallets are just as good if not better for a fraction of the cost of marimba one.
Thanks for watching man! I don't necessarily favour it over other brands, I happen to prefer their marimba's design but I definitely appreciate brands like Adams and Malletech as well. You're right, a lot of Marimba One stuff is pretty expensive but yeah I think everyone's tastes are always going to be different 😀
I bought the rainbow score, and was mildy disappointed in the way it was written out. I expected more of a jazz chart. The partita is a great work to learn, although I'd recommend learning basic violin before studying it at a deep level. I recently took a class and realized how many things I had glanced over in my interpretation that I would have been able to do had I been aware of these nuances - an example being the bowing structure of said work. I'm definitely going to check out Spruce! I'm also checking out Bach's chromatic fantasy, and it seems very doable so far. Love your vids
I also thought that too! But I guess it serves as a good intro to people not familiar with jazz. I have a few violinist friends and you're right - their interpretations helped me a lot! Thanks for watching man :)
Hey Adam, great vid as always. Question: I know you've got your ballin' final recital video, but is there any chance of you recording some more marimba repertoire and posting it here? I think we'd all dig seeing ya play some of the standards :D
I'd love to upload more yes! I think once my thesis is finally submitted (just passed last week) and my Malaysia competition is done I'll be keen to get more recordings up :) Thanks for the suggestion!
Adam, do you have your transcription of the spruce? This is on the list of pieces I want to perform soon and I'd love to get my hands on a transcription!
Hope you are feeling better soon! I've played the first movement of the Sejourne concerto, it was actually quite a fun piece to learn. One of my personal favorites is "Everybody talk about Freedom" by Julie Spencer, Its a very fun blues/rock piece with a vocal rap. I performed it on my junior recital. I highly suggest taking a look at it if you want something really fun!
Thanks Kyle! I'd never heard of the Spencer work until you said it, it's such an awesome concept! You've definitely performed a lot of awesome pieces by the sounds of it :)
So I recently found your channel and I have to say your videos are super informative and I really enjoy them, but anyway so I'm a sophomore in high school and I've been really focusing on orchestral things. For example I'm in a youth symphony and we recently played the Rachmaninoff second symphony. However I've really wanted to get into four mallet solos and the most recent solo I've learned is strive to be happy by Ivan Trevino just for fun. I want to get into more serious pieces for competitions and auditions so do you have any advice or song recommendations?
Thanks for watching Ian! Strive to be Happy is a great one, Anthem is also really popular (also Trevino). I'd recommend October Night as a similar work :)
Have you heard Variations on Porgy and Bess by Eric Sammut? That is one of my favorites, and it's great you included Over the Rainbow. That's one of my favs to play
hey Adam, speaking of solos i'm playing un dia de noviembre and if you knew the solo i was wondering if you think that the nancy zeltsman encore GradB mallets you reviewed would be a good fit for it.
+Brandon Shipman I think I know the one and it definitely suits the character! Best part about the GRADB is that you can use it with or without force to get different sounds too 😀
I am playing a marimba virbraphone duet with a freind right now called Doves Delight. I highly suggest it. the best recording of it is by 4th floor, but we are playing it without the accompanyment.
Have you heard Bogdan Bacanu play the Sejourne? seriously something else, that guy is a BEAST.... and did you know that Sejourne has written another movement that will precede the current two?? gonna be soooo good! :)
For me personally they are fun to work on and perform, especially for those performances where crowds want something fun and pleasing to the ear. 2+1 is a great one for doing something different with a duet.
I think they're awesome! Ivan makes great contemporary marimba music that is approachable by both a general audience and a more 'musical' one and I think it's great that it attracts more people to the instrument! I highly recommend Anthem and 2+1 to a lot of my friends :)
Putting together my senior recital this year, not sure yet on my final rep list. Finished up my junior recital back in April, featuring Mark Ford’s Polaris, and Minoru Miki’s Marimba Spiritual!
Hmm... 10. The Marriage of the Lamb - Kevin Bobo 9. Etude in C# Minor - Pius Cheung 8. Odessa - Matthew Lorrick 7. Magma - Nebojsa Zivkovic 6. See Ya Thursday - Steven Mackey 5. Evergreen - Benjamin Finley 4. Variations of Lost Love - David Maslanka 3. Khan Variations - Alejandro Vinao 2. Etude in D Major - Pius Cheung 1. Merlin - Andrew Thomas Yeah, Merlin is definitely the best, easily the most fun I've personally had on the marimba.
Some personal favourites that I'm playing for my HSC this year is Summer Treehouse by Chad Floyd and Rob Oetomo's Concert No.1 Soar (just the first movement). Thanks for your quality content!!
I'm a freshman in front ensemble and I'm left handed, and it REALLY shows. My right handed lateral strokes are akin to a trash dumpster they just don't sometimes and I don't have very much stamina.
I LOVE ODESSA!!!! I'm thinking of picking up October Night to learn and then use as a warmup, because right now I just have a bunch of boring and repetitive warmups. I was told to start learning more solos and melodic warmups, so this is probably going to be one of them! I'm also looking at playing Pavane for a Dead Princess transposed for marimba (super duper easy but absolutely gorgeous) and On a Hike by Eric Peel (also really easy but a lot of fun to learn super quick).
Here's a challenge for you: what are the best two and four-mallet solos for beginners and intermediate players? Ensembles? We finally have a percussion ensemble class for my high school kids and I'd like to introduce them to marimba lit so they get excited about playing without being intimidated.
Oooh that's a tough one - Two Mexican Dances (Stout), Marimba Dances (Edwards), Michi (Abe), Prism (Abe), Yellow After The Rain/Rain Dance of course, transcribing Flight of the Bumblebee is good for intermediate players, heaps of examples out there for sure :)
My favorites at the moment would have to be "Strive to Be Happy" by Ivan Trevino, Bach's Cello Suite No. 1, "Suite Popular Brasiliera" by Ney Rosauro, "River Flows in You Variations", by Maikel van see Boomen, and "Ghost Garden" by Adam Hopper (I think). Definitely some beautiful pieces that I want to learn. Also, my friend is playing Sejourne's concerto for a concert, and she's a high school senior, so shout out to her (if you want). Also, have you ever heard the Dan Moore mallets from Innovative Percussion? They produce a nice clean sound for both marimba and vibes. Worth checking out. As always, keep up the great videos, and I hope your channel becomes one of the cornerstones of percussion on UA-cam! 👌
A lot of Trevino fans here ;) Awesome that you have such a talented friend also - I wish I could be that good in high school hahaha :) I have heard of those mallets yes! Thanks for watching!
I love your list! I'm still trying to figure out solos I want to play my University Audition, so this helped a lot! Right now Marimba Solo wise, top 5 would be 1. Cameleon by Sammut 2. Ilijas by Zivkovic 3. Etude in A Minor by Cangelosi 4. Libertango by Sammut 5. Opening by Glass I probably have more, but I can't think of any more 😂 I also want to play Velocities; my lesson teacher played it on a TED Talk, and it seemed sooooo COOOOL. Her name is Mai Tadakoro; she's a Goddess 😍
That's an awesome top 5! My friend Euphina played Cameleon at Chosen Vale and since then I have loved the sound of it :) And YES VELOCITIES! You have an awesome teacher who can play it so you should give it a go too ;)
Great list Adam. Took my recommendation, I see ;) I also hope you get to feeling better soon! I have a few pieces that I'm partial to. Two Gordon stout pieces Beads of Glass and Two Mexican Dances as well as Paul Smadbeck's Rhythm Song. Some Moto perpetuo works but all of them are very interpretation heavy. Two Mexican Dances is one of my favorites. Fun challenge to be both accurate and musical with the second movement. David Hall's recording and interpretation is probably my favorite out there. He takes great lines and follows the dance theme very well. One of my favorites to play. I was wondering where Velocities was going to end up on your list when I started playing the video. Certainly complex, but it isn't out of your reach. Speaking of range, I watched your Merlin performance too, very impressive tempo! College mate tackled that for his graduate recital, but he started practicing it not long after his undergrad recital was done. Cheers on the vlog!
Two Mexican Dances - I played that in my 2nd year! Great piece and yes David Hall's is a good recording. I hope I can learn Velocities soon! Thanks for watching :)
Hey Adam! I am playing Odessa for a competition this fall, and I am having a lot of trouble with getting a good sound out of the left hand triplets towards the beginning of the piece. Any advice/exercises to become better at this? Thanks!
When I commented on here I didn't expect a response from the creator of the piece! Will definitely try doing what you said. Thank you so much for the advice!
Have you heard "Zamba Para Escuchar tu Silencio" by Guillio Espel? It has an amazing melody and was taken from Guillio Espel's guitar version. Not the most difficult piece, but it sounds amazing. So much room for interpretiation... kind of like a Latin version of Land
Velocities is incredible (i wish i had the time and opportunity to learn it). Rhythm Song was my first love for marimba. My favorite and most gratifying piece was Process of Invention by Christopher Deane. Not the most difficult, but not the easiest either. Concentration and stamina at its finest.
Ah good ol merlin. I stopped playing marimba in 2k and at the time my big nasty repertoire pieces were Dances of Earth and Fire - Klatzow and Reflections on the Nature of Water - Druckman. Good times
Hey I'm playing Ilijas by Nebojsa Zivkovic and I'm 16 years old, I'm I on a good level ? The next year I'm hoping to enter at University! By the way can you do more videos like top 10 or 5 ? Just love your channel!
Maikel Van Den Boomen's transcription of "river flows in you" is one of my favorites. really pretty. and of a bunch of Casey Cangelosi solos. I'm a Casey fan😛
I'm working on the 'new first movement' of the sejourne to enter a concerto competition, Avec force. I can't say I've worked on the other two movements, but I would say the new first movement seems considerably easier than the other two. It's really cool though
what do you think of Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints by Alan Hovhaness? I will be performing it on xylophone with my youth orchestra for our winter concert :)
just some pieces people I think people. should check out in no order: Levitan- marimba suite second movement (opening day on Nancy Zelltsman's album) Rotations (of course) Virgina Tate (smadbeck), Katamiya + Nancy by Sejourme, Spiral Passages by Nathan Daughtery and I think the Zivkovic Funny mallets has some great solos too. My bucket list marimba piece is Maslanka's Variations on a Lost love.
I looooveeee Oetomo's arrangement of over the rainbow. It's so beautiful. I'll be playing Pius Cheung's arrangement of Piazzolla's Verano Porteno in a solo competition coming up. I love his arrangements sooo much. Though when it comes to original pieces I love Jesse Monkman's compositions.
Wow! I didn't expect Merlin to be number one lol but it's really a hard piece. I played that piece for an I&E thing and since I had a time limit, the piece had to be shortened. Many of my friends were like, what's Merlin? Since all they cared about was Velocities and Libertango. But wow that solo was really hard, I'm glad I chose that piece even though it's pretty cringeworthy to rewatch myself playing it >
This is kinda old school but I've been reading through the Karen Irvin Pershing book called "Contemporary solos for 4 Mallets" I performed 'Toccata' for some school stuff and it is a nice little piece.
Hey Adam, I just recently started watching your videos and I love them! your approach to technique and music in general is very straightforward. I am a current student in college and I was wondering if you can (or have made) make a video about practicing. all my life I've been told to practice but never how. I would love to see your approach to practicing wether it be practicing techniques or a piece. Even what you practiced on a day to day basis and how long (which varies in percussionist) thank you in advance!
+Carlos I Thanks for watching my videos Carlos, I appreciate it! My friend Rob Knopper (UA-cam.com/robknopperstudio) has a few strategies for that on his channel but I might do one myself too, thanks for the suggestion!
DUDE !!! you have an awesome channel :D really helpful and informative, I'm currently music student in search of a concerto to play for a recital. any recommendations ? Cheers man, Keep up the awesome work :D
Thank you so much Lee! Popular ones I've already listed in this video (Sejourne, Rob Oetomo's Soar) but if you don't like either of those maybe try the Ewazen concerto, or Prism Rhapsody!
:O awesome man thank you for the awesome recommendations, will definitely check it out :D ( T-T its hard to find new pieces with video/audio recordings from youtube )
Marcelin Huguet I do love Libertango! There's a lot of rep I couldn't fit on one top 10 list, I guess this list is just stuff that I'm interested in playing / have played recently, it'll probably change next year LOL
Try to identify a ringtone marimba piece: What a Feeling (Dose’s Marimba Remix of One Direction). Very short ringtone, but is there a full version. It is so beautiful and I hope there is a long version.
Nice list and video, Adam! Two general comments: when you play a piece, please play ALL of the movements, e.g. Merlin or Reflections, not excerpted single movements, unless the composer has specifically so indicated, e.g. Carter. FYI, it's pronounced, "MERSH." All best!
William, I'm so sorry for pronouncing your name wrong... 😅 And that is absolutely correct - I wish I'd learnt the first movement of Merlin when I played it. By the way, it's great to hear from the person that I see in articles everywhere, thank you for stopping by :)
Sorry for the super late upload! I've been sick the last couple of days but I managed to pull this one together slowly - hope it helps you out with your rep choices over the next few months :) Thanks for watching! #TheStudioFamily
you think velocities is difficult? (I mean it is,
You should see Doug Perry play Rhythm Song by Paul Smadbeck. He makes that song look like cake work.
Did you ever do drum corps
One-Study, One Summary by John Psathas
How do I download a pdf for the wind sheet music by chin cheng lin
Here we go!
10. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
9. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
8. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
7. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
6. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
5. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
4. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
3. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
2. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
1. Mitchell Peters - Yellow After the Rain
Obviously.
JAJAJAJAJAJAJJAJA
Yes
Where's Sea Refractions?
@@bruhemianbobbert7136 lmao I played that solo last year
Heyoooooo!!!! Thanks for the plug, and the kind words. Keep up the good work, you do a great job with these videos! :)
Doug Perry Thanks for watching Doug! I love your work also 😀
My personal favorites (in no order in particular)
1 White Knuckle Stroll
2 Land
3 Furioso Tango
4 Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum
5 Arabesque 1
6 Odessa
7 Velocities
8 Rotation 2
9 Libertango
10 Genesis
Oh man such good selections!! Definitely ones I want to play too ;)
I have only played one on the list, as I am a younger player, but I am hoping to play them all soon
Jared Ruffing You can do it! Awesome to set goals like this 😄
Rotation 4 is better smh
Libertango is the best solo though
I'll bite!
10. "Opening" by Philip Glass
9. Bach 3rd Cello Suite
8. "Caritas" by Michael Burritt
7. "Memento" by Ivan Trevino
6. "Merlin" by Andrew Thomas
5. "Scirocco" by Michael Burritt
4. "Reflections on the Nature of Water" by Jacob Druckman
3. "From my Little Island" by Robert Aldridge
2. "Variations on Lost Love" by David Maslanka
1. "Three Moves" by Paul Lansky
Three moves for Marimba!!!! LOVE IT!!!!
Ah yes gotta have Druckman, Maslanka and Lansky ;) I'm glad you have Merlin on there too!
Adam Tan once I get the moves down I'm on to Merlin!
Shoutout to my mans ivan!! playing memento this year
love Variations on a Lost love too
There is a junior at my high school who played Odessa for their solo and ensemble competition
I've always been a big fan of Paul Smadbeck's "Virginia Tate" just because of how beautiful it sounds. Love the videos man!
Definitely Virginia Tate is awesome! Thanks for watching 😀
I’m currently learning Virginia Tate by Paul Smadbeck, and I love that solo so much! Moon Chasers by Mark Ford is also such a beautiful solo!
Sorry I’m late to the party here’s my top 10
10. Concerto no. 2 Cangelosi
9. Time for Marimba Miki
8. Dance of the Knights Sammut
7. 4 Movements Burritt
6. 2 Movements Tanaka
5. Velocities Schwanter
4. Reflections on the Nature of Water
3. Merlin Thomas
2. Northern Lights Ewazen
1. White Pines. Burritt
Hey Adam, I'm glad you included the Sejourne Concerto, it is one of my favorite works. I played the slow movement for my recital.
Fun fact: I had a lesson with a guy that was on Mr Sejournes email list and he informed me that Sejourne added a new "first" movement Avec Force. It is different than the other two but still fits nicely. I'm working on it for my senior recital. There is an album with the whole concerto and a few others on iTunes called Lauda Concerto if you are interested. But currently there is only one live recording of the new movement. Hope you enjoy it!
I love the Sejourne Concerto and it's so awesome all you guys have played it! I will have to check out this new movement, thanks for letting me know :)
No order...
Memories of the Seashore - Abe
Mexican Dances - Stout
Words Unspoken - Harnsberger
Two Fountains - Bobo
Variations on Japanese Children's Songs - Abe
Prism - Abe
Nagoya Marimbas - Reich (not a solo, still putting it on here)
+Marimbalogy Lots of classics! and I love the sound of Nagoya marimbas 😁
Some of my my favourites include "A Cricket Sang and Set the Sun" by Blake Tyson, "Butterfly" by Nils Rohwer and "Tambourin Paraphrase" + "Prism" by Keiko Abe!
I agree, Paraphrase and Prism - two of the best Abe works in my opinion :)
"Over the Rainbow" is on my list of pieces to learn as soon as I finish what I'm working on right now. I've been slowly piecing together "Strive to be Happy" by Ivan Trevino over the past few months. (the hard part about working at a high school. Not as much practice time as I used to have. Almost makes me miss college) You've given me a new piece to obsess over, with "Odessa". It's so intense! I.must.play.it.
Love you videos!
+Thomas Woolfolk Awesome that you're still finding time to practice and setting clear goals amongst all your work! And yeah Odessa is sooo addictive, I wish I played it in uni... thanks for watching! 😄
I don't really understand Merlin enough to put it on my list, but here you go
10. Over the Rainbow - Oetomo
9. See Ya Thursday - Mackey
8. One Study One Summary - Psathas
7. Marimba Variations - Wuorinen
6. Prism - Abe
5. Northern Lights - Ewazen
4. Variations on Lost Love - Maslanka
3. Hard-Boiled Capitalism and the Day Mr. Friedman Noticed Google is a Verb - Wahlund (not marimba but w/e)
2. Reflections on the Nature of Water - Druckman
1. Velocities - Schwanter
JT I love all of those! And love that the Wahlund is there too 😄
1. Moon Chaser by Mark Ford
2. Ghost Garden by Adam Hopper
3. Emily’s Dream by Mark Ford
4. Libertango by Eric Summet
5. Caleidoscópio by Gene Koshinski
6. Sweet Dreams by Mark Ford
This video was came out at the perfect time! I'm starting to pick out pieces for my first undergraduate recital and some of these will be perfect. Thank you!
Glad to be of assistance, thanks for watching! :)
Thank you for using my video as a reference for Wind :) I suggest you listen Rose of Sharon (song of Almah') by Andrew Beall. Not a marimba solo but, for me, one of the best duet with cello! ;)
Lorenzo Capasso Ah yes I have heard that one, one of the few and best duets for cello indeed! by the way your video was beautiful, thank you for sharing 😀
Thanks for rendering a contemporary list of marimba favorites. It's amazing how the past 40 years has produced individuals who understand the instrument and how to showcase the instruments' attributes. With that being said, lest we never forget the heritage of the marimba and the literature that promulgated the cornerstone of both composition and performance standards by which we live today. Let us always remember names like; the Creston, the Kurka, The Bagatelles written in World War 2 (Vida Chenoweth), the Basta, and the complete Musser cycle etc. Believe it or not, these were the pieces of yesteryear that aided in the acceptance of the instrument amidst the uneducated populous. In addition, it's most important to never constrain our movement by only performing works that will aid in acceptance in the inner circles of the craft, but rather perform and create selections that will minister to the general populous. If we forget this concept, than what we do will all be in vein.
I attend university in Oregon and am very lucky to work with Pius and Eriko- They're so talented and passionate that it's inspiring. Later in my university career I'm going to tackle some of his pieces for sure. Some of my favorites on on this list ♥
I'm super jealous that you get to see them so often! You must be brilliant having such great teachers :)
Oh, I wouldn't say that haha! Just very lucky to live in the area.
Whoaa I'm a prep student at New England Conservatory! There are photos of that concerto literally all over our campus :) That piece is such an inspiration for all our percussionists
Samuel is just great! You guys have a great school 😁
Nice video again !! thanks for something new everyweek ! love it
Thanks for watching man, I appreciate it :)
Over the Rainbow arranged by Robert is the piece that inspired me to pursue being a professional percussionist. I've got a long way to go from being there, but that piece and how he flows across the marimba like water still inspires me to this day.
Rob is going to love hearing this ;) He's an exceptional player!
i’ve always been in love with a cricket sang and set the sun
Hey Adam! Hope things are going well!
In no particular order, here are a few pieces to check out if you haven't already (I tried to avoid the REALLY well known stuff like Khan Variations, From My Little Island, and Velocities and such).
"In the Fire of Conflict" or "Fertility Rites" - Christos Hatzis (two great pieces for marimba and tape)
"One Study One Summary" - John Psathas (I actually am performing this on a recital in a couple days. It is a beast of a piece to learn but is super fun to play)
"The Trees Where I Was Born" - Jacob Bancks (I just recently found this one and it has be growing on me...its free on IMSLP too!)
"Long Distance" - Steven Snowden (Solo piece for vibes, marimba, and tape, with two movements on vibes and two on marimba)
"Five Scenes from the Snow Country" - Hans Werner Henze (A piece that absolutely does not get the credit it deserves)
"Snow is Dancing" - Debussy (transcribed piano piece that fits REALLY well on a marimba. I believe both Leigh Howard Stevens and Nancy Zeltsman have transcriptions if you want to see what they did with it).
"Ragamuffin" - Michael Hedges (arranged guitar piece, Nancy Zeltsman has a killer version in the back of her technique book)
I wouldn't call these necessarily part of my top 10, but they are pieces you might not have heard of and I really enjoy on marimba. So enjoy!
Colin! Thanks for watching man :) Great list as well, I've only heard of Ragamuffin and One Study One Summary (the fact you're playing it is AWESOME), but yeah I will check lots of these out!
I always smile when I see your notification :p Are there any other marimba / vibraphone channels simillar to this one?
I know about those that you sometimes link in your description, but that's pretty much it.
Unfortunately I don't know of any other than Casey Cangelosi, Marimbalogy and of course the one and only Rob... I hope someone else joins me on this video making crusade ;)
I know Doug Perry does some stuff, but he's more of performance or arrangement videos.
I hope to join y'all soon.
Svit Starkl Liquidrum (Todd Meehan) has a pretty cool channel. Also, Casey Cangelosi does a podcast called @percussion with his wife Laurel Black, and friends Ben Charles and Megan Arns. They always have guests too. Its a great podcast and they cover all kinds of topics related to percussion.
Should be reviewing for my finals exam tomorrow for physics but instead I am indulging myself in Adam Tan videos, life is great...
Hahahaha you are the best ;) but seriously you should be studying LOL
Looking forward to playing wind and Odessa. Beautiful works throughout the whole list!
They are awesome works! I'm glad I could help you choose some pieces :)
Adam Tan one of my personal favorites is the Musser Etude in C Major. Really short but helps improve your chops. Also a fun piece too play 🙃
Some of my favs :)
1. Northern Lights - Ewazen
2. Abaca -Picard
3. Nocturnal Dance -Monkman
4. The Ghosts of Bonneville -Finely
5. Collapse -Howley
6. Kaleidoscope -Lin
7. Moments -McClure
8. Wind in the Bamboo Grove -Abe
9. Distance -Barnes
10. Evergreen -Finely
Loved the video. Just curious, what do you think of Khan Variations?
I think it’s a really cool work that is not only a classic but also different to the typical moto perpetuo style straight solos... not exactly my first choice for a five octave virtuosic solo but definitely deserving of its place right now!
I am definitely going to play Odessa now. I also think you should do a video with vibe solos and/or ensemble rep. Love the chanel!
Sean Dello Monaco Awesome man, it's a great piece! I will look into doing a vibes video. Thanks for watching 😀
Awesome pieces and video!
My favorite piece right now is Maslanka's "Variations on Lost Love" (great video on the Vic Firth channel)
Although not technically difficult at all, a piece that I've loved for quite a while is Lymon's "Of Thoughts and Thinking" - perfect opportunity to just relax and feeeeel the marimba :)
Oh I like Of Thoughts and Thinking, it's really nice! Sometimes the best pieces are not that technically difficult after all! Thanks for watching :)
I played Wind last year (my sophomore year at college), one of my favorite pieces. I'll be doing Land for my senior recital next year along with a marimba arrangement of Bach's Air on a G string by Rudi Bauer. After that, looking at doing a Sequoia, a marimba duet and Suite for Marimba by Fissinger!
+Dakota Walters Beautiful selections! I'll have to check out the Fissinger 😀
This video is definitely what I needed!!! This season I'm playing Rain Dance by Alice Gomez as a piece I can perfect and make sound good; but I'm also working towards Rob's Over the Rainbow - although it will probably be next year by the time I perfect it!
Buddy Lovett You can do it man! And I'm glad to hear you're playing Rainbow too #teamaustralia
I've become a pretty big fan of your videos since I am also a percussionist that is currently an undergrad in the US. I just wanted to ask what makes you favor marimba one over other brands such as malletech? I feel marimba one is way over priced and that malletech boards and mallets are just as good if not better for a fraction of the cost of marimba one.
Thanks for watching man! I don't necessarily favour it over other brands, I happen to prefer their marimba's design but I definitely appreciate brands like Adams and Malletech as well. You're right, a lot of Marimba One stuff is pretty expensive but yeah I think everyone's tastes are always going to be different 😀
I bought the rainbow score, and was mildy disappointed in the way it was written out. I expected more of a jazz chart.
The partita is a great work to learn, although I'd recommend learning basic violin before studying it at a deep level. I recently took a class and realized how many things I had glanced over in my interpretation that I would have been able to do had I been aware of these nuances - an example being the bowing structure of said work.
I'm definitely going to check out Spruce!
I'm also checking out Bach's chromatic fantasy, and it seems very doable so far.
Love your vids
I also thought that too! But I guess it serves as a good intro to people not familiar with jazz. I have a few violinist friends and you're right - their interpretations helped me a lot! Thanks for watching man :)
Summer Treehouse by Chad Floyd is my summer choice for obvious reasons :D i love the use of woodblock in a marimba solo
Ryan Crowe Yaaaaaaaaasssss it’s my fave too 🤪
Hey Adam, great vid as always. Question: I know you've got your ballin' final recital video, but is there any chance of you recording some more marimba repertoire and posting it here? I think we'd all dig seeing ya play some of the standards :D
I'd love to upload more yes! I think once my thesis is finally submitted (just passed last week) and my Malaysia competition is done I'll be keen to get more recordings up :) Thanks for the suggestion!
Adam, do you have your transcription of the spruce? This is on the list of pieces I want to perform soon and I'd love to get my hands on a transcription!
I read it off the original piano score and just adjusted it to suit my liking! You can get it for free at IMSLP :)
Hope you are feeling better soon!
I've played the first movement of the Sejourne concerto, it was actually quite a fun piece to learn. One of my personal favorites is "Everybody talk about Freedom" by Julie Spencer, Its a very fun blues/rock piece with a vocal rap. I performed it on my junior recital. I highly suggest taking a look at it if you want something really fun!
Thanks Kyle! I'd never heard of the Spencer work until you said it, it's such an awesome concept! You've definitely performed a lot of awesome pieces by the sounds of it :)
Well marimba is my favorite instrument, and I just enjoy finding interesting and entertaining pieces. :)
So I recently found your channel and I have to say your videos are super informative and I really enjoy them, but anyway so I'm a sophomore in high school and I've been really focusing on orchestral things. For example I'm in a youth symphony and we recently played the Rachmaninoff second symphony. However I've really wanted to get into four mallet solos and the most recent solo I've learned is strive to be happy by Ivan Trevino just for fun. I want to get into more serious pieces for competitions and auditions so do you have any advice or song recommendations?
Thanks for watching Ian! Strive to be Happy is a great one, Anthem is also really popular (also Trevino). I'd recommend October Night as a similar work :)
Have you heard Variations on Porgy and Bess by Eric Sammut? That is one of my favorites, and it's great you included Over the Rainbow. That's one of my favs to play
Yes I have! Definitely an awesome piece :) and awesome that you've played Rob's arrangement too!
one etude from one summary one etude,awesome bro
Ah yes I have seen this one! Thanks for watching :)
hey Adam, speaking of solos i'm playing un dia de noviembre and if you knew the solo i was wondering if you think that the nancy zeltsman encore GradB mallets you reviewed would be a good fit for it.
+Brandon Shipman I think I know the one and it definitely suits the character! Best part about the GRADB is that you can use it with or without force to get different sounds too 😀
I am playing a marimba virbraphone duet with a freind right now called Doves Delight. I highly suggest it. the best recording of it is by 4th floor, but we are playing it without the accompanyment.
That is awesome - I can't wait to hear you guys play it!
Have you heard Bogdan Bacanu play the Sejourne? seriously something else, that guy is a BEAST.... and did you know that Sejourne has written another movement that will precede the current two?? gonna be soooo good! :)
Bogdan's version is realllly good as well! I've listened to Samuel's more but each has its own great points :) And REALLY! I can't wait ;)
what do you think of the works by Ivan Trevino? Like Strive to Be Happy or Anthem.
For me personally they are fun to work on and perform, especially for those performances where crowds want something fun and pleasing to the ear. 2+1 is a great one for doing something different with a duet.
I think they're awesome! Ivan makes great contemporary marimba music that is approachable by both a general audience and a more 'musical' one and I think it's great that it attracts more people to the instrument! I highly recommend Anthem and 2+1 to a lot of my friends :)
PhazonArcanine4 huge Ivan fan here!!!
Putting together my senior recital this year, not sure yet on my final rep list. Finished up my junior recital back in April, featuring Mark Ford’s Polaris, and Minoru Miki’s Marimba Spiritual!
Wonderful site! Spectacular artistic playing. Any thoughts on Prokofiev Violin Sonata in D also for Flute.
Never tried it before but it sounds awesome!
Hmm...
10. The Marriage of the Lamb - Kevin Bobo
9. Etude in C# Minor - Pius Cheung
8. Odessa - Matthew Lorrick
7. Magma - Nebojsa Zivkovic
6. See Ya Thursday - Steven Mackey
5. Evergreen - Benjamin Finley
4. Variations of Lost Love - David Maslanka
3. Khan Variations - Alejandro Vinao
2. Etude in D Major - Pius Cheung
1. Merlin - Andrew Thomas
Yeah, Merlin is definitely the best, easily the most fun I've personally had on the marimba.
#MerlinSquad ;) and great list, I saw Nancy Zeltsman play See Ya Thursday live and it was awesomeeee
Some personal favourites that I'm playing for my HSC this year is Summer Treehouse by Chad Floyd and Rob Oetomo's Concert No.1 Soar (just the first movement). Thanks for your quality content!!
Woooo! Good picks man :) Thanks for watching!
I'm a freshman in front ensemble and I'm left handed, and it REALLY shows. My right handed lateral strokes are akin to a trash dumpster they just don't sometimes and I don't have very much stamina.
Ahhh I was like that with my left hand (non dominant hand) - just means you need to exercise it twice as much! :)
I LOVE ODESSA!!!!
I'm thinking of picking up October Night to learn and then use as a warmup, because right now I just have a bunch of boring and repetitive warmups. I was told to start learning more solos and melodic warmups, so this is probably going to be one of them!
I'm also looking at playing Pavane for a Dead Princess transposed for marimba (super duper easy but absolutely gorgeous) and On a Hike by Eric Peel (also really easy but a lot of fun to learn super quick).
Awesome picks! I love Odessa too ;)
Nice video! Do you know where I can get the transcription for Sibelius' the Spruce? I would love to play the piece!
You can read it off the piano score on IMSLP! I just performed it doing exactly that ☺️
Here's a challenge for you: what are the best two and four-mallet solos for beginners and intermediate players? Ensembles? We finally have a percussion ensemble class for my high school kids and I'd like to introduce them to marimba lit so they get excited about playing without being intimidated.
Oooh that's a tough one - Two Mexican Dances (Stout), Marimba Dances (Edwards), Michi (Abe), Prism (Abe), Yellow After The Rain/Rain Dance of course, transcribing Flight of the Bumblebee is good for intermediate players, heaps of examples out there for sure :)
Thanks, Adam!
My favorites at the moment would have to be "Strive to Be Happy" by Ivan Trevino, Bach's Cello Suite No. 1, "Suite Popular Brasiliera" by Ney Rosauro, "River Flows in You Variations", by Maikel van see Boomen, and "Ghost Garden" by Adam Hopper (I think). Definitely some beautiful pieces that I want to learn. Also, my friend is playing Sejourne's concerto for a concert, and she's a high school senior, so shout out to her (if you want).
Also, have you ever heard the Dan Moore mallets from Innovative Percussion? They produce a nice clean sound for both marimba and vibes. Worth checking out.
As always, keep up the great videos, and I hope your channel becomes one of the cornerstones of percussion on UA-cam! 👌
A lot of Trevino fans here ;) Awesome that you have such a talented friend also - I wish I could be that good in high school hahaha :) I have heard of those mallets yes!
Thanks for watching!
I love your list! I'm still trying to figure out solos I want to play my University Audition, so this helped a lot! Right now Marimba Solo wise, top 5 would be
1. Cameleon by Sammut
2. Ilijas by Zivkovic
3. Etude in A Minor by Cangelosi
4. Libertango by Sammut
5. Opening by Glass
I probably have more, but I can't think of any more 😂 I also want to play Velocities; my lesson teacher played it on a TED Talk, and it seemed sooooo COOOOL. Her name is Mai Tadakoro; she's a Goddess 😍
That's an awesome top 5! My friend Euphina played Cameleon at Chosen Vale and since then I have loved the sound of it :) And YES VELOCITIES! You have an awesome teacher who can play it so you should give it a go too ;)
Great list Adam. Took my recommendation, I see ;) I also hope you get to feeling better soon!
I have a few pieces that I'm partial to. Two Gordon stout pieces Beads of Glass and Two Mexican Dances as well as Paul Smadbeck's Rhythm Song. Some Moto perpetuo works but all of them are very interpretation heavy. Two Mexican Dances is one of my favorites. Fun challenge to be both accurate and musical with the second movement. David Hall's recording and interpretation is probably my favorite out there. He takes great lines and follows the dance theme very well. One of my favorites to play.
I was wondering where Velocities was going to end up on your list when I started playing the video. Certainly complex, but it isn't out of your reach. Speaking of range, I watched your Merlin performance too, very impressive tempo! College mate tackled that for his graduate recital, but he started practicing it not long after his undergrad recital was done.
Cheers on the vlog!
Two Mexican Dances - I played that in my 2nd year! Great piece and yes David Hall's is a good recording. I hope I can learn Velocities soon! Thanks for watching :)
I really like the works of Keiko Abe and Eric Sammut like Rotation 4. A nice two mallet “killer“ is Casey Cangelosis White Knuckle Stroll.
Of course WKS is a classic ;) Thanks for watching!
I really like Prism by Keiko Abe. SOO MUCH FUN!!!
Hayden is Meh name It's definitely a beastly two mallet piece!
that reverb on the recording of "somewhere over the rainbow"!!
Blake Corkill Sooo much hahaha
Hey Adam! I am playing Odessa for a competition this fall, and I am having a lot of trouble with getting a good sound out of the left hand triplets towards the beginning of the piece. Any advice/exercises to become better at this? Thanks!
When I commented on here I didn't expect a response from the creator of the piece! Will definitely try doing what you said. Thank you so much for the advice!
Well my advice isn't nearly going to be as good as Matthew's! Glad to see more people playing it ;)
Have you heard "Zamba Para Escuchar tu Silencio" by Guillio Espel? It has an amazing melody and was taken from Guillio Espel's guitar version. Not the most difficult piece, but it sounds amazing. So much room for interpretiation... kind of like a Latin version of Land
Never, but I will look it up! Thanks for the suggestion :)
Velocities is incredible (i wish i had the time and opportunity to learn it). Rhythm Song was my first love for marimba. My favorite and most gratifying piece was Process of Invention by Christopher Deane. Not the most difficult, but not the easiest either. Concentration and stamina at its finest.
+Patrick Irwin Process of Invention is awesome. And I want time to learn Velocities too... 😀😀😀
Ah good ol merlin. I stopped playing marimba in 2k and at the time my big nasty repertoire pieces were Dances of Earth and Fire - Klatzow and Reflections on the Nature of Water - Druckman.
Good times
Hey I'm playing Ilijas by Nebojsa Zivkovic and I'm 16 years old, I'm I on a good level ? The next year I'm hoping to enter at University! By the way can you do more videos like top 10 or 5 ? Just love your channel!
Yes! Ilijas is a great piece to be playing at 16! You're already on track :) And I'll do more top 10s! Thanks for watching :)
Maikel Van Den Boomen's transcription of "river flows in you" is one of my favorites. really pretty. and of a bunch of Casey Cangelosi solos. I'm a Casey fan😛
I'm a Casey fan too ;)
Hi I'm currently playing marimbasonic by Markus Halt,and I'm 16 years old. Am I on a good level?
That's pretty good man, I wish I could play Marimbasonic at 16!
I'm working on the 'new first movement' of the sejourne to enter a concerto competition, Avec force. I can't say I've worked on the other two movements, but I would say the new first movement seems considerably easier than the other two. It's really cool though
Ah yes everyone's been telling me about Avec force, can't wait to see more people playing it! Thanks for the suggestion :)
Are you gonna do any videos on two mallet stuff??
I should! :)
what do you think of Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints by Alan Hovhaness? I will be performing it on xylophone with my youth orchestra for our winter concert :)
Audrey L I will have to check it out, but good luck for your concert! that's awesome 😄
I'm currently playing prelude no.1 by ney rosauro and it's my favorite right now
Jr Hernandez That is a good one! Awesome to hear 😀
Thankyou :)
just some pieces people I think people. should check out in no order: Levitan- marimba suite second movement (opening day on Nancy Zelltsman's album) Rotations (of course) Virgina Tate (smadbeck), Katamiya + Nancy by Sejourme, Spiral Passages by Nathan Daughtery and I think the Zivkovic Funny mallets has some great solos too. My bucket list marimba piece is Maslanka's Variations on a Lost love.
Awesome! I have heard of some of these (Nancy was really popular in my uni) and yes I want to tackle Maslanka one day too. Repertoire goals! ;)
I really these videos man :) keep it up 😂
I looooveeee Oetomo's arrangement of over the rainbow. It's so beautiful. I'll be playing Pius Cheung's arrangement of Piazzolla's Verano Porteno in a solo competition coming up. I love his arrangements sooo much. Though when it comes to original pieces I love Jesse Monkman's compositions.
Verano Porteno is SO good :) And Parody is really popular now as well!
Wow! I didn't expect Merlin to be number one lol but it's really a hard piece. I played that piece for an I&E thing and since I had a time limit, the piece had to be shortened. Many of my friends were like, what's Merlin? Since all they cared about was Velocities and Libertango. But wow that solo was really hard, I'm glad I chose that piece even though it's pretty cringeworthy to rewatch myself playing it >
It really is a challenge! Congrats on being able to perform it well!
Have you ever heard of Eruption of Sakurajima by Jessica Munez?
This is kinda old school but I've been reading through the Karen Irvin Pershing book called "Contemporary solos for 4 Mallets" I performed 'Toccata' for some school stuff and it is a nice little piece.
Have you heard White Knuckle Stroll by Casey Cangelosi? It's an interesting piece to say the least!
Of course! It's one of the best trendsetting two mallet works at the moment ;)
Adam Tan= LEGEND
Steve Richter Steeeeeve! You are the legend for sure 😄
I'm currently learning Until Dawn by Arnor Chu! I get emotional thinking about one day performing this for my recital
La Zandunga arranged by Israel Moreno, its a Mexican folk song, you should check it out!
I certainly will! Thanks for the suggestion :)
Great video, I will definitely be looking at some of these in the future! I was wondering, what do you think of Dream of the Cherry Blossoms by Abe?
Enshrouded_ It is a great piece for learning how to voice properly 😀 I just wish it wasn't written so funny at the beginning ahaha
I've decided on Cameleon by Sammut going into my sophomore year of high school. Do you think I'm on a good track for the rest of high school?
Enshrouded_ Cameleon is a great piece, I think you're in a great position 😀
What kind of mallets should I use for these? Something like medium hard?
Enshrouded_ Probably graduating soft at the bottom, mediums in the middle and a medium hard at the top in my opinion 😀
What do you think of Libertango?
10. Frogs, Abe
9. Strive to be Happy, Trevino
8. Kaleidoscope: (m.1) Pray for a wish, Lin
7. Moments: (m.1 and m.2), McClure
6. unBENt, Floyd
5. Malice, Pickering
4. Tambourin Paraphrase, Abe
3. Kaleidoscope: (m.3) Fresh Expectations, Lin
2. Over the Rainbow (arrangement), Oetomo
1. Evergreen, Finely
Hey Adam, I just recently started watching your videos and I love them! your approach to technique and music in general is very straightforward. I am a current student in college and I was wondering if you can (or have made) make a video about practicing. all my life I've been told to practice but never how. I would love to see your approach to practicing wether it be practicing techniques or a piece. Even what you practiced on a day to day basis and how long (which varies in percussionist) thank you in advance!
+Carlos I Thanks for watching my videos Carlos, I appreciate it! My friend Rob Knopper (UA-cam.com/robknopperstudio) has a few strategies for that on his channel but I might do one myself too, thanks for the suggestion!
Updated Favorites here we go:
10. Seascape, Marceau
9. Wind in the Bamboo Grove, Abe
8. Cappuccino Lovely (Mvmt. 2): Milk, Lin
7. Prism, Abe
6. Moments, McClure
5. Kaleidoscope (Mvmt. 3): Fresh Expectations,Lin
4. Frogs, Abe
3. Evergreen, Finely
2. Kaleidoscope (Mvmt. 1): Pray for a Wish, Lin
1. Northern Lights, Ewazen
Nebosja I. Zivkovic - Ilijas or Uneven Souls ? One of the BEST Composers for Mallet Stuff.
Adrian Golbeck Oh yesss uneven souls is powerful! Love it when you have a strong rendition of that 😄
I just performed an excerpt of April Sky by Cheng Chin-Lin at my recital. I love that piece and hope to perform it at PASIC this year
+Taylor Smith Awesome man, I hope to see you perform it at PASIC 😁
DUDE !!! you have an awesome channel :D really helpful and informative, I'm currently music student in search of a concerto to play for a recital. any recommendations ?
Cheers man, Keep up the awesome work :D
Thank you so much Lee! Popular ones I've already listed in this video (Sejourne, Rob Oetomo's Soar) but if you don't like either of those maybe try the Ewazen concerto, or Prism Rhapsody!
:O awesome man thank you for the awesome recommendations, will definitely check it out :D ( T-T its hard to find new pieces with video/audio recordings from youtube )
No Eric Sammut? Libertango, Sugaria...?
Marcelin Huguet I do love Libertango! There's a lot of rep I couldn't fit on one top 10 list, I guess this list is just stuff that I'm interested in playing / have played recently, it'll probably change next year LOL
Land is the reason I started playing marimba (a month ago, haha) so yeah, that one. I want to play it when I get better.
I just played UnBent by Chad Floyd, do you have any recommendations for a new challenging piece for me to play?
Oooooh - want something more choppy? Try Gordon's Bicycle by Kevin Bobo ;)
Adam Tan Thank you, I love your channel btw
Try to identify a ringtone marimba piece: What a Feeling (Dose’s Marimba Remix of One Direction). Very short ringtone, but is there a full version. It is so beautiful and I hope there is a long version.
i really like Cappuccino Lovely: No.2 Milk by Chin Cheng Lin! it’s chill and laid back and kinda reminds me of café music. :)
Love Chin Cheng Lin! I should mention him more often...
Great video. I love Kevin Bobo's pieces but I still have a fair amount of work left before I can play that ;)
I played Gordon's Bicycle and you're right - I wish I worked on laterals more before trying it LOL
I'm beginning and i'm learning a piece called waves and its pretty cool
Waves is a good piece! Keep it up :)
Did you ever wind up recording The Spruce?
I found your channel yesterday and absolutely love it!
Thank you so much for watching! :)
I know this was made years ago, but ghost gardens by adam hopper is really cool
Nice list and video, Adam! Two general comments: when you play a piece, please play ALL of the movements, e.g. Merlin or Reflections, not excerpted single movements, unless the composer has specifically so indicated, e.g. Carter. FYI, it's pronounced, "MERSH." All best!
William, I'm so sorry for pronouncing your name wrong... 😅 And that is absolutely correct - I wish I'd learnt the first movement of Merlin when I played it. By the way, it's great to hear from the person that I see in articles everywhere, thank you for stopping by :)