Imitating a xilophone?

It´s been a long time since I don´t show you something funny but, today, I´ve found a video on YouTube that I think is worth sharing with you.

It´s about a man who, since he was a little boy, caught the idea of trying to imitate a xylophone: 

You have to agree with me that this video is pure kitsch: this gentleman with a flower in the buttonhole of his lapel trying his best to look good on TV, his "fluency" and "self-confidence" before the camera, phrases pasted together with eh...., ah...., uummmmm...., takes while playing crouched down, then standing up, giving the impresion of a picture descending from heaven....

It´s also funny how he pronunces "zilaphone" instead of "xylophone" and, when trying to explain his development, nothing comes to mind and says: "...And this is the result!"

But, the weird thing is when he says (and he seems to have realized after having said it): "About five years ago, I was in my backyard entertaining a friend with my hands". No need to say, in this context, that phrase is hilarious.

This is a video which could have been filmed by Luis Buñuel himself.

It´s been very funny.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Grover review.

My video "Tambourine technique IV" has attracted Neil Grover´s attention. Percussionist and founder of Grover Pro Percussion, he posted it on the Grover Pro Percussion Facebook wall:

It was also added to the "Tech-Talk" section on his web.

It was also added to Grover´s YouTube channel.

I can´t deny it´s been a surprise for Neil Grover to contact me asking for permission to add my video to the above mentioned sections. I´m proud the most prestigious brand of tambourines and other percussion instruments has liked my video.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Concert at The Vatican City.

As I wrote in my article "Tambourine technique IV", the tambourine part in "Capriccio Espagnol" had to be put into context. Now that I have the video of the concert featuring the Asturias Symphony Orchestra at Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican City (a concert that took place last November 26th), I can show you the final result.

On this video you can see the 1st Alborada, together with the end of Scena e Canto Gitano linking with the Fandango Asturiano, where I also play castanets:

As you can see, due to the "heat of the moment", the maestro takes a faster tempo than that on the rehearsals; even in this scenario I could play the tambourine the way I planned (not without some suffering, but it could be done).

For all of you who could not travel to Rome, tune the Vatican TV or TPA, I´m passing you a link for you to download the whole concert. It´s an historic ocassion, as it was the first time a Spanish orchestra played at The Vatican, being H.H. Benedict XVI in the audience.

You can download the concert HERE.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Tambourine technique IV.

As I´m playing again the wonderful "Capriccio Espagnol" by Rimsky-Korsakov (I have played this work several times with different orchestras, different instruments, it was the last work I played before moving to London, and it was the first I listened to being played by an orchestra in London), I´d like to write about the tambourine part, the different techniques we can use, the various "tempi" conductors can take, phrasing...

As always, before going on, here you have a copy of the part:

The tambourine doubles the melody, so precise rhythm and phrasing are a must. Having said this, there are many ways to play this excerpt but, if there´s something that is going to determine how we play it, it will be, no doubt, the tempo chosen by the maestro. Indeed, there are techniques that don´t work when the tempo is slow (the knee technique comes to mind), and others don´t work when the tempo is fast (the ordinary technique, for example). Knowing the tempo the maestro is going to take is paramount in order to successfully choose a technique to play this fragment. Once we know the tempo, we can adapt our technique.

During the last week, preparing the concert I was going to play with the Asturias Symphony Orchestra at the Vatican City, I used the regular/normal technique, as the tempo was slow enough so I could use just one hand. This also allowed me to keep the instrument high, reinforcing the visual concept.

On this video you can see various options, but it´s only at the end that technique is put into context, playing with the rest of the orchestra. The first four techniques were recorded in my classroom at the Gijón Conservatory, while the last one was recorded at "Príncipe Felipe" Auditorium during a rehearsal with the Asturias Symphony Orchestra, the camera on the music stand:

As you can see, the tempo is pretty slow, so I can use the "normal" technique. Any other, given that speed, wouldn´t have worked.

On the contrary, I want you to listen to this same fragment recorded with the Gijón Symphony Orchestra, me on tambourine as well:

It is quite obvious that the tempo is much faster, and I wouldn´t have been able to play that fast using the technique on the last video: on this recording I´m using my knee.

As you see, it´s very important to be flexible and have as many musical resources as possible, so we can face the different musical situations.

The indication "strepitoso" in the part (which literally means "with great din, racket") doesn´t involve to play with no phrasing or musical direction. It is the triangle the one in charge of "making noise", which plays 16th notes left, right and centre: in my opinion, it´s this instrument the one adding the festive and noisy character to the alborada (phrasing the triangle would be, in my modest opinion, overplaying: it is a rhythmical and phrasing pedal that should be played impassive). On the contrary, the tambourine (and later on the snare drum) has to phrase and follow the melody. My musical idea with respect to the tambourine is as follows:

You can see there are many possibilities, but just one fits a certain context. The more ways we have to face a fragment, the more possibilities of making music. Also, it´s obvious that every single technique has its own timbre, character and dynamic posibilities so, depending on what we want, we can "dive" into our "technical catalogue" and choose the technique that best suits the musical context.

As soon as I get a copy of the video featuring the concert we played at "Sala Nervi" in the Vatican City, I´ll post it so you can see the result of my "tambourine obsession".

How would you play this fragment?

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Prokofiev´s Classical Symphony.

Last October 22nd, the Gijón Symphony Orchestra played, among other works, Prokofiev´s Symphony #1 ("Classical"). As always, playing works by this composer is a real pleasure, and this article will deal with a fragment of its "Allegro con brio".

Before going on, here´s the score for that fragment (you can click on it to see it bigger):

This is the timpani part:

Estudying the score, we can see that, four bars before M (four before 20 in the score or, simply, 19 -sorry about the different editions) celli and basses play 8th notes (C-E-G-E, C-E-G-E...). The rest of the orchestra is playing either two quarter notes a bar, or a sustained note. The timpani are in no man´s land, as they sustain a long note while articulating 16th´s (no other instruments play this figure). Also, instruments playing long notes are clarinets, oboes and flutes which, in principle, are not related to timpani.

For all these reasons, my decision was to play the same thing as celli and basses do, ending my interpretation being this:

    

This is the final result (audio starts right on L), recorded live at Teatro Jovellanos in Gijón under Óliver Díaz (I´m sorry I cannot offer you a video like in previous occasions... Just audio this time):

As you already know, I´m in favor (always with a deep knowledge and the utmost respect for Music) of modifying the parts.

What do you think about this edition?

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

1st anniversary prize draw results.

As you may remember from the post "Percusize Me! is now one year old", to celebrate the first anniversary of the blog we have organized a prize draw consisting of two DVD´s of the Gijón Symphony Orchestra performing G. Verdi´s "Requiem" together with the Orfeón Donostiarra, all under the baton of Óliver Díaz.

The winners are:

Daniel San Martín

Jesús Lorenzo Peña

We will soon get in touch with them to have their DVD´s sent.

Spread the word, recommend Percusize Me! to your friends, every percussionist has to know about this fantastic blog!

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Flam Paradiddle-diddle.

Practising, studying and analysing the rudiments has made me realize the PAS list has quite a few errors on it. Before going on, you can download that list for free from the PAS website.

The rudiment we are going to analize is the Flam Paradiddle-diddle, which appears on the PAS list as follows:

Obviously, this rudiment comes from the Single Paradiddle-diddle:

The first problem arrises with the name of this basic rudiment: “Single Paradiddle-diddle”. As there´s no other rudiment named “Double Paradiddle-diddle” or “Triple Paradiddle-diddle”, I see no need in using "Single" to name it. All drummers in the world have had no problem identifying this rudiment as “Paradidle-diddle”. Also, it´s the only rudiment in the Paradiddle family which its pattern is written twice (see the pdf file from the previous link). The Paradiddle, Double Paradiddle and Triple Paradiddle being written twice makes sense, as these rudiments alternate hands on each beat so, before you complete a full cycle and start again with the same hand, two patterns of the rudiment have passed, thus the doble writing making sense. That´s not the case with the Paradiddle-diddle, as it always starts with the same hand, thus writing its pattern twice is not necesary.

So, the Paradiddle-diddle always starts with the same hand, and this where I think the mistake with the Flam Paradiddle-diddle comes from. Logic makes us think that the Flam Paradiddle-diddle is nothing but a Paradiddle-diddle with the adition of a flam (and that´s exactly how it is), but I think that adition of a flam should not alter in any way the sticking of the basic rudiment on which it is based. That´s where the problem lies: the Flam Paradiddle-diddle alternates hands on each beat, while his “dad” (the Paradiddle-diddle) doesn´t. Again, here are the pictures for you to check this inconsistency:

To me, it makes no sense at all to alter the basic sticking of a rudiment just because we are adding a flam. In my modest opinion, this is the correct way the Flam Paradiddle-diddle should be written:

Here´s a video on which I´m comparing both versions at different tempi:

This is my idea about the Flam Paraddidle-diddle. I think the transcription mistake is evident. What´s your opinion on this subject?

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Percussion archeology.

So used to see them in the orchestra, we don´t realize that many of the percussion instruments have an "exotic" origin. Today, we´ll talk about them.

To get in situation, we have to know janissaries, elite corps serving the Turkish Sultan. These troops were young christians trained under a strong discipline, and they got to constitute a fearful army which expanded the Ottoman Empire through North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Greece, Albania, Hungary, Romania... They even sieged Vienna.

These elite troops were accompanied by military bands (the oldests known) named mehter. We know these bands existed in the VIIIth Century, and Europeans got to know this musical expresion in the Crusades. Timpani, first percussion instruments to join the orchestra, were used by janissary to frighten the enemy in the battle field. Later on, and always to suggest a military or eastern carachter, European composers added these mehter instruments to the orchestra. So, the bass drum-cymbals-triangle combination became a standard, and was used by Mozart in "The Abduction from the Seraglio", by Haydn in his "Military Symphony", Beethoven in his Symphony No.9... The new instruments added to the orchestra were:

Zil. Even today, the best cymbals are those from Turkey, and we have to remember there´s a brand named Zildjian.

© mehter.co.tr

Dabul. Ancestor of our bass-drum. See the use of a light stick in the left hand, which still is used today in historically informed peformances.

© mehter.co.tr

Kös, obviously related to timpani.

© mehter.co.tr

Nakkere. Greatly used in Spain during the Middle Ages.

© mehter.co.tr

Other important instrument (know in disuse) was the turkish crescent or "jingle-johnny":

© mehter.co.tr

Mehter bands looked like this:

I thougt this kind of music was lost centuries ago, but YouTube gives me (again) a nice surprise in the form of some pieces of musical archeology.

To prove the influence of Turkish music in Europe, and how new instruments joined the orchestra, here we have Mozart´s "The Abduction from the Seraglio" overture, played by the Wiener Symphoniker (see the bass drum played with rute):

From Rossini "Il Turco in Italia" (I love this version, with rope bass-drum, played with rute, and very small and thick cymbals). This version is by the Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich:

"Military Symphony" (F. J. Haydn), second movement. Nick Woud on baroque timps with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra:

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Percusize Me! is now one year old.

On a day like this of 2010, Percusize Me! started its life on the blogosphere with a post entitled Welcome!

During this year I have tried to show my inquisitiveness with respect to Music, to share ideas with my colleague percussionists and to demosntrate the general public the passion I feel for my profession.

To conmmemorate this first year, there´s a prize draw for two DVD´s for those who send me their email addresses to info@david-valdes.com. The prize is a DVD containing the concert that, on January 29th, 2010, the Gijón Symphony Orchestra, together with the Orfeón Donostiarra, gave at Teatro Jovellanos. The work performed is Verdi´s "Requiem", with soloists Svetla Krasteva, Lola Casariego, Mario Malagnini and Martin Tzonev under the baton of Óliver Diaz. 

What are you waiting for? Send me those email addresses!

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Technique vs. musicality.

One of the most stupid questions I am asked (and, sadly, it´s done by musicians) is the classic "What do you prefer: having a good technique, or being musical?" There´s only one other question as silly, often asked by a fat lady while pinching your cheek: "Who do you love the most: daddy, or mammy?" 

Obviously, this question is vitiated from start:

1. Why do I have to choose one of those two options? Is it not desirable to have BOTH a fantastic technique an a vivid musical imagination?

2. In 100% of the cases, the question comes from musicians with deficient technique.

3. For the previous reason, the question is oriented for the answer to be the one the technique lacking musician wants to hear: that the important thing is musicality.

Photo by Vintage drum, catalogues and accesories

There are myths and misunderstandings regarding technique and musicality we have to get rid of NOW.

For many people, musicality is something you are born with and, the same "quantity of musicality" you are born with, the same you die with. For those who think this way, he who is born "musical", doesn´t have to worry about how to make music, as that´s something he has "inside", and comes out with no effort. Of course, defenders of this theory (what a coincidence, all of them happen to consider themselves "musical" people!) don´t get to understand you can learn how to make music. Obviously, talent and natural predisposition is part of the equation but, if those gifts given by Nature at random are not perfected, they will stay as mere potencial and won´t blossom to make a magnifient musician.

There´s no doubt Carl Lewis had talent and natural predisposition, but wouldn´t he had work very hard, he wouldn´t have won 10 Olympic medals and 9 WC ones. Thus, he considering himself "musical" (I would like to see his "musicality"), will do well improving his gift, and not think he´s got a rough diamond into his chest which will come out everytime he wants to, and without working on it. Of course, the other posibility (no talent, but hard work) exists, but tends to be fruitless. We have, then, these possibilities:

a) No talent + no hard work. Obviously, this brings nothing good. From this combinaion we can only expect disastrous musicians.

b) No talent + hard work. We can expect few from this case. Sadly, good will and effort (fantastic virtues) are not enough if they are not accompanied by something more. This combination produces mediocre musicians.

c) Talent + no hard work. This is a peculiar case which drives nuts those in case b): we all know people who, almost doing nothing, get much better results than those expending much more hours on the instrument. Obviously, this produces better musicians than b), but they are incomplete, as their talent is not taken further through hard work.

d) Talent + hard work. Of course, this is the combination producing the true musician. I don´t think I have to explain what´s evident.

Photo Deborah Smith Music

Other nonsense we normally get to hear is of this kind: "He´s a musician with a very good technique, but he is very cold". That´s the kind of justification given by a musician who, obviously, has not the technique of the one he is criticizing. As in everything in life, there are musicians with great technique being more or less expresive, but linking "technique" to "coldness" is such an stupidity that I will employ no time trying to dismantle that relation.

Photo Dulcie Holland

The alleged musicality of those reviling technique is nothing more than oversized ritardandi, excessive phrasing, very slow (due to the lack of technical control) tempi, inflated long notes... Sadly, many people think their kitsch, affected and mannered interpretation is "musical", but no... It is KITSCH, AFFECTED and MANNERED. We have, thus, musicians who revile technique and promulgate "musicality", but their alleged musicality is nothing more than something kitsch and mannered (so, in reality, they have nothing at all).

The reason why I think the question that gives cause to this article is stupid is because, he who is asking it, thinks that one can exist without the other, and THAT´S NOT TRUE: musical expresion can never be more than commensurate with technique, and every student with a normal intelligence has no problem at all developing both at the same time.     

When musical imagination triggers those muscular reflexes we have been working on for so many years, it gets a response from our fingers, wrist, arm..., and all we want to express flows from brain to instrument with no impediment. What happens when those muscular reflexes (technique) do not exist? Our fingers, wrist, and arm cannot respond, due to the lack of conscious technical work, to the demands of our brain; so, in between brain and instrument there´s a bottle neck preventing musical expression.

Technique without musical expression is a possibility to be guarded against; having said this, we all know "circus players" which do not transmit much emotion, but there they are: earning a living (with much success in many cases!). I still don´t know a musician allegedly "musical" with scarce technique managing to pay his mortgage.  On the other hand, artistic musical expression (real one, no mannered stuff) without a substancial technique is an impossibility, as the finest shades of musical meaning require the finest shades of technical control. Thus, separating technique from musical expression (and viceversa) is a fallacy, as one cannot be understood without the other, one is commensurate to the other, and both can be taught. 

So, next time you are asked that damned little question, answer BOTH, and you will also get an idea of the horrendous mental mess that asking person has.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

In memoriam David Searcy.

Sadly, I´m writing again mourning a loss. David Searcy has passed away on August, 2nd.

David was timpanist for the orchestra of Teatro alla Scala in Milan (before that, he played for the Bergen Philharmonic), a magnificent musician, and an excellent person. He was also a faculty member at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where I got master classes from him.

His knowledge of the operatic repertoire was enormous, and his ideas on editing notes were a major influence on me.

Rest in peace.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Teddy Brown, a xylophone virtuoso.

As a percussionist, I always thought George Hamilton Green was the paradigm of the xylophonists, the virtuoso par excellence. His book is the Bible of the instrument, containing concepts I have incorporated to my playing (keeping wrists very low, using the edge on the accidental bars...). He was a prolific composer, a magnificent player and a successful teacher.

© Meredith Music

Apart from George Hamilton Green, my "xylophonistic radar" engaged George Lawrence Stone, Bob Becker, and few others. Recently, and thanks to the magic of the Internet, I have discovered a fantastic player: Teddy Brown.

Abraham Himmelbrand (that was his real name) was a man of rotund appearance, multi-instrumentalist, with an extraordinary musical talent, who played xylophone extraordinarily well.

A few videos:

See the ease on his playing, the use of the edge on the accidentals (magnificent that lateral shot), how low he keeps his wrists, those one handed scales.. A true virtuoso!

On this last video, he makes difficult things look easy, so confident... This song is quite cheesy, but makes me want to sing "walking in a winter wonderland".

Apart from being a terrific xylophone player, he was an amazing snare drummer. See his left hand on 0:25 onwards!

Here he is playing both instruments:

Teddy Brown: a natural talent and, sadly, not known among percussionists. Maybe, it was his premature death at 46, together with the fact that he left no legacy in the form of a book (something George Hamilton Green did) that condemned this player to oblivion.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Tambourine technique II.

After some months away from the blog, I´m back again. As you already know, I have a passion for the sea and navigation. This months I´ve been studying and preparing my exam for becoming the Spanish equivalent to the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, and I have passed 100% of the subjects I was enrolled in: Metereology, Oceanography, English and Radiocommunications.

Now that I have more time, I can write on the blog again... There we go!

Sometime ago, Ronny Lauten, follower of this blog, read my previous article "Tambourine Technique". As I wrote about a technique suitable for piano passages, Mr. Lauten got in touch with me, wanting to know my approach to loud ones.

Well, when I play forte, I use the same technique. When you want to play intrincate and loud passages, everything explained on that previous article is of application. Re-read it, as it has very detailed information. The only difference beween piano and forte is the velocity of attack. As my students already know, I always relate dynamics and velocity of attack: More speed always means more volume, less speed implies less volume.

On this video, you can see and hear that technique on loud passages:

This technique is very useful for things like "Capriccio Spagnol", "Carmen", "España"... It has many applications and, as it happens with its piano counterpart, it allows for the instrument to be played high, keeping the visual factor.

Many percussionists use the knee technique for these situations. Personally, (not neglecting any other way of playing, as different situations can be better resolved with certain technique instead of other), I prefer to unify criteria and play everything as simple and natural as possible. If I can play an excerpt this way, I prefer it over the knee version, as I can stay seated (read "To sit or not to seat? That is the question") and keep the instrument high.

As you can see, this technique can be used with many passages.

But... What if we need to play agile passages  with very generous dynamics ("Trepak" comes to mind)?  For this, I use a very similar technique. Our thumb may not be enough for dynamics above forte (quite logical as it´s only one finger), so I use a group of muscles located on the base of the palm named thenar and hypothenar prominences. It will be the red marked part the one replacing our thumb, allowing to play louder:

© ASSH

This technique is very similar, but presents slight differences.

Our fingers strike exactly the same: they hit the tambourine in the same way we already know.

© David Valdés

The difference is in the way we hit with the palm. Contrary to the way we used the thumb, which striked the instrument, it is the tambourine which produces the stroke: the right hand stays still (very important), being the tambourine with a left hand twist the one producing the stroke:

© David Valdés

Obviously, it´s crucial for both types of stroke to be as similar as possible, resulting in a homogeneous sound. The "work load" is for the fingers, and the "extra strokes" are assignated to the base of the palm.

On the following video, you can see the different movements:

I encourage you to practice these techniques for their extraordinary versatility.

These are just a few of the many possibilities the tambourine has to offer. In future articles, I´ll write some more about different techniques for this instrument.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

To sit or not to sit? That is the question.

Today, I´ll write about something that may make no sense out of Spain, but I´ve been asked about it quite a few times: In the orchestra, should I stand up or sit down when playing?

In Spain, the usual procedure is to stand up for playing cymbals, bass drum, triangle, tambourine, xylo... In my particular case, I have never asked myself why, but as it was what I always have seen, I simply stood up for playing.

It was not until I moved to London that I started questioning this method. The first work I played with the orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music was Strauss´ "A Hero´s Life", and I was in charge of tam-tam, cymbals and triangle. When I stood up to play my first entrance, the whole section looked at me and made funny faces. As soon as I finished, the principal asked me: "Why are you standing up?" Very secure of myself, I told him all that stuff about the visual thing, the theatrical component, that a concert is also seen, apart from listened to... He smiled and told me to do whatever I fancied but, in the UK, that was quite extravagant.

Few days after I attended my first concerts, and I realized that the whole section was sitting down.

I asked my teacher, and his explanations convinced me.

There´s no other member of the orchestra (except for the conductor) standing up for playing. When a player stands up, is calling attention to himself, announcing in a very visual way to the audience that he is about to do something: "Hey, look at me, I´m standing up so you can see I´m about to hit something!"

Standing up, you are calling an unnecessary attention to yourself and to the entrance you are about to play, which shouldn´t have it: No other player makes such a pompous announcement. The important thing is Music, not your next entrance, so boldy announced when you stand up. When you do so, you also take the risk of making extraneous noises (cracking floors, noisy chairs...).

You can keep the visual aspect keeping your instrument high, showing it to the audience (the old saying "if you can´t see it, you can´t hear it" is still valid), but not taking the theatrical aspect so far that it gets over-important.

Since my London days, I play sitting down. There are very few occasions when I stand up. This way, I do not call attention to my next entrance, and give the importance to the Music, not to me, the chap who is standing up, distracting the audience, calling for attention, focussing the interest, and making the members of the audience say "look, look... He´s standing up, something´s about to happen!"

As you can see on the first video, I play cymbals (both clashed and suspended) sitting down on a high stool, right at hip height: This way, my height is almost the same standing and sitting, not calling attention to myself.

You already knnow the following video from the post "Tambourine Technique", but it illustrates very well my purpose: I´m playing sitting down, but maintain the visual aspect keeping the tambourine high.

Same thing with bass drum... There´s no need for standing up. I can play everything while sitting down, no extraneous moves...

I can assure you none of the section principals nor conductors I have played with, have ever complained about me sitting down while playing. Try it: Sit down, don´t call attention to yourself, keep things nice and easy, no complicated stuff... As they say, KISS! (keep it simple, stupid!).

Jesus told Lazarus to "stand up and walk!". I tell you to "sit down and play!"

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Mostlymarimba.

I can´t deny it: many of you know how much I admire Leigh Howard Stevens, his work, the way he makes music, his sense of humor... Having said that, I have to admit his presence on the cyberspace was frankly poor, as his website was not updated for a vey long time (years, maybe).

Today, I was very pleasantly surprised when I discovered Malletech has renovated its website, which looks like this:

© Malletech

It has many new sections, and much more developed than before. Thre´s a meticulous description of all instruments manufactured by Malletech, including its new vibraphone. Yes, ladies and gentlemen... What everybody was anxiously waiting for (at least me!) is now a reality: Malletech does make vibraphones!

© Malletech

There´s a section devoted to their mallets, arranged by series or instrument, all their music catalogue and recordings, artists, events and news... Everything related to Malletech, Resonator Records, Kp3..., has a presence on the new site.

The best thing is the new educational section, which includes videos and articles, and carries on with the formative side of my favourite section from the older site: "For Marimba Geeks".

© Malletech

Because this new site has been on line for only a few days, it still has some things that need to get fixed, but I´m sure they will be improved soon.

After so much time neglecting their web presence, it seems that, at last, Malletech has pulled up its socks, and I have received their decision with joy... They even have a YouTube channel and a FaceBook account!

YouTube

Facebook

I´m really looking forward for the new site to be full of new content.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

In memoriam Joe Morello.

On March 12th, Joe Morello has passed away.

This fantastic musician (who even played as a violin soloist with the Boston Symphony) was the drummer for the fabulous "Dave Brubeck Quartet".

His book "Master Studies" and "Master Studies II" are a cornerstone for me and, together with the late Jim Chapin, he is one of my major influences. My snare drum playing owes very much to him.

© Modern Drummer

Sadly, having had some heart trouble, he died yesterday aged 82.

As a homage, I suggest the following video, in which he plays one of the mythical themes by the "Dave Brubeck Quartet": "Take Five". Please observe the wonderful music, the splendid production and the superb sound (apart from the extraordinary musicians, perhaps those Neumann U67 are part of the equation).

Rest in peace.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

New things coming from old ones.

There´s nothing new under the sun and, whatever we think is something new, chances it has been invented and developed by someone else before we did are very possible. Today, I´d like to write about a percusive gadget that has deep roots into the past.

First is first, so let me introduce you the original concept:

Photo courtesy of Maciej Kazinsky

Have a look at the bottom of the bowl of this pair of baroque timpani.You can see a device shaped like a trumpet bell: it´s a "Schalltrichter" ("schall" means sound, and "trichter" means funnel).

This device was common in German timpani for a long period (between 1600 and 1800). Drums with this piece are very rare outside Germany, so we can think this constructive element is very characteristic from this country.

It was mentioned in old treatises: "Musicus autodidactos" (J.P. Eisel - 1738), "Die Pauken und Trommeln" (G. Fechner - 1862), and the older ones can be found in a pair of timpani kept at the Bayerische Nationalmuseum, dated in 1620. 

Its function was to create a saussenden Nachklang (resonant reverberance ) by means of the funnel moving back and forth, enriching a sound that, otherwise, would be quite anodyne (Fechner dixit)*.

As time passed, the "Schalltrichter" fell in disuse.

You can see more photos and read a very interesting article in The Well-Tempered Timpani.

Don´t you thik its desing is very similar to those found on subwoofers and loud speakers?

Three years ago (I don´t know if they even know what a "Schalltrichter" is), a company started selling a gadget coming form that organologic tradition, a device which gives rise to many opinions among drummers: the "Kickport".

© Kickport

As you can see, it´s kind of a funnel which goes on the resonant head of the bass drum:

© Kickport

Acording to the manufacturer, it gives "more lows, more tone, better definition and more punch", apart from slightly dampening the resonant head. Does it work? Opinions vary: there´s people that, after trying it, they hear a huge improvement, and there´s people who hears nothing at all. As always, we can find confronted opinions: some think it´s very useful and its creators have hit the jackpot, while others think it´s a bluff coming from someone with a very cunning commercial vision.

The thing is that it seems to have had some sucess, and their creators have milked the idea: Why just the bass drum when the set includes more drums? As bold as brass, they extended the concept to toms and snare drum:

© Kickport

I haven´t tried it, so I cannot give my opinion. If I ever have the chance to try it, I´ll write about it trying to explain my thoughts on it.

The very interesting thing, and what made me write about this new toy, is the similarity I´ve found between the "Kickport" and "Schalltrichter" present in German timpani. We tend to think we are very modern and cool, but this idea has been working since 1600.

As I said at the beginning, there´s nothing new under the sun... Very new looking ideas are 400 years old. The eternal return hits again, and the "Schallrichter" gets reincarnated in the "Kickport".  

* The information on the two paragraphs before the asterisk comes from an article by Ben Harms titled "The world of historical timpani", written for "Early Music America" for its summer 2008 edition.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés

Tambourine technique.

Tambourine is probably one of the "accessory instruments" I like to play the most. Its possibilities are almost endless, and the ammount of techniques and tricks you can use on it are countless.

Few days ago, I played for the Asturias Symphony Orchestra a work with a very interesting tambourine part: "Romeo and Juliet" by Hector Berlioz. Here´s the video of one of the concerts (you´ll have to crank the volume up, as audio hasn´t been compressed):

As always, here you have the music:

As you can see, between rehearsal numbers 18 and 19, I use a peculiar technique which consists in swinging between the middle finger and the thumb. There are several ways you could play this passage, but I used this technique because I can keep the instrument high (keeping the visual factor, which is important to the public), because I can even both rhythmycally and timbrically my strokes, and because it helps me getting the phrasing I want (energy on the first note, coming all the following ones from that first impulse, and then tappering down the motif).

To play this technique, we have to even our fingers lenght in order to get all strokes of the same intensity. For this, make your right hand adopt the shape of an inverted "C":

© David Valdés

Don´t play with your fingers stretched, as your thumb is shorter and you wouldn´t get your strokes even:

© David Valdés

With the correct position, put your fingers on the frame (this way, you´ll be on the jingles, they´ll react inmediately to your stroke and won´t be late. You will also get a clearer sound, as the head won´t sound, just the jingles):

© David Valdés

© David Valdés

Don´t play as in the following picture, as your thumb will be more on the head, thus producing a different sound. It´s not a good posture, as you´ll have to use to movements: a piston stroke with your fingers, and a rotary one with your thumb. The "C" position is better, as it uses just one movement and is more efficient.

© David Valdés

Once you are correctly situated on the instrument, you swing back and forth between middle finger and thumb, trying to even and homogenize the sound produced by the two different strokes. Here´s a video that illustrates it:

This technique can be used on many excerpts: "España" (Chabrier), "Iberia" (Debussy), "Scheherezade" (Rimsky-Korsakov), "Alborada del Gracioso", "Rhapsody Espagnol" (Ravel), "Nutcracker" (Tchaikovsky), "Symphony #3" (Mahler)...

Also, this technique is fantastic for playing one, two and three notes ornaments. With little modifications, we can get dynamics above forte and play things like "Trepak" from ""Nutcracker" (yes, I played it not using my knee). 

If you want a versatile technique, I recommend you trying this one, as its applications are numerous.

…et in Arcadia ego.

© David Valdés