Tan Dun- Water Concerto

I recently had the opportunity to perform Tan Dun's Water Concerto with the Gainesville Orchestra.  
It's not like any standard percussion concerto, mostly non-traditional instruments with their own challenges.  

The solo part itself is not very rhythmically challenging, but adding water to the mix made it interesting.  A good part of the preparation was in discovering different sounds for each instrument and the development of the cadenzas.  I spent a good amount of time just playing with the water.  First working out the sounds required for the piece and then other sounds for the open sections that are aurally different and visually interesting.  Being amplified, certain dynamics were difficult to control.  The water can only get so loud, and playing very soft was difficult on few of the instruments.  Tan Dun did a very good job orchestrating the sounds in with the orchestra.  I also used distance to the microphone to control some dynamics.  I found that the water shaker brought out all of these issues and was the most difficult to control.

I made a brief video demonstrating most of the "instruments" used in the composition.

The orchestra rented the instruments and I added a few of my own.  Below are pictures of what I did for a set up.  I set up two tables on either side of the bowls.  

I ended not taking all of the written tempo markings.  While some of the parts were difficult to play at the written markings, I found that the faster markings felt frantic.  The slower tempo gave the piece a nice smooth groove and gave certain sections an opportunity to breathe.  I wanted more of a calm stream instead of rapids.  The writing on its own increased in intensity and thickness of texture.

The 7/16 time signature and syncopated rhythms will challenge any orchestra.  After practicing to a metronome for a long time, playing with the real thing was an eye opener getting closer to the performance.  Things worked out in the end.  A great visual and aural experience for the audience.

It was a great experience getting to perform it.  Got my hands wet.  Maybe I'll get another opportunity to perform this or another of his nature themed concerti.
If you're interested in the piece, you can find previews online from a DVD performance that was released in 2009.

Percussion basics- holding sticks!

Here's my first video!  Drum basics- how to hold and move the sticks.  Geared toward school band students.   

 

Summer NAMM Show 2012

I attended the Summer NAMM show in Nashville, TN mid July.  Didn't get a lot of time to look at everything in detail, but below are some items of interest.  Interesting variation on established ideas, some are excellent, some are nice concepts that need more polishing.

The Z-Stick is a different take on the cajon.  Cajons are quite popular right now and these are hand percussion instruments that can be played all sorts of ways.  They have a Piezo pickup inside of them and some contain a filling to create a rain stick effect.  They are not audible on their own.  They need to be plugged into a sound system.  Now percussionists can stand in front of their own amp and effects pedals...great more gear to lug around.

Here is a stick holster by B*tch Straps (Trying to keep it PG here).  Pretty straight forward.  Made in Tennessee.

Interesting bass drum and hi hat pedals made by Drumnetics.  Instead of using springs, these pedals use magnets to propel the pedal back and forth.  Strength can be adjusted by changing their position.

Don't remember their name but it's an interesting concept.  Notice that the snare, two toms and a mic stand are mounted to the throne.

This product isn't available for sale just yet.  I forgot their name.  It's a cymbal nut mount of sorts.  The top part stays with the cymbal.  It locks the cymbal in place but by pulling it differently, it comes right off and allows you to quickly put them in your bag.  It's like having a Gibraltar Swivel Nut or one of the many squeeze nuts, but you don't have to worry about losing parts.

 Sabian had a few new prototypes and Remo and Evans had their new 14 mil heads.