Publicity
Slap Happy was featured in the Your Hub section of the Denver Post on February 9th. Your Hub is a “ local news and citizen journalism” portion of the Denver Post that covers news from the entire Denver Metro area, which has been divided into 12 regions. Slap Happy was featured in the local business focus section for the South Metro region. Click here for the Your Hub Facebook Page.

Student Base
January saw the addition of two new piano students to the studio. Both are beginning students and are well on their way to success! Also, the first professional ensemble for SHM began two weeks ago. The Slap Happy Body Percussion Ensemble has begun rehearsals on Thursday nights from 7:30-9:00 pm. We have covered the basics, began learning some funk and samba grooves, and have started some improvising! Our hope is to be out in Denver this summer: keep an eye out for us at the 16th Street Mall, Larimer Square, or Pearl Street in Boulder! We are also always looking for new members. Rehearsals are open, or you can contact Felicia to join.

Summer Chamber Music Camp
This summer, Slap Happy will host the first annual SHM Chamber Music Camp for middle and high school students. Students will spend one week rehearsing small (3-8 piece) ensemble pieces for a culminating performance for friends, family, and community members. This commuter camp will include coachings from local musicians and teachers for each chamber ensemble, music theory lessons, and improvisation, among other classes to be determined. Information will be sent to schools at the end of March, so stay tuned here, on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter for more information!

Percussionist's Heaven! Donated by Mary Hanson

Studio Improvements
As is expected when starting a new business, there are a lot of gradual improvements that happen. Since the start of 2012 I have been adding posters and decorations, organizing the office, and adding small touches that make the studio even more comfortable. The special event of the year so far, however, is the recent donation of instruments, decorations, music, audio recordings, and teaching aids from Mary Hanson! She generously gave SHM years of teaching wisdom in the form of posters, books, and CD’s, as well as several flutes, shakers, drums, bells, and sticks from all over the world. It was a percussionist’s heaven this morning as I went through all of it and found places for everything in the studio. Thank you so much, Mary! I promise that they will be put to good use and well-loved.

The World Percussion wall, all nice and organized. Donated by Mary Hanson.

Stockhausen's "Musik im Bauch" for six percussionists and music boxes

As a very general rule, I am not a big fan of “20th century” or “modern” music. That is not to say that I don’t like atonality, sound effects, or anything written in the last 100 years…but several of the pieces I heard on Focus Day did absolutely nothing for me. The performances were very well done, and I’m sure several people in the audience found the music to be exciting, but winding up music boxes while sword fighting a large birdman just doesn’t speak to me. I have enormous amounts of respect for the composers like Stockhausen who broke down the barriers of musical composition; I just don’t enjoy listening to the results.

To each his own, I suppose.

Focus Day Highlights and…Other Reactions

The first presentation I saw was Robert Van Sice’s masterclass on the marimba works of compser Peter Klatzow. The performers were great, and each piece had moments that I thought were beautiful, though none seemed to leave a lasting impression. The final piece, however, did stick with me. This was Klatzow’s 1985 Concerto for Marimba, written for solo marimba and string orchestra. The performers only had time to give a short sample of each movement. I had never even heard of Klatzow before this masterclass, and now I am very glad I have!

One of the concerts I was most looking forward to was John Serry’s “Night Rhapsody”, performed by Tom Burritt. This is one of those pieces that, under normal circumstances, I would listen to with no emotion and walk away from with the general impression that it was another marimba solo written just for the sake of being extremely difficult. After following along with the PATV series that Tom put on Drumchattr, however, I was eager to hear it performed live. I brought my score with me, full of the notes I had taken over the past few weeks, and listened for the various themes, Dies Irae, and motives I had circled. There is definitely something to be said for understanding a piece academically. Suddenly this piece was a very deep and intricate solo, and I felt like I was on the inside of a secret joke. Had it not been for those videos, I would never have enjoyed this as much as I did. Thank you, Tom!

At the opening concert on Wednesday night, Mantra performed Michael Gordon’s “Timber” for six percussionists. The piece was written for each performer to play on a Simantra (a glorified plank of wood with a haunting sound). The ten minute excerpt was hypnotic, and I very much enjoyed it. For Focus Day, they performed the piece in its entirety in the nearby Sound Garden. The acoustics were great, the lighting was perfect, and I am very glad I attended. The piece, though, was about six times longer than it needed to be. I loved it as a ten-minute soundscape; an hour of spellbinding droning was simply too much for me.

Joseph Schwantner demonstrating the Tibetan singing bowls

The highlight of my Focus Day was by far the discussion with composer Joseph Schwantner. He told us stories about his inspiration, his childhood guitar, his compositional method, and his love for the world of percussion. He touched on “Velocities” (yet another marimba solo that I just never understood…and probably should look into academically sometime), “…and the mountains rising nowhere” (my favorite Schwantner piece!), and his first concerto for percussion. He explained the connections between the first concerto and his second one, without giving away anything about the new piece. When we saw the premiere later that night it was again like I was in the know.

Focus Day was full of music I had never heard of, music I am glad I was exposed to, and probably music that I will not actively try and listen to ever again. The past 50 years have taken percussion to an entirely new place, one as varied as those who play.

Final Concert: Poncho Sanchez

Now I am starting to sort it all out. My luggage is unpacked, laundry is done, pictures are uploaded, and the massive pile of books, catalogs, music, stickers, posters, advertisements, and notes have been sorted into various smaller piles. Tangible items like that are easy to sort. I call it organized chaos…both my dad and grandmother use the same method of taking large piles and putting them into several smaller piles, which gradually get filed away, re-written, or reassembled back into more organized large piles. It does mean that my desk never looks like it is organized at all, but there is a system to the madness.

On the other hand, all of the abstract thoughts, ideas, and goals that are now rattling around in my head are harder to put into neat little piles. Neat little written snapshots on my Slap Happy blog, however? Easily doable.

Overall Reaction

This was my first time traveling to PASIC, and what a year to start! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Percussive Arts Society. The focus topic was “Five Decades of New Music for Percussion 1961-2011″. There is an incredible range of music that has been written for percussion: from Bach transcriptions on marimba to a sixty-minute long piece for planks of wood. Because of that range of repertoire, I had an equally wide range of appreciation for the various pieces. And while there were several pieces that I distinctly did not enjoy listening to, there was not a single performance that I regret attending.

I knew before arriving in Indianapolis that there would be instances where I would have to choose between different presentations because of the overlap in time. What I wasn’t expecting was some of the decisions I made. PASIC really brought out a side of me that I haven’t had to experience before. In school, and even more since graduating, I was exposed to so many styles of music and generally was expected to do it all. I never had to pick and choose between guest artists at Lawrence and rarely had to choose between styles of music since then. When I got to PASIC and had to choose between a presentation on symphonic percussion, marimba, or world percussion, I had no idea what I would choose. Often I chose on a whim.

I started to discover where my interests really lie. Symphonic percussion is not something that holds as much appeal to me as I thought it did, while percussion from cultures I have never experienced kept me on the edge of my seat and wishing for more. Even marimba, which I absolutely adore, didn’t wind me up as much as a percussion ensemble playing on a guitar with the shafts of marimba mallets.

The sessions that really stuck with me, that I enjoyed the most, took the most notes, and told the most people about, were not at all what I was expecting. Florida State University blew everything from PASIC completely out of the water. No professional musician could hold a candle to how excited I was by that concert. They will have their own snapshot here in the next few days. Well done, FSU! Ganesh Kumar and his mathematical kanjira playing had 300 of us laughing, stumbling over tricky rhythms that left our tongues numb, and swarming Cooperman immediately after the class. Trio Azucar and Guitarra Azul had me itching to dance, skipping the next class just to hang out with them in the exhibit hall and chat about drums and life, anticipating the closing party later that night.

PASIC 2011 was incredible. Absolutely worth the lack of sleep, the stress of flying, the time away from other commitments, and the dent in my wallet. And, if I can help it, I will be in Austin for PASIC 2012 to do it all again.

Mantra's evening performance of "Timber" by Michael Gordon

We had a lot of fun, and will definitely be doing more workshops in the future. For more up to date information about Gamelan Tunas Mekar check out the website here.

As a duet, Duo Ello blends the classical, traditional, and popular styles of Brazilian music. Using traditional instruments (berimbau, pandeiro, reco-reco, etc) in often untraditional ways, they give a unique sound and energy to an already energetic style of music.

Guello is known as one of the most influential Brazilian percussionists, particularly on the pandeiro. He has taught at the Conservatório de Música de Tatuí and performed in a variety of ensembles, including the Carioca Trio. In the following video, the Carioca Trio performs “Oxun”, which features an outstanding pandeiro solo by Guello about 3 minutes in.

Carlos Stasi teaches at São Paulo State University and has written well over 100 pieces for percussion, including the pandeiro duet “ela”. This piece is the one from their concert at Lawrence that really struck a chord (pardon the pun) with me. It is an amazing display of pandeiro technique and virtuosity, showcasing the wide range of sounds and patterns you can make on such a simple instrument. Unfortunately, I cannot find a video online of the entire piece…only the first part of it. I have included it here, so you can get a taste for it, but I will keep looking for the full thing. It is at the end of the piece (not featured in this video), where they hold a kalimba inside the frame of the pandeiro, that I loved so much.

And so, I will leave you with that, for now. How’s that for a cliffhanger?

Head
The head of the pandeiro is traditionally made of animal skin, such as goat- or calf-skin, but can also be made using a synthetic head. The pitch of the drum can be changed by using pressure from the player’s finger on the head itself: pressing into the head will raise the pitch, and releasing the head will lower it. The specific tuning of the open drum varies based on the preference of the musician playing the instrument, the size of the drum, and the style of music being played. It is the pitch changes in conjunction with the jingles that create the traditional sound and rhythms of the pandeiro. On the other hand, the orchestral tambourine is typically factory-tuned and does not leave the performer an option to change the tuning himself. The head in this case acts more as a resonator for the sound of the jingles, and the performer does not want to hear the sound of the drum head as much as the sound of the jingles.

Frame
The pandeiro’s frame is generally thinner than the tambourine’s frame. Both are made of wood (though some can be made of plastic, synthetic material, or metal) and hold the jingles in place. For both instruments, the frame is what the player holds while playing the instrument. The thinner frame of the pandeiro allows the performer to use his fingers to change the pitch of the drum while playing. On the pandeiro, this is also where the player can tune the head, adjusting the tension of the rods which hold the head in place.

Jingles
The jingles are what give the pandeiro its crisp sound and create the most easily recognizable difference between the pandeiro and the orchestral tambourine. Tambourines can be found with either one or two rows of jingles, whereas pandeiros always have one row. They are mounted around the frame of the drum, held fast by a nail or a rod. On the pandeiro, the jingles are attached so that the edges of the jingles touch each other, keeping them from vibrating for a long time. The tambourine is set up with the jingles in the opposite direction, giving the tambourine a much louder, fuller sound.

The following video is from pandeiro.com, a great resource for anyone interested in this instrument. They have more videos of great pandeiristas, biographies, news and events from around the world, and of course a store from which you can buy instruments, CDs, accessories, and much more.

In this video Mestre Jorginho do Pandeiro is demonstrating a solo in Rio de Janeiro, recorded in 2001. Listen to the crispness of the jingles and the deep tuning of the drum.

And for contrast, this video demonstrates the use and the sound of the orchestral tambourine. This is an excerpt from Berlioz’s “Romeo and Juliet” performed by the Asturias Symphony Orchestra. Notice the different sound of the jingles, the lack of pitch from the head, and the different playing style.

One of the greatest things about being a percussionist is that there are literally hundreds of instruments that you get to play. You aren’t stuck playing the same instrument day after day after day, rehearsing the same standard orchestral excerpts, playing the same repertoire year after year. You can spend one hour practicing a classical marimba solo, the next hour on jazz drum set, and yet another hour playing with a pair of maracas.

This is also what makes percussion so difficult. To be a really well-rounded percussionist, you not only have one instrument to work on, but hundreds. You have to multi-task: find common techniques among various instruments, hear the connections between the styles of different cultures, and try to find the time to learn new instruments. A percussionist is never done. There is always a new instrument to learn or discover.

What is your primary instrument?

When I was in high school it was easy to answer that question. I always would say marimba. It is a beautiful instrument, and the sound of it speaks to me somehow. Not to mention I had played piano my whole life, could sight read on marimba very easily, everyone else wanted to play the snare drum parts (and I liked to be different), and no one wanted to play the “boring” bass drum or crash cymbal parts. So I was a percussionist who specialized in marimba. When applying to colleges, I planned on continuing that focus. And then something wonderful happened to me: I went to Lawrence.

Dane Richeson, the percussion professor at LU, does not allow his students to specialize. Everyone has to not only learn every instrument, but they actually have to practice it. I never imagined that I would be in a practice room just playing finger rolls on a tambourine or doing large crashes on cymbals, but there I was. And on top of the orchestral instruments, Dane also expected us to learn Brazilian, Ghanaian, and Afro-Cuban percussion! It was an overwhelming first year, for sure, but I am thrilled that I did not have time to specialize on marimba. Imagine everything I would have missed out on! I would be a marimbist, not a percussionist. And I am proud to answer that I do not have a primary instrument, but that “I love it all”.

Instrument of the Month

Today is October first. It’s so hard to believe that it is already October…we have pumpkin lights up in our apartment, the weather is cooler (and downright cold in the early morning), and my car has leaves piled up on the windshield every day. With the start of this new season, I am going to start a new focus here at SHM: Instrument of the Month.

Every month I will choose a new instrument. I will look for great videos on YouTube, articles anywhere I can find them, and I’ll even give you my own opinions, tips, and questions about the instrument. Please feel free to join in the fun! Share your videos, links, and comments here!

Instrument of the Month updates will always show up in the tab underneath “Blog” on the menu.

Pandeiro

So let’s jump in! I decided to start off the Instrument of the Month series with the pandeiro, one of my favorite instruments from the country of one of my favorite styles: Brazil. For today, I am just going to start you off with a video, and then another day I will dive into the way it is made, different styles of playing, famous musicians, and more videos.

This video features Paul Mindy, a French percussionist who specializes in Brazilian percussion. It begins as a duet with a guitarist who, unfortunately, is not named in the video. About 1:28 minutes in, Mindy begins a solo. Keep an eye out for his awesome figure-8 finger roll at 2:03, the technique that eluded me all through college, and still does (though I am improving!).

Stay tuned: more to come on the pandeiro all month!