RESOURCES FOR COMPOSERS
DOWNLOAD THE PDF
THE AUSTRALIAN MARIMBA COMPOSITION KIT (PDF & VIDEO)
My new Australian Marimba Composition Kit has been a long time coming and indeed it took COVID-19 for me to prioritise the creation of it. My bread and butter as a percussionist is composer/performer collaborations so it felt timely for me to attempt to articulate to composers how to write for my favourite percussion instrument - the 5 octave marimba. The Marimba is an unusual instrument in that most composers (regardless of age or experience) do not understand how to write for it. I think this might be because it is generally not taught in orchestration classes (not being a traditional orchestral instrument of course). Through my new kit I hope to be able to arm composers with a solid knowledge of how the instrument works physically as well as some tips for their own compositions. Please do contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions!
WATCH THE VIDEO
DOWNLOAD THE KIT (VIA DROPBOX BY CLICKING THIS LINK)
DOWNLOAD THE KIT AS A PDF BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE BELOW
RHYTHMS OF CHANGE - OUT NOW!
An awesome new album of works and new scores for marimba and vibraphone by female identifying Australian composers for secondary and tertiary students to include in their exam, recital and concert programming - many of these pieces have been analysed in my Australian Marimba Composition Kit and all the scores are available through the Australian Music Centre.
View the ONLINE CONCERT HERE. Stream the album on Apple Music and Spotify. Purchase a physical copy of the album here.
BUY AMC SCORES HERE:
Anne Cawrse - Dance Vignettes (marimba solo) (2021) ^🇦🇺
Alice Chance - Mirroring (vibraphone solo) 2021 ^🇦🇺
Maria Grenfell - Stings & Wings (marimba solo) (2021) ^🇦🇺
Elena Kats-Chernin - Violet’s Etude (marimba solo) (2010) ^🇦🇺
Elena Kats-Chernin - Poppy’s Polka (vibraphone solo) (2020) ^🇦🇺
Ella Macens - Verve (marimba solo) (2016) ^🇦🇺
Ella Macens - Falling Embers (vibraphone & crotales solo) (2020) ^🇦🇺
Peggy Polias - Receptor (marimba solo) (2021) ^🇦🇺
Bree van Reyk - Slipstreams (vibraphone solo) (2021) ^🇦🇺
CHECK OUT MY PERCUSSION DEMOS PLAYLIST ON YOUTUBE including:
- a video on my waterphone
- a video on my almglocken
- a video on my thai nipple gongs
- a video on my temple bowls
- a video on my random metal objects
- a video on all the things you can do with a concert bass drum
- a video on combining temple blocks, tom toms & marimba & stick choice advice
- a video showing my aluphone with my marimba
- a video showing my portable 3 drum ‘kit’ & aluphone from RECITAL
- photo of my set up for Adams Alleged Dances
- photos of my Feldman, King of Denmark set up
CHECK OUT MY FEMALE IDENTIFYING COMPOSERS YOUTUBE LIST
Featuring almost 50 videos of works by female composers and a couple of interviews. Australian and International composers are all featured here with a combination of solo works and chamber music. Check out popular solos by Amanda Cole (Glocken Blocken), Anne Cawrse (Dance Vignettes) and Elena Kats-Chernin (Violet’s Etude) plus much more!
CHECK OUT MY Instrument Ranges
- my aluphone range is 2.5 octaves - tuned G3-C6
- my vibraphone is an Adams Artist Alpha with a motor that is currently working (yay) Range is 3 octaves F3-F6 and it is 150cm long (when writing for me please ignore vibraphone ranges that are 3.5 or 4 octaves as these are very rare in Australia).
- my marimba is an Adams Artist Alpha 5 octave Range is C2-C7 and it is 254cm long. I also have a 4.3 octave Adams marimba for easier lugging.
CHECK OUT MY Polyrhythm Concept Sheets - here are 2 really helpful sheets for those trying to play their own polyrhythms showing how to break them down with lowest common denominators (it’s just maths after all) and then gradually get them in your muscle memory, as we have to do as performers. These are really handy for both composers and percussionists because they show that polyrhythms are just a musical version of maths - and like maths they take practise!
CHECK OUT MY SSO Meet The Music seminar if you’d like to hear more about how I came to be a professional percussionist.
Australian percussionist Claire Edwardes candidly discusses life as a soloist and chamber musician, including demonstrations of select works for percussion soloist with orchestra. In this SSO Meet the Music seminar, Claire talks about the physical demands of the job, and the relationship between artists and composers. Featured items include Australian works (Matthew Hindson's "Flash", Iain Grandage's "Dances with Devils", Elena Kats-Chernin's "Golden Kitsch"), and particular insight into James McMillan’s "Percussion Concerto No.2", which Claire performs with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra towards the end of 2018.
CHECK OUT MY Australian Music Centre Percussion Representative List featuring over 10 Australian works for percussion. A bit of background: In the 1930s and '40s, the Melbourne-born composer Percy Grainger was busy writing orchestral works, often utilising up to 10 percussionists performing ‘tuneful percussion’ (mostly mallet instruments). Slightly later, Peggy Glanville-Hicks was another early champion of percussion music, featuring much original-sounding percussion in her orchestral compositions. Fast-forward to 1971 and the Australian tour of Les Percussions de Strasbourg resulted in commissions from Peter Sculthorpe and Barry Conyngham. The mid-1970s saw the creation of the Australian Percussion Ensemble (Melbourne) as well as the formation of Synergy Percussion (Sydney), leading to a flurry of collaborative work between composers and percussionists. Read on here.
