Repertoire and Improvisation for Mallet Percussionists By Ed Saindon

ith marimba and vibraphone, joy improvising once they understand the very deep and virtuosic regardless of the mallet percussionists have many mechanics of the process. style. Wdiversified opportunities to play In my mallet keyboard class at Berklee The mallet percussionist should have great music in all kinds of styles and College of Music in Boston, we generally a comprehensive musical background in genres. The marimba, with its huge melodic have a mix of mallet percussionists who are terms of theory, harmony, arranging, com- range as well as vast array of colors, has either coming from much potential in creating wonderful music jazz or classical back- Incorporating improvisation into a piece in a solo or group format. The same can be grounds. The classical said of the vibraphone, along with the deft players really thrive can give a composition a sense of utilization of pedaling and dampening. and have a great time The level of musicality and craftsman- improvising once they spontaneity and immediacy. ship of today’s mallet player is impressive, understand the basic and the bar is continually being raised. fundamentals. More often that not, the position, and improvisation. Ultimately, Many keyboard percussionists come from classical players will bring many positive playing music transcends the instrument, a classical background and have focused attributes to the music that they developed and it comes down to being a good musi- on adaptations from the classics as well as from playing classical music, such as a cian who is well-versed in all areas of mu- contemporary and newly commissioned beautiful tone, musical phrasing, varied sic. Many keyboard percussionists have all works. That being said, it seems that many articulation, and a fluid and refined tech- the technique they need; it’s more a matter mallet percussionists (more marimbists?) nique. of being comfortable with the different pro- shy away from incorporating improvisation cess of reading a classical piece versus com- into their playing or coming up with their Repertoire ing up with a spontaneous arrangement of own adaptations of existing material. One of the best ways for mallet players a song, embellishing a song’s melody, or For mallet artists, being able to arrange to come up with and develop their sound incorporating improvisation in their perfor- and create their own adaptations of existing is to create their own compositions or mance. compositions opens up a whole world of adaptations of existing material. In terms There’s no reason why the keyboard new music. It also allows them to be much of existing repertoire, there is a vast pool percussionist shouldn’t be able to play an more personal in their repertoire selection of material for the mallet percussionist to excerpt from the Bach Sonatas and Partitas and, consequently, brings more of their per- choose from. A few suggestions include a for the Violin and then improvise over the sonality into their performances. song from the Great American Songbook, progression of the excerpt. How about add- The absence of improvisation in many of a Brazilian choro, a Jobim bossa-nova, a ing a left-hand bass part while the right today’s mallet keyboardist’s performances Scott Joplin rag, an adaptation of a classical hand plays the melody or improvises over is unfortunate, since the art of improvisa- piece such as Bach’s “Sicilienne” (pianist the progression of the excerpt? In order to tion offers a unique perspective and process Kenny Werner’s rendition is powerful and do that, one needs to analyze the composi- in making music. Incorporating improvisa- beautiful), a Latin montuno, or a contempo- tion’s harmony and develop the ability to tion into a piece can give a composition a rary jazz composition by Corea, Jarrett, or improvise and “play over the changes.” sense of spontaneity and immediacy. Also, Metheny. Furthermore, if mallet percussionists are in a group performance, improvisation al- The potential in terms of repertoire is well-versed in theory, arranging, composi- lows the player a great deal of potential for very broad in scope and can cover a wide tion, and improvisation, their performances interacting and responding with each mem- variety of musical styles. With the music of in any style will be enhanced with a more ber of the group. today being so global, all of these musical grounded and musical foundation. A large The art of improvisation can be applied styles are very prevalent and accessible. part of playing is making the “right” choic- to many styles and is definitely not limited How about the mallet percussionist play- es, and we are making small and subtle to jazz. Incorporating improvisation into ing a program of all Astor Piazzolla music decisions every moment as we play music. a performance does not have to be com- arranged and adapted for vibraphone and The player who knows music in terms of plicated and can be as simple and easy as marimba? What about a program of all composition, arranging, harmony, melody, choosing a mode and improvising with Beatles music? Regarding musical styles, rhythm, and improvisation will be more apt that scale over one chord. Learning about there’s no reason why the keyboard percus- to make consistently better choices. improvisation will benefit the mallet per- sionist can’t successfully function in the Mallet players should also have the cussionist’s playing in general. Although a many different and varied contexts such as knowledge and ability to create introduc- mallet player may initially be hesitant with pop, Latin, tango, folk, hip-hop, funk, etc. tions, interludes, and endings that may improvisation, I’ve seen many players en- The list is expansive, and the music can be involve a “vamp” (an extended, repeated percussive notes 44 AUGUST 2007 two- or four-measure phrase). Other devic- whether it is classical, rock, or jazz. Ravel, and Debussy, why not use that ex- es may include stop-time figures, changes Many players think that improvisation perience to improvise in the style of those in time feels or time signatures, modula- must always be an intricate process that is composers? Take a Bach Minuet, analyze tions, reharmonization, and medleys of only applied to difficult progressions as in the progression, and play theme and varia- a bebop composi- tions on the Minuet. Try to play it in a dif- Improvisation allows the individual tion like Charlie ferent key without writing it out. In other Parker’s “Donna words, classical repertoire and improvisa- player’s personality to shine through and Lee.” It can be, but tion should not be thought of as two unre- it doesn’t have to lated or opposing entities. There are many come out in a performance. be necessarily that. similarities, and one can learn from both. It can be as simple A multitude of educational material is songs with smooth transitions. In adapting as playing “Happy Birthday” and coming available that addresses the mechanics and and creating an arrangement of a song, the up with an embellished melody, or play- techniques of improvisation. A few recom- keyboard percussionist does not necessarily ing theme and variations on an American mendations would be Effortless Mastery by have to play the song as played by the orig- folk song. Improvisation does not have to Kenny Werner (published by Jamey Aeber- inal artist or anyone else. Rather, it would be flashy, advanced, or complicated. One sold), Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch be more interesting for players to come up can improvise on a simple mode, a four-bar (published by Tarcher/Penguin), and a with their own version of the song that is triadic progression, or over a two-bar Latin DVD, The Art of Improvisation with Keith unique to them. There are many ways and a meringue pattern. Improvising can be as Jarrett (produced by EuroArts). variety of musical devices that can be used simple and direct as playing with another to enhance an arrangement and make it person and trading phrases as they relate to Ed Saindon more personal and interesting. each other. is a Professor at Berklee College Improvisation can also be described as of Music in Boston, where he has been Improvisation spontaneous composition. Anyone with teaching since 1976. Ed’s latest recording Improvisation allows the individual an understanding of composition can es- features Dave Liebman along with Ed on player’s personality to shine through and sentially use that knowledge to improvise. vibraphone, marimba and piano. Advance come out in a performance. Improvisation It is a well-known fact that composers Music (Germany) recently published reflects one’s personality and mood. As a such as Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven were Rhythmic Phrasing in Improvisation, Volume 1 of the series Exploration in Rhythm. For more result, a player’s improvisation is always skilled improvisers and masters at theme- PN changing and may be different from day to and-variation. A case in point would be information, visit www.edsaindon.com. day. One’s involvement with improvisation Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for the Violin. The is an ongoing evolutionary process that will “Sarabande” and the “Double” in “Sonata continue to grow and develop throughout II” are based on the same progression. The one’s career in music. melodic lines in the “Double” are brilliant PAS on MySpace Improvisation is creating in the moment, and filled with wonderful examples of and an important part of the process is the chord arpeggiation, tension-resolution, and The Percussive Arts Society now ability to create while also listening and guide-tone line movement. If one would has a profile on the social reacting to the other players. Consequently, like to learn how to improvise, this would having “good ears” and the ability to listen be an excellent piece to play and analyze. networking site, MySpace.com! are very important components in the pro- Classical percussionists should take cess of improvisation. advantage of their background and experi- The art of improvisation is all about the ence performing the classics. For someone www.myspace.com/pasorg process, not the end result. It’s not about who is well versed in Bach, Beethoven, the written notes on the page; it’s about stepping out of the way and allowing the music to flow and go wherever it wants to go. Improvisation can relate to many things. It’s the embellishment of a melody; it’s theme and variations; it’s supporting the soloist by accompanying with chords and a good time feel; it’s improvising on a spe- cific mode. Improvisation involves such musical factors as pacing, phrasing, motivic development, tension-resolution, and con- trast with such components as rhythmic density, syncopation vs. non syncopation, dynamics, and articulation. All of these factors are prevalent in all kinds of music and transcend any specific style of music,

percussive notes 45 AUGUST 2007