Remembrance: A 365 Project (1/365)

I, like millions of others, have set some goals (or resolutions if you prefer) for 2009 - some small, some big. Things like switching from my morning Starbucks vanilla latte to hot green tea, completing all of my unfinished composition projects (there are several), practicing more, running my 2nd half marathon in the spring, and running my first full marathon in the fall. I've also come to realize that I have sorely neglected my blog, so I'm starting a new 365 project.

It is titled "Remembrance" in honor of my mother, Mary-Jo Daughtrey, who passed away one year ago today (1/1/2008) at the young age of 61. One of her favorite songs in church was "Let There Be Peace on Earth," which my sister and I were sure to include in her memorial service. As a way of honoring and remembering, I will be composing and posting a new variation on this beautiful song every day. Some will be quite short with minimal instrumentation while others will be longer with more in-depth scoring. Today, I am simply presenting the theme with the lyrics that are filled with hope and beauty.


(me, my mom, and my sister)

Let There Be Peace on Earth
by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson
Copyright © 1955, Renewed 1983, by Jan-Lee Music (ASCAP)
This arrangement Copyright © 2009, by Jan-Lee Music (ASCAP)
International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by Permission.


Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth,
The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now;
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment and live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

**If you are viewing this entry using a feed reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader, you are likely unable to view the music player that houses the theme or variation. Please view at the original blog address (http://marimbamisadventures.blogspot.com).

Look for Variation 1 tomorrow. Happy New Year!

Lip-Syncing for Percussionists 101

'Tis the season for musicians to be inundated with holiday gigs. Wait, that makes it sound like a bad thing. Don't get me wrong...a little extra cash is always welcome at this time of the year. It just makes for a rather busy schedule.

I had a particularly amusing experience with one of these holiday gigs this year. I was hired to play timpani & percussion (along with 10 string players) for a Christian rock concert at Greensboro Coliseum, featuring headliners Casting Crowns, Natalie Grant, and Avalon. Because I was hired by the local symphony to play the gig, they provided the instruments for me. However, there was apparently a discrepancy between the list of needed instruments and the music itself, so I was left scrambling 30 minutes before rehearsal to track down a set of orchestra bells and wind chimes. Found orchestra bells pretty quickly and was about to run around to find wind chimes when one of the band members stopped me just outside the arena. The conversation went something like this:

Band member: "If you're missing an instrument or two, don't worry about it."
Me: "But the bass player just told me that I definitely need to have wind chimes."
Band member: "Look, you're really just for visuals."
Me: "Ummm, what do you mean?"
Band member: "There are no microphones on you, so you're just eye candy up there. Make it look good. Make it look like you know what you're doing."
Me: "Wow. Okay. Easy enough."

Walking away, I felt a little deflated and maybe even a little used. I climbed back on stage to my rickety, elevated set-up (consisting of 2 timpani, a set of bells, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, and 2 egg shakers) next to the bass player, who reinforced what the other band member had just told me. Why he couldn't have told me this when he saw me running around looking for instruments, I don't know. Anyway, I started mentally preparing for what would be my very first experience "lip-syncing" for a gig. That might be overstating. I did actually play. It's not like I was air drumming or anything. Nonetheless, here's how I would (and did) approach it:

1) Look very engaged, even when not playing (which was a lot for me on this concert). This involved a bit of head-bobbing, toe-tapping, and closing my eyes every now and then.

2) Don't look around in awe of the spectacle around you. We (the string players & I) did not rehearse with any of the bands before the concert, so there was a lot to take in once the concert did start.

3) Pick up sticks/mallets several bars before you play and get in position to play. Then, give many prep strokes above the instruments to try to refocus attention on you. Not once were the strings or I featured on the 2 huge screens on either side of the stage, so you do what you have to. It's all about ego, right?

4) Timpani and cymbal rolls should end in a flourish with mallets up in the air. Similarly, crash cymbals should end up out and in the air after crashes.

5) When playing egg shakers, since they're so small, you may choose not to even pick them up. Just put your hand in the air as if you're holding them and shake. I did actually pick them up. I didn't want to go 100% Milli Vanilli for the gig.

5) I was directly behind and above the drummer for the entirety of the show. Whenever the drummer was taking a solo, I would twirl one of my timpani mallets above my head while pointing at the drummer with the other mallet. OK, that one's a lie.

I've run out. I followed these directions for the first half of the show, meaning I was on my best behavior. However, when I realized no one was looking at me at all during the second half, I might have taken out my iPhone and taken some on-stage pictures.


Casting Crowns with Natalie Grant in the middle

I think I realized why they don't amplify the local musicians that play with them on their tour. After the concert was over and we were packing up, the bass player shakes my hand and tells me I was the first percussionist on their entire tour to play everything correctly. Not that in mattered, but yikes!

So, that was my Friday night and my first experience as lip-syncing eye candy.

Yuletide Recording Session #2 & Wrap-Up

I am sorely behind with updating this blog that is supposed to be a source of up-to-date news. Especially since the 2nd and final recording session for my Christmas CD happened exactly 2 weeks ago. I have excuses though (don't we all?):

#1 - I spent the entire next day editing & mastering the CD with my audio engineer.

#2 - My best friend from TX arrived the following day.

#3 - I ran my first half marathon the following day.

(This was about 9 miles into the race)

#4 - Vegging on the couch for 2 days straight to recover from said half marathon.

Anyway, the CD project....

The 2nd recording session went well but was fraught with a cacophony of sounds from several sources: cars, trucks, motorcycles, planes, trains, church bells, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and even a shopping cart being rolled noisily down a hallway. I am not a fan of recording in a dry-sounding studio and adding reverb/ambient sound post-production. I would much prefer find a place with great acoustics that records well. In this case, I used a church sanctuary here in Greensboro that is located on a well-traveled road at an intersection with a stoplight, which explains most of the vehicular noises I mentioned. When I booked the space, they neglected to tell me Wednesday was lawn mowing day, so we side-stepped those noises with a well-placed lunch break.

The first half of the session was a blast. I was joined by a phenomenal hand drummer (and orchestral percussionist) from the area for two of the tracks on the album – God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen & Deck the Halls. When neither of us showed up to the session with a metronome to check tempi, I turned to my trusty iPhone, searched the App Store, and had downloaded a free metronome to my phone within 2 minutes. Thank you, Apple.


(Pics from the two recording sessions)

The latter half of the session left me all alone with my marimba and recording engineer for what ended up being a VERY stressful 4 hours. But we got it all and I'm very happy with the sound we ended up with. The CD shipment arrives Monday 11/3, so if you want to buy one (or 50), GO HERE.

Yuletide Recording Session #1

Hands down, recording is one of my least favorite aspects of performing. Whether it is the cursed expectation of perfection from future listeners (or myself) or the knowledge I only have a limited amount of time to achieve this "perfection," I do not know. Either way, I knew going into the first of two recording sessions for my Christmas CD this morning that I needed to check my aversion at the door. I remember recording this guy playing a solo clarinet piece I wrote back in my grad school days. He told me how much he loved recording ... that he actually found it fun and liberating. Me, I must have looked at him (and probably looked at him) as if he were nuts. Anyway, it was helpful to look back on how cool and collected he was as I mentally prepared for today, hopefully channeling his positive energy.

The purpose of today's recording session was to record the four marimba quartet arrangements that will be appearing on the album: God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen, Silent Night, Deck the Halls, and A Winter Postlude (Jingle Bells). I was surrounded by some of the best marimba players in Greensboro. With their consistency, accuracy, and musicianship, they certainly helped me to have fun and take my mind off the fact that we were surrounded by microphones and that the recording engineer kept pressing that blessed "Record" button.

After the quartets went off without a hitch, I was feeling confident (and we had time to spare), so I recorded a couple of the solo tracks: A Winter Prelude (Jingle Bells) and Carol of the Bells. I was joined by one of the quartet members on the latter of the two pieces on orchestra bells. Here's a sneak preview (read: unedited & raw) of that piece. I'm really happy with how all has gone so far.

The second session is all set for Wednesday morning and I have my work cut out for me. Here's the remaining solo track list:

God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen (w/ djembe)
Deck the Halls (w/ dumbek)
Silent Night
O Holy Night
What Child Is This?
In the Bleak Midwinter
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

Ugh ... hands are starting to sweat ... having trouble breathing. And the process starts all over again.

Yuletide CD Project

Apparently all it took to inspire my latest CD project was the confusion of one of my running group friends over my last blog entry. She thought that I actually had a CD filled with the Christmas marimba arrangements in my new book. I was planning to do lesser quality recordings of each tune for demo purposes, but if I'm going to spend time doing that, I might as well do it right. However, with it being October and all, I have had to fast-track the entire project in order to have it ready for sale at PASIC and just generally out in time for the holidays.

It will feature the 8 solo marimba arrangements from The Yuletide Marimbist, plus a short opening and closing track (based on Jingle Bells), and my three Christmas marimba quartet arrangements. I'm excited to have some first-rate guest artists playing with me on the album. Here's the current track listing:

1. A Winter Prelude (Jingle Bells)
2. Silent Night
3. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen (w/ tabla)
4. O Holy Night
5. Carol of the Bells
6. Deck the Halls (w/ congas)
7. What Child Is This?
8. In the Bleak Midwinter
9. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
10. Silent Night (quartet)
11. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen (quartet)
12. Deck the Halls (quartet)
13. A Winter Postlude (quartet)

Should be released by the first week in November. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.