Tapspace Interview:
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Clinics and Masterclasses
I offer several different presentations geared toward varied audiences. Below you will find descriptions of the various clinics I currently have in my 'repertoire' - as a guest speaker at your school or event, the presentations can be easily adjusted to accommodate the interest and experience level of the participants.
1. The Five Pillars of Musicality - This clinic, intended for beginning to intermediate players, focuses mainly on what I call the Five Pillars of Musicality. The five “pillars” are as follows: The Notes, including ideas about reading, practicing, and memorizing music; Sound, including mallet choice, tone production, beating spots, and stroke types; Dynamics, which covers developing and controlling dynamic range, shape, and shading; Tempi, including developing consistency and control, and working on musical pacing; and finally, Emotion, which involves imagery, extra-musical input, and seeking passion in practice and performance. These topics are not presented as a hierarchy but rather as five essential components that inform the realization of a musical piece, passage, or phrase. The interaction of the five pillars in creating a musical whole, forms the central message of the presentation. 2. Reaching for Higher Ground: Taking your Practicing and Performance to the Next Level - This clinic focuses on solo marimba, but the topics can be applied to any facet of percussion playing. It is geared toward an intermediate to advanced audience. The central message focuses on being physically, musically, and mentally aware of as much detail as possible during practice and performance. Depending on the needs and interest of the audience, emphasis can be placed on any one or more of the key topics which include: fundamental technique and motion behind the instrument; sound production; physical practice techniques; visual and kinesthetic practice techniques; mental practice techniques; performance psychology; enjoying the learning process. 3. Creativity and Musical Exploration at the Marimba: Thinking Outside the Bars - This presentation, intended for an advanced audience, focuses on developing melodic and harmonic aspects of music. Topics include melodic exploration; chord voicing, progressions, and harmonization; using dynamic shading and tone color to create a “three-dimensional” musical picture that differentiates bass, harmony, and melody; melodic pacing and phrasing; thinking about larger musical concepts first and then boiling them down to idiom and technique rather than the other way around; and exploring various useful textures and exercises that allow for increased freedom at the marimba. The importance of transcription and / or score study will be emphasized, and concepts will be reinforced with audio examples as well as performance and discussion of original arrangements of various tunes. |