i'm beginn to study this beautifull piece ...what do you thinks about the first's group of not (fast as possible), do you recommand to play it with dead stroke/ stop schlag ??? what kind of mallets do you suggest for each movement ??? what movement do you suggested to beginn to work ... thanks ...
Raphael
ps, sorry for my english ...

Hi Raphael -

You have made a wise decision by choosing to work on this piece. It is truly one of the greatest modern works ever composed for marimba.

I just completed this piece about three weeks ago while studying with Gordon Stout at Ithaca College.

For Crystalline: Practice with a metronome. Play all the runs in tempo, don't play them freely. When i first learned this movement i was playing all the runs very freely out of time. Make sure you play the runs in time, after all that is what Jacob Druckman wanted.

If your a Stevens Grip player or use a variation of the Stevens/musser Grip like i do, i recommend double lateral strokes for the runs. why would you play them as dead strokes? If you use a cross Grip, numerous permutations are available for sticking patterns for the runs, and yes try to play the runs As Fast as Possible.

For Profound: I recommend use of a stopwatch, to make sure you are playing each system for approximately 20 seconds.

For the other movements: I just recommend slow practicing while supplementing your daily tasks on this piece with Method of Movement and Gordon Stout's Ideo Kinetics workbook. This will get your technique up to par for the more difficult movements {II and IV especially}

Have you listened to any recordings before diving into this piece? Both the Moersch and Druckman recordings are very good. It is a shame that the Moersch recording is no longer available. I am looking into starting a petition from marimbists all over for The Modern Marimba CD to be Re-Released. All who are interested in signing this petition please contact me.

Mallet suggestions for this piece are endless. I use sets of Malletech, Innovative and Encore in the course of all 6 movements.

Best of Luck -

Sincerely, Lon Stetz