Mr. Moersch (and others),
WARNING: This is a very long post! 🙂
I read your post about what I am "going to contribute to the future of the marimba". Now, I want to build a career mainly on performance, but I have some really good compositional ideas. I have written some stuff, but how would I go abouts getting it published?
Aside from percussion, I am also a professional flamenco guitarist. Though I perform and teach alot with flamenco, percussion will always be my life. I guess you could say I am a percussionist by day and flamenco guitarist by night! 🙂
Anyways, with flamenco, guitarists have to be their own composers, and write stuff that is inventive, but somewhat keeps the tradition, and most importantly stays within the RULES. Alot of the flamenco forms have a specific continuous rhythm and chording progression assocciated with it, which makes for really exciting music that is very rhythmically driving. But there are also pieces that are called "toque libre" which have no tempo, yet the phrases are very particular.
Alot of people like to play guitar pieces on the marimba, why not flamenco guitar pieces? Well, the problem is that flamenco music is never written down, because the gypsies and andalucians of Spain are not very musically literate. So I was thinking of someday writing alot of marimba (or even vibraphone) music based on flamenco.
I know that there have been some attempts by people who are not very familiar with the "rules" of flamenco, and in my opinion their work does not give flamenco justice. Not that I give it all the justice it deserves, but I think it would be cool to do.
It can be done for like Timpani too. Currently, I am writing a timpani solo called "Martinete". Martinete is a traditional form that is not accompanied by guitar, just singing, or flamenco "cante" as they call it. It is considered the blacksmith's song. The only instrument that accompany's it is an anvil, playing only on the beats in the rhythm of "1 + 2 + 3 + a 4 + a 5 +". So I have been writing a piece where one hand plays the anvil part on the bowl of the timpani, while the other hand plays the vocal line. The great thing is that the voice does some slides and some quarter-tone stuff, so its great for the timpani to emulate the voice by sliding up and down the pitches with the pedal.
So anyways, I think it would be a realy great idea. Do you have any thoughts on this, or any suggestions? Or should I just not waste my time? Thanks! And thanks for reading such a long post.
~Behzad

Behzad,

By all means, pursue your ambitions. Study all aspects of music, including both performance (on multiple instruments, if possible) and composition. Learn the traditions, the vocabulary, and the "RULES" (and when & how to break them!).

Composition is an art, a skill and a craft, which needs to be studied well. In my (not so) humble opinion, there are far too many untrained practioners turning out marimba pieces which are little more than practice room improvisations. I am only interested in well-versed composers creating serious repertoire, lasting art for the instrument. Unfortunately, the advent of self-publishing has removed one of the traditional filters for quality, that of the publishing house and the editor.

Nevertheless, I encourage you to pursue your idea of traditional flamenco music for the marimba and, perhaps, the timpani. A thing is worth doing, if it is done well.
Solo timpani is a dubious genre, but there have been a few (very few) pieces worth the attempt. Perhaps yours will be another...

I would be interested in seeing the results. You (or others) may contact me through the University of Illinois, as below.

William Moersch
Professor and Chair, Percussion Division
University of Illinois School of Music
1114 W. Nevada Street
Urbana, IL 61801
USA