Hey all!
I am playing the duet "Nyack" for a recital this Tuesday and I have a few questions for anyone who would care to voice their opinion. First.....tempo....we are having the great tempo debate. I am playing the marinba part and want to take it at about 135. The vibes player is having trouble this fast and says it just doen't "groove" any faster than 116.
Also, I recently switched from a set of concerto mallets to the Dave Friedman hard greys, and while they are great for the accompaniment part they just don't project on the solo. They are ratan handles and already I have bent them! Suggestions?
Jen

Jennifer wrote:
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Hey all!
I am playing the duet "Nyack" for a recital this Tuesday and I have a few questions for anyone who would care to voice their opinion. First.....tempo....we are having the great tempo debate. I am playing the marinba part and want to take it at about 135. The vibes player is having trouble this fast and says it just doen't "groove" any faster than 116.
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Don't the Double Image duos come with a reference recording by Samuels/Friedman? What tempo do they take?

Regardless, it doesn't do an ensemble any good to take the music faster than one of the players can play. Maybe you can find a happy medium, or maybe - given how close you are to the performance - you'll just have to go with the vibist's tempo, even for this one performance. Two days might not be enough time for him to crank the tempo up by twenty metronome markings.

IMHO, "groove" always trumps getting to the written metronome marking - ask anyone who has played the third movement of the Creston.

Quoting again:
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Also, I recently switched from a set of concerto mallets to the Dave Friedman hard greys, and while they are great for the accompaniment part they just don't project on the solo. They are ratan handles and already I have bent them! Suggestions?
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Wow - I've used the Friedmans for years, and I've been able to be heard above jazz rhythm sections - yours don't project over a single vibraphonist? Well, if you like these mallets for the accompaniment (and if I recall this chart correctly, there's more "accompaniment" than "solo" for the marimba player), just have the vibraphonist bring his volume down for your solo.

And as for the bending of the rattan - rattan mallets are almost always going to be a little bit out of true, compared to birch handles.

John Mark Piper suggested to me that putting rattan mallets in a microwave oven for a few seconds will straighten out the rattan. I've never tried this myself, but I trust John's expertise. (If you're not familiar with Piper's work, definitely check him out - he's a monster vibraphonist.) Others have suggested wrapping the rattan in a warm, slightly damp washcloth, then GENTLY bending the rattan straight.

JW