This video took me AGES to make because of all the B-roll footage, as well as the PDF so I hope it's worth it - thank you so much for watching! If you want to download the PDF for this video you can get it FREE at: www.adamtanpercussion.com/download :) Hope this helps you with your marimba practice! #TheStudioFamily
This is honestly one of the most helpful Percussion-related videos I've ever watched. You've thought everything out so well and articulated it so clearly. It will DEFINITELY help my practice habits! Thank you!
I played Evergreen by Benjamin Finely this year for my recital and I was really happy with the result. It was a weird experience. I would definitely say I focus more on the musicality more than technical aspects of marimba, especially because of my background and current playing of piano. I was told how different I made my performance than the original. Did I hit a lot of wrong notes? Yep! But I think I delivered a heartfelt performance and that is all it takes for me to consider it a good performance :)
Thank you so much for this video!! I have indoor percussion auditions in October and I have to learn a solo (Spiral 2, Eric Sammut) once again you have saved my life adam
This is a perfect guide, and will help me and help my PIT get better this season, thank you so much, I've been having a hard time helping my team learn their music in a fun way (I'm a sophomore captain, and had no previous knowledge of teaching), and I think this will help a lot. Thank you so much for giving techniques to learn solos or songs in general!!! :)
I love how you respond to your comments..I've been playing marimba in high school marching band for 4 years now and I'm terribly mediocre.. I'm insanely jealous of your skills
But of course! 4 years is a good start man, don't worry I was absolutely horrible for my first 5 years because I didn't practice, I'm sure you are already doing a better job than me :)
I'm performing my first ever solo, Yellow After the Rain at our percussion ensemble concert in a week. I'm so nervous because I've never performed a solo that wasn't within an ensemble. Any tips to help with my nervousness?
That's awesome to hear Mariana! I think you should definitely record yourself a few times as well as get someone else to come and listen to you before the concert :) That way you can be nervous behind closed doors and then when it comes time for the concert you will automatically feel less stressed! Don't be scared, you can do it I promise 😊
I totally agree with your strategies, Adam. This is exactly what I do most of the times, but I just do it naturally. It is impressive for you to have figured out the learning process step by step CLEARLY and able to explain it. You deserve 24x2 nuggets.
Very informative! I have an audition next week for the Performance Program at my university and if I make it in, (and probably even if I don't) there are three marimba pieces I'm looking perform for a recital this academic year and this method seems really pragmatic and efficient. Tbh, it would probably work very well regardless of the instrument. Anyway, I'm also in the middle of learning your piece as well, it's really fun so far!
This has been so helpful! I am working on an audition to transfer to a different higher level university, and this is saved my life. I am even doing it with my timpani and snare pieces as well. Thank you so much! 💕
Hey, man. I'm new to your channel but I think your content is really great. Thank you! I was wondering if you had ever thought about putting together a video about sight reading? I would love to hear some tips on how to improve sight reading on keyboard.
Im late but thank u this is 100% helpful. AND I FOOKIN LOVE OVER THE RAINBOW I WANNA LEARN IT SO BAD THANK YOU FOR USING IT AS AN EXAMPLE THROUGHOUT THE VIDEO (,:
thank you! today i made so much progress by practicing on small sections at once. i literally got past 18 bars that had been troubling me for days in just 4 hours by doing it bar by bar instead of starting from the beginning every time i mess up. thank you again!!
This is just what I needed. I have bad practicing habits but this is helpful of fixing them and keeping them in check so I want to thank you so much. Overall your channel is amazing for percussionists and specifically for marimbists. I just bought the same Over The Rainbow today so it felt like the video is for me LOL.
I'm so glad to hear that Daniel! We all have to fix our bad habits, I have heaps too... I'm glad you're enjoying the channel and Rainbow is LIT - hope you enjoy playing it :)
Your emphasis on lots of small sectional work before putting things together is interesting. I typically do bigger sections and put things together a bit earlier, but that might be hindering me. My classmates and I also watch each other practice much earlier than you're advocating, like as we're putting sections together we'll pull people into the practice room to listen. I think this really helps with performance anxiety when we present the finished product for the first time.
Adam, this has to be your best video so far! I am going to download the steps and add them to my folder! I love how you broke down the entire sequence into small steps AND reminded everyone that the marimba is also a visual performance! When I was in high school no one ever talked about the visual aspect until a jazz group came to our school and the vibraphone player talked about it. I will never forget watching him, it looked like he was almost "pulling" the sound out of the keys with his mallets!! Thank you for all the hard work you do, especially on this video! P.S. Thank you Wilson, I almost spit my coffee all over my keyboard but I needed the laugh!! Bahahahaha!!!
MARINA thank you so much!!! I totally agree, we all watch performances and almost all percussion requires us to stand up and move about, so why not make use of that? Sounds like that vibes player knows what's up ;) And yes I'm very grateful for Wilson and his new acting career hahahaha
Adam, your approach is just wonderful! Loads of very interesting thoughts arranged with great structure! As a drummer, i would add a small idea to your metronome practice: when i'm learning a drum solo (or a musical piece), and i'm reaching the tempo it should be played with, after rehearsing it to a nice-sounding point, i usually increase tempo a little bit (3-10 bpm, according to the main tempo) and practice it with the increased speed. Sometimes it helps me with the original tempo A LOT! Because the original tempo might be challenging, and when you play it you starting to think that you have reached your limits. But after rehearsing it in the increased tempo (of course, it should sound well and be technically correct) original tempo might become a relieve to you, kinda a safe point, where you think "huh, it's not so fast anymore" and you can relax and stop thinking about speed and technical issues anymore and just enjoy the music!
This video is incredible! Thanks so much for sharing your process! In the future, I think it would also be beneficial to see the process you use to practice technique, as opposed to just showcasing the exercises you use (like you've done in the past). Thanks for providing great content and keep doing what you're doing!
Thank you so much for watching Joshua! I will definitely think about making a more detailed technique video in the future, thank you for the suggestion :)
I love this video! Good to know I'm doing a lot of what you said. Also good to know there's more I need to do! I will definitely apply this to the piece I'm playing now, Memories of the Seashore, for my sophomore juries. Thank you for your knowledge my friend!
Hi thanks you very much for the help! im starting to learn the Darius Milhaud Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone for my conservatoire's audition on september this year, i feel thats there is not much time left but i dont wanna rush up the process so im going to follow this system. keep going with this thanks again!
I am trying to learn Libertango by Eric Sammut, but it is really challenging so idk if I can do it but I am going to try and use this method...hope it works
Hey Adam, great video and it proved very helpful for my college auditions. I was wondering, can you post a video of yourself playing the Oetomo arrangement at any point?
I think you need the chops first if you want to learn the music more efficiently :) a lot of people learn music without chops and it is quite obvious when you have to perform it that it's not up to scratch!
Hey Adam, I'm a junior in the states and have decided to finally buy a full set of quality marimba mallets. I don't have that much money (but enough) and am hoping to study percussion at a university. What mallets and what hardnesses do you recommend if I'm trying to just buy one set of all around amazing mallets at a reasonable price that I will be satisfied for college also?
Funny you say that, I would happily recommend the Van Sice duo-tonal series as it is guaranteed to last a long time (my friend Matthew has had his for 11 years) and they are well priced :)
Adam Tan but real talk this is gonna help me mucho for my pulse percussion audition 😬😬. taking a stab at land. btw. do you have any practice advice for people like me in high school that don't have regular access to a marimba? piano can only go so far yknow...
nahauhsoj That's awesome man! I know some people make practice mats for marimba with felt and cloth (with key shaped felt that's exactly the same size as marimba bars) and then put it over their bed and use that as a guide, maybe that's worth looking into!
This is all very useful information. I’m trying to think of a good two-mallet marimba solo that I can practice on my school’s 4.3 octave. Do you have any suggestions?
Hey Adam, do you think there can be a limitation to how good someone can be at percussion, or is it that if you put enough work in you will eventually become good enough to perform full solos?
Good question man! There is never a limit to how good you can be, I think there's always something new to learn no matter how long you've been in the game :) And solos always differ, some solos are easier than others and some people just 'work' better with certain solos! It's an endless pursuit of excellence :)
Hey Adam! Really like how the entire process is micro managed into stages and steps and that sort of stuff. Makes it very easy to apply to pretty much whatever Percussion or musical piece I might perform. Quick question, I've been listening to the "Over the Rainbow" arrangement by Mr. Rob and I have been interested in performing it for my Solo&Ensemble contest. I'm only a sophomore in high school so would you recommend this piece for my level?
Thanks David! You are right, you can use this process for whatever piece you wish to perform :) I reckon you could definitely play it in high school if you just practice it SLOWLY first - it's actually quite easy technique wise but you have to know the notes well :)
I've recently bought "sugaria" from e. Sammut, but I can't find information on what does it means...I don't even know the pronounce of "sugaria"...can you help me?
I really want to play this piece but the delivery to the UK costs like triple the piece itself, do you know if theres a digital copy available anywhere?
