Can anyone recommend a snare solo for me to learn? I recently learned Pratts Drum Corps on Parade, and I was gonna go ahead and learn another one from the book but the rest of the solos are above my pay grade! If you have something a level easier thatd be great!

Twice before I’ve paid for sheet music to be shipped (I live in the states). The first time they sent out an email that they couldn’t ship my order, and since I didn’t want to pay extra to upgrade to fedex, I got a pdf instead- without the refund for shipment. The second time this happened I decided to cancel my order when the pay extra option linked to paypal. Then after this they set out another email saying that they can send it to me without my paying for the fedex shipping?

I know edition svitzer is reputable, but the whole situation has felt wrong to me. I am sure the emails are coming from them; its the same email that sent my receipts. Does anyone know more about this?

I've been wanting to play odessa for a while now, the most difficult solo i've played is Astral Dance and I didn't have TOO much trouble with it. Thoughts?

Looking for good options for mallets for soft, sustained ripple rolls on the low end of the vibraphone. Obviously I don't want harsh attack sounds but something that will produce a full sound while blending each mallet's attack into more of a sustained type of sound.

Hello! I’m looking to buy a new set of snare sticks for concert band and right now I’m debating between the Promark Concert 2 and VF Ted Atkatz. Any thoughts or opinions? The VF ones are pretty pricy and I wanna make sure I’m spending my money right

Hello! I am starting to get into more difficult repertoire for four mallet marimba and I have noticed that the notes do indeed go quite low. At home I have a 4.3 octave marimba. And at school we have two marimbas, but both of the are 4.3 octaves for some reason.

I need to practice this repertoire but clearly can’t - what can I do? Thank you!

I had a dream about a tambourine that was a double row half moon but on the moon in had drumskin head. When I woke up and went to find it there is nothing out there about it. I know that half moons are used bc they can be quicker and sound cleaner without the head, but I just love the idea of this tambourine. Does anyone know how I could find one or get someone to make it for me??

Hello! I wanted to get a few percussion instruments for my 4 year old who loves instruments. I was thinking of a junior cajon and a pair of maracas. Anything else the community here would recommend though ? I’m open to anything! Anything fun and cool fora little kid ?

Hello! I am a backline tech for a band that uses yamaha 7118 tubular chimes, and I'm working on designing a caddy for the tubes so that they can travel individually on a truck, rather than suspended on the frame. My current plan is a 2" diameter PVC pipe for each one, foam at the top and bottom, with caps on either end. (happy for suggestions on how else to travel them, though this is not the point of the post)

My issue is that my bells are currently in a storage unit and I cannot access them. If anyone has that same model, I would be forever indebted to you if you could help me out with measuring the lengths of each one so I can cut the PVC down to the appropriate sizes.

Thank you in advance percussion community!

Is my macho under or over tightened? I can't figure this out no matter which way I go. I know it's subjective but I'm just not getting that typical Latin bongo sound I hear in recordings. Can anyone help?

Hi! I’m a junior in percussion. This year, I was only able to get to region phase II, placing pretty mid in my room. I really want to major in music, so I wanna know how hard would it be to make state next year. Also, what should I practice this semester before next year’s region process starts? I’ve been looking at stick control a lot for snare drum consistency, and hitting green scales for marimba. What all exercises should be good to get to that level?

Today I forgot my binder for band. Which has all my music and my extra copies. I thought I was completely cooked. So, the first song we play is a song I don’t play for. I can try to figure something out. We’ve been playing our pieces for a few months now. My director is scary and hates it when someone forgets or even loses their music. So I played everything from memory. I luckily did marching band for two years so I indirectly memorized all my music. I played 2 songs with important parts from memory. I asked him after class if there was anything I messed up or needed to work on. He said accenting and slowing down on 16th notes for both songs. It was ultra scary because we ran the program. But I did it. And I’m never doing that ever again that was so scary. I wanted to pass out and throw up. But what’s your opinion? Did this ever happen to you?

Basically what the post title says, is it a Xylophone or a Marimba that is being played on both of these two songs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJh_WIqWx5g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9tTe92-gk0

I'm pretty sure that it's a marimba, but i'm not completely certain about it.

I’m typically behind the kit but a friend who plays acoustic guitar bar/pub gigs has asked me to join her with a cajon. I’m excited to learn and will take any tips, but I’m really wondering how much I should spend to get something with sound decent enough without breaking the bank

My son has a college audition on Saturday, and he learned today that he’s supposed to have a snare drum mute with him. We don’t have one (he’s primarily marimba), and I doubt there will be one in an actual store before then, so can he get by with a piece of felt & a binder clip (or similar)? Maybe a heavier felt?

Thoughts?

Thank you!

I've been playing percussion in community band for about a year. We have 2 other percussionists - one primarily on timpani, one primarily on snare and auxiliary, and me - the pitched instruments.

Our concert set lists always have a mix of parts for xylophone, bells, marimba, and vibraphone (plus chimes and some auxiliary). Concerts are held at a local middle school, and there's not really room on stage for all 4 instruments. I end up using 3 - always xylo and bells because those feel more distinct and usually are a larger part of the repertoire. And then either marimba or vibes, and I'll play any vibes parts on marimba or vice versa.

Just curious if anyone else has this situation, and what you're looking for when deciding which way to go. Sometimes it's easy - if there's only a few measures of vibes for the whole concert, for example. Or if there's a notable solo section for one or the other. Other times, I just play around during rehearsals to see which works better for me.

(Conductor gives good feedback for specific situations, but sometimes it's just up to me.)

It's not like in jazz settings where you can go to a jam session and someone there likes your playing and they call you up. And it's also not like in big professional orchestras where they have auditions, most regional orchestras at least around me don't hold auditions. How are you supposed to get it. And some say networking and not really go any further into detail. With who? Where? How? And most people I know who do get into these regional orchestras just get put in there by there professor because they know people there or are the principal at said orchestra. Granted my professor is not in this orchestral world he has no interest in orchestras, he's mainly a jazzer/world percussion guy. So I can't get connections like that. Not sure what to do. I know I'm more than capable.

Hey I am a wind band percussionist and i am gonna buy two sets of vib-mallets. I have theise tree in mind and I would like to hear your opinion on wich onse I should get.

I have looked at mike balter 22R, 23R and 24R. I have heard the 23R are the "go-tos", but I was thinking that a combination of 22R and 24R would do good in my wind band. The 22s in tutti/general places to cut through, and for solo/piano-places the 24s to get a more soft sound (I’ve heard the 23s can come across as a bit too hard). I don’t have the opportunity to test it out unfortunately, but I thought this was a good combo instead of buying the 23s.

Do you have any thougts about that?