Steel Pan

Final Concert at the South Pole -

WHAT IS MUSIC? Music is different for different people. I’ve learned that it is not the privilege of the audience to experience an artist’s music but rather it is truly a privilege for the artist who gets to present their musical expressions to a receptive audience.

Sitting here in the fire house - McMurdo Station, Antarctica with fingers crossed that our plane (LC 130) gets fixed in time to leave for the south pole tonight at 23:00 (in about 3 hours from now). Just amazing. Anxious, excited, very tired from an earlier call today. Working all day and now it looks like we just might be leaving for the very bottom of the Earth. My first trip to the Pole. What will it be like? My Antarctic Vibraphone is already there, waiting for me.

Thanks Jimmy Johns for finding this!

Hello Everyone!

I’m happy to announce that a project that I’ve been working on for years is finally a reality! I’ve recently launched the website: www.percussionandelectronics.com

PURPOSE
The website was created to facilitate the ability to discover and listen to music scores for percussion utilizing electronics as accompaniment. On the website you will find a large searchable database of works that aims to connect the percussionists with the composers and publishers. (Currently 240 pieces and growing)

I decided to do an impromptu solo vibe clinic on my way through New Zealand.

The "short" story.

I'm kind of regurgitating these old articles and things I did when I was more involved in the music scene but I'll have new stuff soon. I think these articles are pretty good and I wrote them when I was doing a lot of teaching. This article uses drumming as the instrument but the method works for vibe too.

Here's a lesson I wrote years ago on Misty. I had permission from the owner who was Erroll Garner's wife. Then it turned out that she sold it to Warner Brothers. I contacted Warner Bros. and I paid them and they issued me a license for the licensing giving me permission for this lesson and then I got a letter from Hal Leonard stating that they owned the rights to it so I just gave up. But I think it's okay to share with y'all.

Here is a blues article I wrote many years ago. It's a different approach than what I learned at Berklee which I believe caused me to overthink the blues. I taught it quite successfully to many students so if you're starting out or struggling to express in the blues form and style, give this method a go. Once this basic idea of the blues is in your ears and hands, it's much easier to add more sophisticated things on top of it.