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Balafon to Vibraphone: a unique path to new ideas

I wanted to share some thoughts about my balafon lessons and how they might connect to your primary instrument: vibes, marimba, piano, etc.

Gary Burton set the bar with his recording "Alone At Last" which was released in 1972. His rendition of this composition by Antonio Carlos Jobim was and still is unbelievable. I was very fortunate to study with Gary at Berklee while I was a student there from '72-'76. We spent quite a few lessons on this song. Gary talked about and showed various steps and techniques in approaching this song as a solo piece. This clip illustrates some steps, techniques and concepts as applied to Chega.

A few days late but I still wanted to get something posted. I've had a lot of back pain recently so I didn't get to practice as much as I usually do. Fortunately, I now have bed risers under my vibes making the instrument taller for me, and it seems to be helping!