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Unconventional Vibraphone Techniques

I have only been playing vibes for about a year. Before I started playing the vibes, I thought you just hit the vibes with the mallets and use the pedal to let it ring out or stop the sound. Since then I have learned about so many different playing techniques that I would never have imagined. For one thing, I never realized you could actually play the vibes with the pedal up.

Other techniques that I learned about are:

Mallet Dampening
Pitchbending
Hand Tremolo
Bowing
Echo emulation (ala Piper)
Spider Egg Sacks (or plastic bags) over resonators

How do I tell where I am, and whether something I'm looking at is in one of the online books?

How do I tell where I am, and whether something I'm looking at is in one of the online books?

breadcrumbbreadcrumb

At the top of each article, lesson, video or audio (or most other documents) you'll see a 'breadcrumb'. That's what web developers call them. It's a path to where you are. If you look at that path it should tell you where you are, where the article you're looking at is and where you'll find the article again.

supporting the arts (in a real way):

Do you ever ask yourself, "what's the best way for me to support the arts?" or "Is there anything I can do from the ground level that would help support the arts and keep it healthy?"

Yes, remember that every time you buy a recording or arrangement from a musician, you are not only purchasing something for yourself but you are supporting those people who are doing it.

Like: (buy something from a musician or... Join a music web site ((hint, hint))

Rhythm Changes Larry Bb by Tjaco Oostdijk

Here is a play along that has the changes to the handout by Larry McKenna. It's rhythm changes in Bb and has lots of substitute turnarounds. You can use this to practice the solo Larry has written out or just to try playing solo over the changes.
It can also be used for practicing voicing chords on these changes. I'll be posting this in other keys soon as well.

In the pdf I've attached the chord changes, but I've written them out in Roman Numerals, so you can use this in any key. Some quick notes:

- plain roman numerals indicate diatonic chords in the key( like II V etc...)