Here's a quick etude I wrote for Stefan and the girls of Oman. Stefan teaches the percussionists for the King of Oman. Cool gig, huh?

This will take a little work. Print out the pdf, put in the chords for the blues. Then analyze what I'm playing and put the alterations in.

Can you see:
Open voicings?
Closed voicings?
Passing Chords?

Can you hear the melody in the top voice (simple as it is).

Study the piece and talk about it here. I don't want to hand it to the girls of Oman, I want them to work for it. :-)

Can you:
Change the rhythms?

Didn't do SH** today. And that pisses me off big time. Any other pros get pissed at how much BS we have to do. I'm a struggling musician that still has to do 1-3 hours of office work every frickin' day. Add to it, running the site, teaching and buying my son dinner because he's broke and some days I want to kick and punch something or preferably someone... anyone.

So today I hate being a vibes player.

Hello Nico,

Even though you are not the manufacturer of these products I was wondering whether you could ( given your expertise )comment on the major differences between the MUSSER M58 Piper Vibe and the M55 .

Thank you.

We're welcoming back the University of Delaware percussion department. So why don't you guys introduce yourselves. Tell us what year you're in and where you're from!

Oh man... This vid was posted on our friend Moritz' FB profile... no comment...
If you don't like the metal sound at the start, just wait till 2'44... and enjoy! ;-)
- M

Jeez... this is sooo beautiful! Pure Gem! Bravissimo ragazzi!!!

What is a Four Cord?
In the Jazz Vibraphone book on the Milt Jackson chapter I read on page 33: "Blue notes emphasizing the Four Chord" and "One Chord Dominant 7th, b9 scale leading to Four Chord".
I have no idea what is referred to. Who has an idea?

Ok here's the deal with this one.

Add the fourth note and then tell me all the possibilities of chords.

For instance I'll add a D in the voicing. So it could be a Bbmaj7b5. What else could it be. There's more.

After this add a different note.

Here's the thing, don't get too out there with the chords, but be creative. You know? Think about what chords you've seen before. It's a fine line between 'it could be that chord' and 'I've never seen that chord before'.