PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE 2016 LARGE GROUP AUDIO COMMENTS
“Dance Bacchanale”
Brett Meyers (in Blue)
Eddie Owens (in Green)
Theresa Dixon (in Black)
Opening
Breathe together, and attack that together. It was just a little hiccup there (it’s hard)
A
M#18 – be careful not to push the tempo with the syncopated rhythm when the
accessories come in here
Be careful BD & timpani not to overdue the oomph, it got a bit much
Neat arrangement!
B
This area is better (the intervals)
C
More accents from Marimba 1 & 2 here
D
More crescendo going into D
This is very nice through here!
Watch the 16th notes going into E (line up the notes more vertically for greater
precision)
E
Are we downstroke or upstroke with this dynamic when we are getting this soft?
Pay close attention to the timpani voice here to keep rhythmically synchronized. A
little bit more vibes here, it’s getting buried by the accompaniment.
SD, explore opening up the ruffs here
F
Faster quarter note rolls for greater clarity, with the same length and the same
release of note plan for everybody.
G
Good decrescendo!
H
Good job on the crescendo going into H. Bring out the 4-stroke ruffs more on the
snare (he wanted them open instead of closed ruffs)
I
Thank you for supporting but not overpowering in the auxillary! You all know your
role to play here!
J
Good job going into J! At J listen carefully to each other, there is phasing on the 8th
notes.
More timpani at J, then back down
K
Good job going into K! I could use a little more low end marimba here.
M#133
OTHER COMMENTS
Great ending! More dynamic contrast & more shaping of the lines to greater impact
transition areas. Rhythmically was good. There were some clarity issues on dotted
8th &16th notes. Make sure roll releases are together as an ensemble. Snare grace
notes could come out more. Balance was excellent. Mallet choices were pretty fair.
Marimbas had difficulty speaking at times.
M139 & 140- who has it & who doesn’t? Bells & Vibes have the melody, so everyone
else has to stay out of the way for the melodic line….the 16th notes have to stay
under them. Overall you all play VERY well, very sensitive to the dynamics, very
musical performance. I really appreciated that. Your mallet choice, tambor,
everything is working really well. You obviously have an excellent teacher, Ms.
Shelley, and that’s great. There are so many things going on, and you have such a
solid grasp of who has the melody where and why you have to play your role in the
particular way that you do. There were a couple of spots in the battery where you
got a little boomy so just be careful. You are doing some great things at Clayton High
School. Keep up the good work!
Very nice job! Thank you so much for the opportunity to see you and listen to you
again. You are so blessed & lucky to have such fine instructors.