"Caleidoscópio" by Gene Koshinski (two-mallet marimba solo)

Performed by Gene Koshinski
www.genekoshinski.com
Audio: Don Schraufnagel and Gene Koshinski
Video: Marc Hill
MALLETS: Innovative Percussion Artisan Series IP5003R (NJZ mallets in the video are discontinued)
GEAR: 5 Octave Adams Alpha Marimba
PROGRAM NOTES
This piece is one of 10 works in the book "TWO" by Gene Koshinski, a collection of concert pieces for two-mallet marimba solo with a comprehensive guide to technique and performance practice.
"Caleidoscópio" was inspired by my study of a coordinational independence method called "Ritmica," developed by Brazilian conductor Jose Gramani, and a series of courses on the subject taught by Gramani's protégé Rogerio Boccato. Portions of the "Ritmica" method focus on the simultaneous performance of unrelated meters and ostinati as well as contradictory melodic material, which is what the bulk of "Caleidoscópio" is founded upon. The "B" section of the piece pays homage to the Brazilian roots of the Ritmica method by hinting at a light samba feel and providing more of a melodic focus.

[@exquisiteoath]

The interplay of ideas in this is so wonderful.

[@mb2268]

The independence between the right and left hand that he gives is amazing

[@epicdrumz]

The only thing I dislike about this piece is that its too short. Love this composition.

[@Michael-Oh]

love this is as a percussionist but also as a genius composition.

[@justinnash9460]

doing this for my solo this year. if the poly rhythm is getting to you, just give it some time, practice making each hand independent and dont lose confidence. took me two days to figure out the basic rhythm.

[@jonastechmanski1592]

For anyone wishing to develop their independence in the 15/16 polymelody, here's what I did: 1: Graph out the sum of the two rhythms. Start with a common denominator of the 3/16 (dotted eighth notes) pattern and the 7/16 (123-12-12) pattern: one measure of 21/16. Graph the two rhythms as if it's a kick and snare: say, the 7/16 pattern on top, and the 3/16 on bottom. The 7/16 pattern will fit thrice within the measure of 21/16, and the 3/16 pattern will fit 7 times within the 21/16 measure. Once completed, practice the two rhythms together, with two hands. Here's my best textual representation of the two together, with #'s as the 3/16 and +'s as the 7/16 (#+ is a double stop between both), with -'s as 16th rests: (#+)-#(#+)-#+#-(#+)#-(#+)-#+##+#- Repeated over and over and over... Alright, totally disregard the jumbled syntax above if you didn't understand it- it's an attempt at best. Essentially, once you get the two rhythms together as one rhythm between two hands, master it. It's strange (21/16), but if you can get that engrained into your muscle memory, the next steps will be easy. 2: Add pitches to the 7/16 ostinato. The pitches of the 7/16 are F#, E, and D. Once you know the rhythm mentioned earlier, put it on an idiophone. Implement those notes into whichever hand is playing the 7/16 pattern. Get this down to muscle memory. 3: Add the 3/16 pitches. With every repetition of a dotted eighth note (3/16), you switch to a different pitch. This is the largest bump, as the 3/16 pattern is written in phrases of 5 (hence the 15/16 time signature). Keep the combined rhythm from the first step in the back of your mind while your left hand switches between notes over the 7/16 pattern. Practice the third step slowly at first. Once accurate, speed it up. Ultimately, boil it down, then add all the ingredients back in. Here are all 3 steps, simplified into a sentence: 1: Learn what rhythm the two patterns make together 2: Add pitches to the treble clef pattern 3: Add pitches to the bass clef pattern. I hope that this helped anyone who had a hard time comprehending the material at play, and the execution of it. It is a challenging piece! Note: Forgive me if my detailed steps were a bit complex. It is not easy translating visual and physical information into text.

[@genekoshinskimusic]

My brain hurts... :)

[@justnoahherehello]

Gene Koshinski same

[@hollyzhang1418]

@@genekoshinskimusic SAME

[@ethanstrumwasser8798]

dude, thanks so much. i've been struggling with this for days, then i got it about 30 minutes after reading this :P

[@KinkyPanda]

It took longer to read this comment than the entire lengthy of the video. Seriously.

[@conormulford]

RIP to the video I posted a few years back. Beautifully played, beautifully written, great to listen to. Nice work Gene!

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Thanks Conor!

[@vermine18]

My god man this makes me want to play the marimba again. One of the most beautiful peaces I've ever heard👌

[@FriedmanVibe]

Absolutely gorgeous, elegant playing!

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Thank you so much Mr. Friedman, it means so much coming from you!

[@oli77sch]

Great piece! Not sure if I would recognize it as a two mallet piece in blind test...

[@wholegrain1092]

About a year ago, I started playing percussion. Now I am a million times better than when I knew absolutely nothing. I got more into music for marimba, and this really stuck with me. I already got the book, and started practicing for Solo & Ensemble. Thank you for this composition, and hopefully I get a 1 this spring.

[@liammcelroy2265]

Why do I feel like I have the exact same life as you. It's weird

[@samvollmost]

This is a lovely marimba solo 😊

[@torram28]

1:58 mmmm what a smooth transition

[@charakter-etudenjohannesst8121]

Gene Koshinski - Genius of percussion literature! 👏

[@sentientape8694]

My teacher plays this after rehearsal I cant believe I found it

[@Jane-vy6mf]

I love this so much!!!

[@amauriangel]

What a nice solo. Beautiful!

[@abcrtzyn]

I did this piece for my high school senior recital. Such a fun little piece.

[@kalebcrouch424]

beautiful marimba, gorgeous playing

[@neacailmcmillan3427]

Love it! Great performance too!

[@User-fv1jx]

This is wonderful! Love the key changes haha

[@eddyed5670]

This is such a beautiful piece of music. Definitely gonna try to learn it once I get the chance to play a marimba again.

[@michaelhayes690]

Nice. Beautiful touch. I like that your work is very concise. Thanks.

[@Dragonsshadow264]

Great piece playing it for my solo! It's so fun to have the independent patterns

[@tulleyj3]

Lovely!!!

[@aaronmilam2290]

Wow. Known about this piece and heard it a handful of times, but this performance is just immaculate.

[@Willhelm55]

found someone on tiktok referencing this and had to come see it! This is marvelous! Thank you for your contributions to culture!

[@Leokipo]

This is such a charming composition :)

[@tonyswrldxoxo]

Its just amazing

[@e018]

Perfect work-out music!!!

[@ginomarzocchi8144]

Bello e bravo!!!

[@EthanStricklandPerc]

LOVE THIS

[@Jburjan1]

Beatiful music and respect for tehnique this ussualy play with least 3 4 sticks

[@leonieclapham5141]

Very beautiful

[@nobody8thechicken186]

Made something of my own with this as inspiration!

[@henryhorne6114]

BRUH! That’s dope!

[@madalynpropst2738]

I'm going to try this for solo and ensemble next year :) I'm super excited, and hope that piano helps with hand independence.

[@ShockzG5]

Playing this for solo and ensemble as well

[@donovanh778]

Any tips on visualizing this? I'm having trouble keep both of my hands independent with each other without straying from the static rhythms. Thanks

[@henryhorne6114]

Honestly I just practiced it until one day it clicked

[@josebolanos5773]

Take it real slow at first to accurately have the rhythms in time and then slowly increase speed

[@ashtonallen5608]

One way that has helped is to set your met to straight 16ths slowly and realize how each pattern fits to those. For me it clicked realizing that the dotted 8th created a 16th grouping of three and then fit the right hand pattern into that. And then sit on that slow and realize patterns and how they are very independent yet give to each other. Brilliant piece. Even funner to play.

[@brianpeede7877]

Practice the rhythm first dont add movement of the melody, syncopated rhythms is the melody by itself, then you add the actual melody of the peice it can get very confusing so break up the sections, its not a easy thing to do but it can lock perfectly when you start to put it together

[@ShockzG5]

^^^^^this this this I’m having so much trouble with this

[@ZickyNee]

amazing

[@austinblifting]

2:02 favorite solo

[@Jacob24668]

0:50 is so happy and stuff idk this piece is really good

[@FriedmanVibe]

Lovely piece, beautiful playing!

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Hi David! Many thanks for listening.

[@guscavin3011]

A few months ago I would've never considered playing this but now my high school is about to bring Compound Autonomy to state solo and ensemble. If anyone knows what that is, I think it's good prep for rhythms like this.

[@GraysonPeterman]

I wish they had this for UIL marimba solos

[@gettingcrispy9593]

Make sure you don’t give up practice and nail this peace. Take time with the measures and I’m sure you can get this tricky beat down

[@coolguycorbproductions]

I'm gonna take a chance and learn this bruh

[@socrates6923]

Slick

[@arnoldrivera7183]

Please do more of your TWO book! Maybe walking on the white? Or running with scissors!? Prelude Nuevo?! Homage??!!

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Thanks Arnold - I am doing exactly that! This is the first one done and I have a few more recorded already. I just need to find the time to edit those and record more. Little by little...

[@JGpercussion]

GENE

[@ohok180]

❤

[@crabb5413]

Is there any way I could buy this piece on its own? I would love to play this but don’t have the money to buy the whole book

[@eugenekoshinski6131]

Banana Watermelon Fish yes, it’s available at Bachovich Music and distributed at other places like Steve Weiss Music.

[@bjmichaud14]

This sounds really peaceful at 0.75x speed

[@memassironi]

te amo Gene

[@connersigrist]

Currently trying to learn this for my junior year in high school solo and ensemble. It is kicking my butt but I am getting some really good progress on it. I have 2 weeks to play it cleanly. I have learned it all but I just need reps on it.

[@coolguycorbproductions]

Best of luck dude. Just played this at regional and got a 1. It's a weird peice but a solid one to learn 👍

[@ItzRogue]

How did it go?

[@connersigrist]

@@ItzRogue I did 3 solos and an ensemble and they all got ones. I had a really good run on this piece.

[@acoasting8200]

@@connersigrist solid, good to hear

[@Zacyyyyy]

0:48 is the best and hardest part of the song

[@JustBecauseStudiosMusic]

I love this solo, but only have access to a 4.3 octave marimba, does anyone have any other songs that are similar

[@ChristopherSchiffermiller]

Awesome island sound. Question, never heard of a marimba, I called them xylophone since I was a kid, whats the difference? Thank you for your videos, great stuff. Love, peace and harmony to everyone, love Chris

[@kellybrewster3782]

there’s different types of mallet instruments based on look and sound! they’re all played with different kind of mallets as well! there’s marimba, which you see in this video. xylophone, which looks like a smaller marimba but is louder and played with harder mallets. vibraphone, which has a pedal like a piano so it can ring while you play (used a lot during jazz band). and glockenspiel, which are small and made of metal so they’re loud and have a good ring. there’s also different kinds of these instruments too, like bass marimba, etc. hope this helped!!

[@ChristopherSchiffermiller]

@@kellybrewster3782 Thank you Kelly for the info and details. Greatly appreciated.

[@grovetender4713]

On the sound Xylophones are sharp and stacatto Glockenspiels are resounding and can be piercing or elegant depending on dynamic and mallet Vibraphones have a moderate to hard sound depending on mallet and are faintly metallic - in a jazz band you’re more likely to hear hard mallets as opposed to soft Marimbas are quite a soft sound (in texture not volume), more organic or natural sounding, and very expressive - this is what makes them such common instruments for solos

[@musicaldye]

Quick Question: Measure 29 & 37 sounds like you play G-Bb-C for the first three notes instead of the printed G-Ab-C. Is there an errata I'm missing, or was this a version edit? Just curious what the 'official' verdict is (and I personally like the jazziness of the Ab).

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Could just be a wrong note, these are live takes and not edited. The score is right.

[@xanderrouk6895]

thank you for making such a quality piece of music. Edit: I'd really absolutely love to buy the book and learn this piece, but my school does not have a 5 octave, do you have any tips that will allow me to play this, but not remove any of its quality?

[@genekoshinskimusic]

sorry Xander, they all really require a 5 octave. There is a lot of other great repertoire out there as well. Thanks again for your comments!

[@geonhuisblairsfun3339]

This solo reminds me of african music

[@DeeboComing]

This may sound crazy, but once I learned the 4 mallet technique, I never once considered going back to play 2 mallet solo repertoire and now I feel like I missed out on some good music. 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

[@sarabarros8643]

Awesome man! Can you share the music sheet?

[@JustAnotherPerc]

You have to buy it

[@ninadkamath1760]

My marimba does not have the lowest d flat, what should I replace it with

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Maybe try it up an octave?

[@leilam8193]

Is there a way for me to buy this solo alone instead of the whole book?

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Bachovich Music publishes this piece separate from the book

[@omarsandoval6616]

great piece may I ask what mallets you are using.

[@poisonhill22]

NJZ-4 I believe

[@owenchristiansen4461]

If you don't mind me asking, but I'd love to know which mallets you are using. I'd LOVE to get some of my own! Thank you!

[@poisonhill22]

NJZ-4 I believe

[@tannerprewitt4489]

What are those mallets?😍

[@genekoshinskimusic]

These are the Innovative Percussion NJZ mallets. They are discontinued, but there is a new version (the same materials and makeup) called the Artisan line. They are great!

[@atlassolid5946]

hey, so in my hubris, i chose this for my junior recital, and. i might die.

[@dameez6599]

Does anyone know if any of the pieces in this book are playable on a 4.3?

[@Oscar.DeMille]

Not well but you can play it an octave up and it still works.

[@retro_tcb]

I’m a freshman in highschool who isn’t great on marimba and needs a solo how hard is this to learn?

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Yeah, you might want to start with something else, but come back to this after a few other solos under your belt.

[@mellowtron214]

I don’t play marimba, but I drum, and this seems pretty high level to me. The poly rhythms, odd meters, and then the part where he is cycling through putting emphasis on different individual strokes in the melody, alternating between hands and again all within the poly rhythm. Pretty wild to me.

[@Anthonydmusic.21]

Has anybody had any success playing this on a 4.3?

[@BboyS25]

1:59

[@mariag9811]

Can it be played on a 4.3 octave??

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Sorry, no, unless you take everything up an octave...

[@josephko2142]

Does this solo work on 4.5? Or can i only play on the marimba one 😓

[@genekoshinskimusic]

Sorry it's a 5.0 octave piece.... :(

[@josephko2142]

@@genekoshinskimusic ouch well at least i got a 5.0 at school so ill keep practicing

[@liammcelroy2265]

Just use my secret tecnique and move everything up an octave

[@cg7240]

I am almost completely clean with this whole solo, the only part that's kicking my butt still is 0:49

[@M333_Uhhhhh22]

I have tears! 😭😭 so beautiful 💜 played this for my senior HS solo. Buuuuut you kept it the same tempo at the 2/4 (@52 sec). Was that a personal choice or did you intend for it to be played that way/write it that way? (Maybe I misread it lol)

[@Sebas_percussion]

I need this work in my music stand, give me the parties for free? Please

[@drummer0541]

When the homies say "percusion is easy"🗿

[@ems7623]

A nice little study. Complicated rhythms. I'm never quite sure how mallet instruments sound as solo instruments. To my ear, they are always crying out for an ensemble.

[@peterlyday8845]

What mallets are you using? They sound great! They are shorter than most that I have seen, could someone help me out?

[@gavinkitchen581]

Peter Lyday they seem to be Innovative Percussion’s NJZ 4

[@epictubs8908]

0:11

[@epictubs8908]

0:13

[@epictubs8908]

0:15

[@epictubs8908]

0:18

[@epictubs8908]

0:20

[@epictubs8908]

0:22

[@mflance7197]

This would be even better with a drummer playing the same thing just on share , hi hat and bass drum .

[@nikadorii_percussion]

4.3???

[@genekoshinskimusic]

No sorry....

[@nikadorii_percussion]

Gene Koshinski darn. Regardless it is an amazing solo and performance 👍

[@maleevongxiong4080]

Sounds like music I'd hear in minecraft

[@BenjaminKohleffel]

It’s okay I guess

[@RuEvEloll]

fresh meat