how to learn a 4 mallet marimba solo

[@JShermanator10]

Just started my first 4-mallet piece at college! Thanks for the helpful video.

[@robknopperstudio]

great to hear! have fun with it

[@daltonpage240]

Please do a piece that shows people how to pick music for auditions

[@SophiaVasik]

I'm from Austria and it was really funny when you tried to say "wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" 😅 but it actually sounded quite good!

[@robknopperstudio]

haha yeah........... pretty much botched it

[@AidanMmusic96]

I'm using Gordon Stout's Astral Dance as my postgraduate audition marimba solo - that really is a fun piece to inject personality into!

[@robknopperstudio]

i LOVE that piece.... although i'm kind of scared of it. one day i'd love to learn it.

[@noahnewsom3089]

I just played this on a student recital lol. That’s so weird that this is here.

[@eduardoortega7538]

Hey Rob! Amazing and informative video as always. Quick question: as an undergrad, I find that I "run out of time" in the learning process and that I need to learn the notes and bring it up to tempo as fast as I can (Getting music on a Wednesday and preparing for a lesson on that Friday) How do we meet deadlines while also making sure to take our time during the beginning? What are some ways you schedule yourself?

[@robknopperstudio]

you should think about doing a 'test' at the beginning of the process of learning a piece. learn one measure to see how long it takes and to see if you can find the best way to learn those notes. after you're done you can guesstimate how long it'll take to do that same process to the rest of the measures. will you be ready for your lesson? and if not, how can you improve that process so that you actually can get everything done?

[@ryancarlisle7909]

I’m working on Variations on lost Love for graduate auditions. I had no idea what I was getting into...

[@anibalmonkeyfranco880]

I love your chanel.... really.. çthanks

[@paulmouradian8968]

Hi Rob, I like your marimba videos but was wondering if you could create a worksheet based upon the concepts you represented in both videos. You mentioned tone, voicing, technique, and phrasing but are there any other devices to work on besides dynamic and rhythm. Paul

[@robknopperstudio]

thanks paul! you should check out a piece i did called '5 practice strategies for your next audition' that has a good download with a section on phrasing. www.robknopper.com/blog/2016/4/3/an-exercise-that-forces-you-to-phrase-things-better

[@mickberkelmans3500]

I recently got a new piece called Prelude no. 1 by Emmanuel Séjourné. I think it sounds super awesome! :) and I would love it if you made a video about it! 😁

[@robknopperstudio]

i would LOVE to! putting it on my list

[@mickberkelmans3500]

That is great! Thanks!

[@davidvladovsky1962]

rob knopper also check Evelyn glennie's chorales, they're also good for practicing voicing, phrasing etc

[@robknopperstudio]

good idea!

[@metalmilitia137]

Great video! I really like your point about getting the phrasing ingrained with the notes and rhythms. Have you played Evelyn Glennie's arrangement of Abide By Me? I'm working on it right now and it's tough to get some of the interval changes smooth. Chorales (especially rolled chorales) are some of the hardest marimba music for me.

[@robknopperstudio]

i haven't but someone else recommended the evelyn glennie chorales so i'm ordering them from steve weiss now!

[@lenamoser7778]

He looks like Harry Potter😂🤷🏽‍♀️

[@mistererq1819]

Hi! What are the mallets that you are using at 0:29? Great video btw!

[@alexandershcheglov4653]

Hi. I have a question about voicing. When I play 4 mallets and need play one note louder than other I need to get one mallet higher, but there's a flam. So how can I lead melody with one mallet while playing chords with other? Or I can only achieve this by chosing harder mallet? Thank you for your video. It's great as usual.

[@robknopperstudio]

if you start with both mallets playing at the same volume with a nice tone, and repeat, can you slowly add volume to one mallet over the other? that might mean increasing either the speed that mallet is going, the stick height, or the force of impact. your job is to work on that, without flamming.

[@alexandershcheglov4653]

I got it, thank you. There are just one more thing I need work on. Concerning your question, sometimes it happens but when I don't need it, for instance, while playing flams in second part of Rosauro's concert.

[@robknopperstudio]

hey alexander, i'm not sure exactly what you mean. if you can restate your question i'd be happy to help!

[@jonhillery7736]

Rob, your link to your recording of the excerpt appears to currently go to Bach Cello Suite 1 instead.

[@jonhillery7736]

Also, where can I find the music for this? I can't seem to find a very usable version on imslp and googling Juilliard stuff did not help?

[@robknopperstudio]

fixed the link! and for the music it's in the juilliard undergraduate prescreening repertoire list. scroll through this page: www.juilliard.edu/arm/music/college/percussion/bachelor-music#anchor-chapter-pre-screening

[@jonhillery7736]

Thanks :D

[@austinsmith5101]

How do you improve sightreading for things like these

[@robknopperstudio]

hi austin... work on sight-reading every day! remember that you will start to improve on whatever you force yourself to face every day. if you want to be better at sight reading, start feeding yourself sight-reading that's slightly beyond your ability during each practice session. hope that helps!