Ghost Garden, by Adam Hopper

[@lukeshaffer9316]

This was the first marimba solo I learned my first semester of my freshman year of college, so I will always carry an emotional attachment to this song :')

[@trevencowherd6277]

I'm playing this as a freshman in high school, and I agree, you can't help but feel an emotional attachment to this song when playing it.

[@maddieroemisch3808]

I'm learning it right now, (7th grade) but boy it is tough for me

[@zongtron4255]

Random flute player: This is so easy why do you complain

[@fdeleon720]

@@maddieroemisch3808 I'm learning it right now (8 years old) wish me luck

[@ianvonderharr6426]

Just got born lol, starting this solo

[@NathanG5190]

Learned Rain Dance and earned gold at state with my only marimba piece. I was known for being the snare kid and I’m so glad I learned 4 mallets junior year, because I heard a friend playing this and had to learn it. I stayed during my at home study hall learning this piece, and it was the last thing I ever played in the band room before leaving for the last time. Will always hold so many memories and emotions

[@theambitiousduck]

nice pfp

[@brileygills8908]

Friend of mine played this for his audition, and now it’s stuck in my head two/three years later. I blame it on the beautiful description our band director read before he played the piece and my fascination for abandoned buildings

[@-Schadenfreude]

I played this for my senior year in high school. It was a pretty easy piece compared to others, but I chose it purely based off the name. I mastered it in about 2 or 3 months. With nothing else to do, I just kept practicing with it. I got to a point where I was ‘playing’ with it. I was adjusting speed in certain parts, dynamics, how one section flowed into another. After a bit I had my own way of playing this. At a concert where 13 different ensembles or solos were played at my school, I was third in line. I played my version, the version that I enjoyed playing. And I never played that good before or after that concert, and sure people always clap after a piece just to show appreciation, but this felt like there was actual enjoyment behind the claps. There were still like 10 pieces played after mine, but after the show people were coming up to me saying I was their favorite, which has never happened. And to this day I’m baffled that somehow no one recorded it so I can’t prove how well I actually played. And I can’t play it again because I graduated and don’t have access to a marimba anymore.

[@sirjcm-gosubscribetome8630]

Just took the time out of my day to read all of this. Really emotional story you have there. I hope you find your way into the percussion world again.

[@nohemitrevino1177]

It's always so cool when a solo becomes your solo. Music can sound beautiful when played by a talented musician, but the same goes for the musicians who actually enjoy what they play.

[@turtl-r8p]

that's really cool.. I'm in 8th grade rn and the name really stuck with me aswell, thats partly why i chose it. one of my friends (year above me) played this for his solo last year and the moment i heard it i wanted to play it so badly. it's really just an incredible song, and i've been working on my own way to play it

[@gingyy19]

this is honestly the most beautiful marimba piece, i will love it forever

[@alangaray7296]

A Cricket Sang and Set the Sun is also a pretty solo

[@davidwininger1381]

Over the Rainbow by Robert Oetomo is my favorite personally, but this one definitely is a good piece.

[@braytongust]

Measures 33 through 36 are different in the actual score. I had to go back a note check myself to make sure.

[@balsawoodbones]

Brayton Gust I noticed that too. Had me second guessing all my practice lol

[@quinncanada9045]

I thought it was just me!

[@megatronsroyalemissary382]

Yup. And a lot of marimba players miss these notes as well.

[@alexsousa1144]

Brayton Gust not only those but also some notes in the 49-50 melody

[@maxian2132]

@@alexsousa1144in these comments rn the day before my college audition looking for someone to confirming that i didn’t read it wrong

[@concrete1094]

I finally found the marimba solo, I have been looking for this piece forever. My search is complete and I am in peace.

[@myrnacoon7790]

My daughter, a freshman in high school, will be performing this piece at a Solo competition in a couple days! We wish her well! 🙏

[@evelynb8420]

This song holds so much value to me, it's a beautifully written piece and there is so much to self interpret in this song as well. I got into North Texas with my version of this solo (didn't end up going but still a great accomplishment) and I still play it religiously to this day as a junior in college.

[@johnwindham4384]

religiously??? But agreed its a beautiful piece just so friggin good i learned it over the summer before my freshman year of high school which isnt even over yet lol.

[@DoubleDowner]

someone pick this guy up to score some films !

[@ryangroom2959]

Wow, I can’t believe they got the real Baldi from Baldi’s basics to perform Ghost Garden by Adam Hopper. That’s insane! Okay jokes aside I learned this solo my freshman year of highschool and now it’s incredibly nostalgic and beautiful. I really love this piece

[@owentipton1444]

Adam was one of my instructors during all district. It was awesome working with him.

[@ShadfishX]

I performed this piece for my Junior Recital back in early April. I bought the music back in 2015 after graduating high school, but I never got to play it for others until 3 years later. Thank you for writing such a fun and moving piece of literature I’m sure will remain popular for years to come!! :)

[@FlashDrive356]

Just chose this piece for my Solo and Ensemble, can't wait to learn it!

[@bigmaple6916]

GL

[@itsgoowie7955]

Do you have the music? If you do can I ask for it?

[@RunwayToMastery]

Made it to state with this solo! Sophomore in high school!

[@FlashDrive356]

Hope to do the same! I'll be doing this piece as a solo this year (I'm a sophomore currently)

[@zaccsonofjohn1132]

@@FlashDrive356 yo, twinning

[@FlashDrive356]

@@zaccsonofjohn1132 Yo! I've only learned like the first page and a half so far lol.

[@zaccsonofjohn1132]

@@FlashDrive356 same

[@zaccsonofjohn1132]

@@FlashDrive356 where are you at now

[@davidclayton1670]

I saw my friend playing this, and now I am. After practicing this a lot, I now have a lot more respect for him. This song is HARD.

[@mechaedward8003]

The camera angles for this video are so weird

[@percrunner1433]

Yeah…a little too artsy. Focus on the artist

[@justnoahherehello]

1:29 to 2:06 is definitely my favorite part of this piece! This is so beautiful!

[@karterpg3d81]

Ya it’s groovy

[@TeddyBear-cn6cl]

Just started my sophomore year of high school and 4th year as a percussionist, hope to learn this for a my band final in a few months.

[@laneym-v9s]

I’ve recently started dating a percussionist that has absolutely captured my heart and I listened to him practice this on the marimba the other night. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

[@davidjeffrey5902]

Currently finishing up my first semester of my senior year in college, Ghost Garden recently, in part, got me promoted to 300 level performance studies. As others have specified in the comments, the piece is balanced by strong compositional technique while still having enough room and space to leave certain things open to interpretation. Such a beautiful work for marimba, my colleagues and I loved hearing it at every performance opportunity I had over the last few months. Thank you Adam Hopper

[@gbugtime]

hey that's my dad!

[@claudiocastellanos6774]

Nobody Riku is he really?

[@xXcraftomaticXxPM]

Same

[@simonking5381]

Oh boy, Adam Hopper is Gary Burton's father The Lore Thickens

[@baileywatanabe1153]

Just bought this as one of my audition pieces for the UGA Scool of Music. Love it

[@twoheartkade]

My friend is playing this for an audition (I’m not a percussionist but he is) and im in love w how this sounds!!

[@notparrot5576]

ty for showing his vans

[@aedile2819]

wow. I love the story it tells...

[@johnnysalinas3811]

soo beautiful ❤😢 bought it just to learn it well done adam!

[@adamhopper6737]

+johnny Salinas Thanks Johnny. Hope you enjoy the piece. Be sure to post videos of performances of it. Enjoy!

[@BACHO-1997]

+Adam Hopper Can you give me the sheets of music? :(

[@adamhopper6737]

Sorry Bachana. But, you can purchase it through C. Alan publishing. Glad you enjoy the piece.

[@BACHO-1997]

+Adam Hopper Merchant are you?

[@BACHO-1997]

+Adam Hopper I do not want to buy me. If you give me?

[@avarettig]

my pit section leader plays this all the time!! i wanna learn this so bad ;-;

[@huey4108]

Did you learn it?

[@rawhidelamp]

Did you get to learning it?

[@FlashDrive356]

You ever learn it?

[@zaccsonofjohn1132]

It’s not that hard, and it’s pretty fun

[@MewTimesTwo]

The people want to know if you ever learned it

[@ThaPuppet15]

Adam! Im a student of Benji C. I got to study this piece all last semester and I loved it. Let Benji know when you write another piece. Love your work!

[@adamhopper6737]

+ThaPuppet15 Thanks man. I've got some more stuff in the works. I'll be sure to keep you posted. Thanks for the kind words and for playing the piece.

[@samismith5011]

My friend learned this piece and it is now one of my favorite musical pieces of all time. Gosh, I'm gonna laugh so hard if she sees this comment! 😂

[@willsimon9706]

I’m a senior playing this solo for our summer concert. I seriously can’t explain how excited I am to finish learning it and play it

[@Ryanasuarusrex]

Learning this as a Freshman this year

[@connersigrist]

Ryan B yo same

[@Ryanasuarusrex]

@@connersigrist came back for the nostalgia

[@stevenhatcher9133]

The way we’re all relatable to how and why we learned this ❤

[@eveweymeersch5874]

I just love this piece ❤️.

[@jojabrock9997]

I’m doing this song for my 8th grade FBA solo. This has been very helpful to know how it sounds.

[@shinycrobat2323]

Took this to state and got superior scores. I was the only 4 mallet player at my school.

[@mjmcavoy2781]

I’m playing this piece for my senior recital, but only because I didn’t get much percussion until college. Such a pretty piece. I wanted something fun, but not too difficult because the rest of my repertoire is medium/difficult and this was the perfect piece.

[@moltom26]

What kind of marimba is he using in this? I know it's 4 1/3 octave but what kind of wood?

[@adamhopper6737]

+moltom26 Hey moltom. It's actually an Adams 4.3 soloist marimba with padouk bars. Since the piece an intermediate piece and is designed for students at the high school level, I wanted to do a recording featuring an intermediate level instrument, similar to that likely found in many high school band rooms. Adams makes great stuff, and the room sounded killer. I was pretty pleased with the way the sound came out, even though the instrument didn't break the bank. I hope this answers your question.

[@hourglassmazta664]

Adam Hopper Do you think you would ever make a recording on rosewood? I’d love to hear it from someone on rosewood who’s better than me lol

[@graceburton3016]

Freshman year and I’m learning this solo I know it all except for the first bit of B! Hope I can go to state for it!!!!

[@jacobthiede]

ughhhh, just awesome

[@Texan_drummer]

I played this and I got a 1 and I’m going to state in may

[@v.Alejandro]

Just performed at solo and ensemble today and got a division one rating. I’ll be advancing to state in May.

[@SY-jb2eo]

Shoutout to my friend Xander who just ordered this solo... You’re the best!!

[@ron_peasley]

my first real four-mallet experience was Mango Bay by Julie Davila. i learned it in 4-5 weeks for my high school sophomore solo/ensemble competition, and i am very proud of the performance i had with that ! ever since i first got Mango Bay, i fell in love with marimba. i love that piece so much! i’m craving to play every single day, and i’ve been so antsy since i didn’t have any new music ( until now

[@santi_m01]

[@danielcoolkid712]

I'm trying to be the first chair in my percussion and I am might play this song! Remind me to post the update

[@ruetube]

how did it go?

[@TomStarPercussion]

Cool ! Love the Vic Firth Marimba Literature Library !

[@-.scotlandtourism..]

Great high school beginner piece for NYSSMA and other state high school solo adjudications. I would recommend different mallets that don't have so much tactile extraneous noise however. And qatch your shuffling of your feet. It distracts.

[@myrnacoon7790]

Beautiful 👏🏼

[@crieverytim]

That one part reminds me of the Twin Peaks theme song. If it was an island tune 😆

[@jacobisworld9516]

I love this song.

[@danday5167]

I LOVE VIC FIRTH!

[@B6n6n607]

This will hold something dear to me. I'm in my junior year and my first time trying to go to state for solo and ensemble. I've had a group 1 solo before just didnt know. I just started knowing it and I'm learning my favorite part with the triplet into the 8th notes. This was my 3rd or 4th piece I looked at to choose for solo and ensemble. And its prob one of my new favorites :)

[@dylanscott1288]

that's amazing!!!

[@kidninja8904]

Bro, I'm going to play this piece my senior year (2 years from now) during region and loop 1:51 to the end and keep playing till I mess up

[@crieverytim]

I'm listening to this w a samba beat in the background and it's 👌

[@frosty6578]

Taking this to UIL today!

[@OliviaGraceCrochett]

Does anyone who learned this have any tips to make it sound more beautiful I guess? This is the first solo I've started learning on marimba, and even though I can play it mostly, it is just missing the musicality of this performance.

[@cocacolafan238]

Im in the process of learning this piece, but in my opinion I think a good way to add some musicality is to play around with the dynamics and tempo :) Like in places where there arent any written dynamics, just play around with them until you find what you enjoy best!

[@iglb314]

I am doing this for solo ensemble this year as a freshman in high school. This is honestly a cool and fun piece but I am struggle if to learn it quick enough. I had gotten to B and it kind of stumped me. I have two weeks until my event and I can play most of the the song up until b where I am working hard to get better. Does anyone have a tips on how I can learn the rest of the piece quickly?

[@dayanerarullo7082]

take any free time possible and watch lots of videos on the solo and focus on the rotations and how it sounds. practice practice practice!! also if you’re struggling with four malleting at all just learn each hand separately and then combine them

[@raznaxd]

so soft

[@kevinsierra7973]

only 8th grader in my state that knows how to do this solo its incredible :)

[@musikgeek9289]

Wow aren't you a smart lil cookie

[@willhblob1171]

time to flex but I’m a 7th grader than can do this lol

[@12thcarroll2]

@buckets hes exactly that kid

[@ieattoomanyclementines2372]

Clicked on this entirely by random and love it 💕

[@SarahHeartsDrums]

this is really cool!

[@MarimbaMaurice]

So well performed! Just really gorgeous 😍 The back lighting of the video distracted me quite a lot though.

[@Janieparker17]

beautiful

[@youwhat7517]

Say, did you follow the music exactly, or did you add in your own touches, such as some notes being different from what's written? I ask because I am currently learning the piece and it would be good for me to know if I'm playing parts wrong or if you play it your own way. Thanks!

[@RunwayToMastery]

I noticed that too. Like at 4:30 he changed the top note to a G and it sounds better than what's written. I added that and the dynamics and role speed like he did into my solo and I'm going to state for it.

[@xCentauri]

Starlion422 It seems that he wants people to come up with their own dynamics and interpretations, for example, I have a lot more swelling and emphasis on the rolls, and I have accented the top notes with the 8th notes section

[@lilycalico3957]

He absolutely did not play it exactly. I’ve only reached B (m38) in learning it and m33-37 were completely wrong. The music has the right hand playing A and C at the beginning (but he played B and D) and the left hand plays fourths, not fifths. As a composer, I realize how hard it is to play exactly what you’ve written or rewritten, especially when you’ve memorized it differently. Still, it would have been great for him to check himself before he recorded it.

[@benkessler4439]

Lily Calico I think it sounds better this way than the original personally, but that’s just me.

[@quinncanada9045]

It’s all about making it yours and sound good I’ve made some sections slower and and have altered a lot dynamic wise and tempo wise however he was in fact playing with different notes at one point in the music so just keep that is mind..... a whole year later😅

[@eddiehawkins7538]

How long would you think it’ll take to learn this live and how much do you have to practice a day for it cause I’m curious if I can get it done for solo ensemble in February

[@rubenjulio7854]

fucking gorgeous!!!

[@Blisstheproducer]

Me and and my dad play play the drums and piano so the marimba is perfect for us

[@Traidmarck]

M114's are my shit! Great marimba mallets

[@ishipmyselfwithfood]

i love this!

[@mazeswitches5860]

i learned this in 7th grade what do i play next

[@lynnziegray4224]

I thought I recognized the name, I played this freshman year of high school and failed so I tried again at a different school and ended up with a different piece

[@markwilliams9613]

Love this solo so much, I wish he used softer mallets for this piece though:/ other than that it sounds awesome!

[@Elloliott]

marimba solos are such a weird rabbit hole to fall down but i'm not complaining

[@CraigDeLarge]

Where can I purchase this recording?

[@Ray-ij8ot]

I'm learning this as a freshman in high school

[@NoOne-gx5cz]

Junior in highschool for me

[@Ryanasuarusrex]

kekeke kekeke it's a windex bottle same

[@freshie587]

I’m playing this in 8th grade for solo competition

[@emmatbunnie]

wahh so beautiful!

[@noahgormanmusic1843]

Once my college auditions are over I intend to focus more on four mallet stuff and learn this solo. Great work but I am curious, what mallets did you use here Adam?

[@aumipe2295]

I know I’m late, but he is using the m114. It says so in the hashtag of this video

[@Adam.Clark.]

This was my 8th grade solo and it got me to state, so thats pretty nice

[@someone-yc1pc]

8th grade???? holy

[@Adam.Clark.]

@@someone-yc1pc well I'm a sophomore now soooooo

[@someone-yc1pc]

@@Adam.Clark. Just curious, did you start playing for band in school, or did you have experience before that? 8th grade is when I started Keyboards lol.

[@Adam.Clark.]

@@someone-yc1pc I had a little bit of musical knowledge from piano, but our percussion teacher taught us snare and marimba in 6th grade

[@someone-yc1pc]

@@Adam.Clark. still super impressive you were able to play this after 2 years.

[@liaarakal2130]

is it possible to play this with 2 mallets lol

[@balsawoodbones]

Lia Arakal no- especially the rolls at the end. I guess you could cut out two notes from each of the chords, but where’s the fun in that? :)

[@ericaann6424]

My 8th grade solo! Best solo I’ve played so far. Got a 1 😁

[@dakotafagan2910]

Omg same! It’s such an awesome solo to learn and play

[@misa9027]

I’m learning this solo right now for me to make it to state anyone got any tips?

[@deathacorn9726]

Can anyone identify the mallets he's using?

[@novamber88]

VFM114 Robert Van Sice Signature from the description :)

[@kenyatheclam2462]

Does anyone know if this is a grade 3 piece??

[@j.kendall83]

Issa good’n

[@bigmaple6916]

I got a 1 c, see yall at state

[@darkestsideofwhite8497]

Nice song but there are so many mistakes. I found them when I learn this solo. Don't play with this record guys! Play from notation and you will do well.

[@marjmar3884]

The dude that’s playing it is the composer, and whenever he wrote it he did write in some typos, but it also may just be him adding his own taste to it which is always good. Hope you had fun playing it!

[@Texan_drummer]

@@marjmar3884I did this one and I got a one but I also did notice many mistakes, like the high G at section B, not playing parts as much as they are written, and a few o th er small ones but I still love this solo to death

[@weafy8404]

What tempo are you playing this piece at?

[@werentmeant9026]

Aye that’s my teacher?

[@violante1421]

1:31 reminder to make a nostalgic lofi remix

[@violante1421]

4:16

[@jacobisworld9516]

I miss band.

[@AlexPerez-cy3ck]

but i played with the high school

[@lukef.rowland2793]

Pretty beginner marimba piece

[@AlexPerez-cy3ck]

i played this song my 8th grade year

[@gear9x166]

1:14

[@gear9x166]

1:28

[@lewis-op5ui]

0:19

[@isla_c10]

you save lives

[@lewis-op5ui]

@@isla_c10 😂

[@andfaerie]

Good simple piece, but nothing special to me...

[@Andriale]

Andrea Rattini I disagree but you have a right to your own opinion

[@taterorie]

It’s so clear and obvious that your jelly bro!😂

[@uta_pn]

video starts at 2:32

[@40wd]

Poetic // pikachu. What do you meannnn

[@kadepalguta2837]

first