This is an amazing improvisation by master marimbist Keiko Abe. Unfortunately is not the entire performance but you can get an idea. She has mastered the 6 mallet technique. If you look carefully she is not only playing block chords, she is also playing lines alternating the sticks and opening and closing intervals within the 3 sticks. She is using the traditional grip. Also the improv is based on one of her compositions called: "Itsuki Fantasy"

She is amazing!!!

All of this great drop 2 stuff from Dana has gotten me thinking about voicings I find myself using a lot, and I thought I'd post some that I think emphasize the strengths of the instrument while negotiating its limited range. I use these particular voicings to try and make 4-note chords that have a decent spread, but don't get way up on the top of the instrument, where I think it's easy to distract from a soloist.

Drop 2 voicings are 'all the rage'. They're being talking about alot these. Check out Dana's lessons on Drop 2 voicings. They're really great and thorough.

I am posting the music to just the A section of a diatonic song in C. This is a 6/8 dance song from the state of Chiapas in Mexico. See if you can harmonize it in closed voicings and drop 2.

Once you have the hang of it, try it in all keys. It is a handy melody for getting your feet wet with drop 2. It modulates to the IV and V7 chords, it is diatonic, it has both scalar and arpeggiated motion and not too fast to execute.

Updated 2/16/09:

Hi everyone at Vibes Workshop

I decided to put up one of the last and most recent videos I had done because it is becoming so obvious that I still won't have more for some time. So, anyway, here it is, Remember When written by Lennie Niehaus, a beautiful ballad. I am not quite sure when I made this video but it was in the last three or four years. I had not posted this on YouTube until June of 08.

BruceW

Here are a few ideas demonstrated for practicing Drop 2 Lessons 1 & 2. This is not just for 4 mallet guys.

Hope this helps.

p.s. I forgot to talk about using these scale patterns to go through 4 mallet permutations (1234, 4321, 1243 etc)

Here is lesson two where I demonstrate harmonizing minor and dominant bebop scales. Make sure to run these through all keys with a metronome. Notice how the major and relative minor scales are identical (you only have to learn one that you think of 2 ways ;) Also notice that on the dominant scale you play a diminished chord on the natural sixth step (instead of flat sixth on others) which is a departure from the progression of I7-V7dim-I7-V7dim etc (I falter for a second with this on the video). Please also practice the arpeggios on the chord tones and non-chord tones as well.

Here is my first lesson on applying the drop 2 voicing concept to the vibes. The ultimate goal is to be able to harmonize any melody with a 4 note voicing the way a horn section in a big band might or even to execute solo passages in this style.

Please go ahead and purchase Mark Levine's "The Drop 2 book" here:
http://www.shermusic.com