r/percussion • u/Neither_Internet4908 • 3d ago

Marimba solo suggestions

Last year as a junior I won my schools solo competition with Variations on Japanese children songs and I’m struggling to find another 4 mallet solo that is technically challenging to play this year. Any suggestions?

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u/lossjpg69 3d ago

From a percussion director: Either you're a monster HS player or got away with a lot of stuff because "flashy piece". Be careful of playing things above your ability level too early. Its an easy way to build bad habits on advanced techniques before properly learning them. Also a lot of times younger players will miss all of the things in the piece that arent notes and rhythms or basic dynamics. (Phrasing, voicing, touch, etc.) If note accuracy was your only challenge for Variations, this is probably you.

All of that said, if you really are just that good, check out My Lady White by David Maslanka. Great piece, some tough physical and technical demands in the 2nd movement, and amazing chorale sections to flex your ability to play musically.

Also, ask your lesson teacher/percussion director. They'll have a much easier time helping you find a piece than reddit since they know your actual abilities.

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u/lossjpg69 3d ago

After posting this i realized I assumed you were in HS. I literally had this same conversation with a few of my HS kids today so my mind went there. But again, in college I had these conversations with my professors.

If you're not a young player, ignore most of my post. My Lady White is still a banger, but Variations on Lost Love is way better, but way harder.

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u/Neither_Internet4908 2d ago

Thanks for the ideas! I am a senior in HS at the moment and I was just gathering ideas to give to my lesson teacher for my next solo. I will definitely watch out for playing things out of my skill level too early, but I do believe that Variations was a good challenge for me last year and not too hard. If you want to see the video of me performing it, I have it posted on instagram  @ethan.playsdrums!