Daily Grind (Perc Ens 6)

Daily Grind is a flexible and accessible sextet that gives the performers an opportunity to play hand drums with an added melodic element on desk bells. Each player also get to improvise solos. This piece is groovy, fun, and satisfying for performers and audiences!

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 6
Series: N/A
Level: Intermediate | Duration: 4:25

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score

Player 1: Riq, Hi-Hat, Desk Bell
Player 2: Doumbek, Desk Bell
Player 3: Kick Bass, Talking Drum, Desk Bell
Player 4: Cajón, Desk Bell
Player 5: Djembe, Desk Bell
Player 6: Shekere, Desk Bell

* Instrumentation is flexible, Players 1-5 should have a hand drum capable of a high and low sound. If shekere is unavailable, Player 6 could substitute any short, articulate sound.

Program Notes
Daily Grind came about from the desire to compose a global percussion piece blending instruments from various world cultures. The result is a sextet for relatively flexible instrumentation, including a melodic element with desk bells and the opportunity for each member of the ensemble to improvise solos. The title refers to the compositional process, which included workshopping various versions of the piece with my ensemble at UA Little Rock. I was grinding to revise and they were grinding to learn new parts each week for rehearsal. Of course, coffee fueled these revisions (hence the double entendre)!

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Percussion Ensemble, Justin Bunting (director)