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Dance Suite (Keyboard Percussion Quartet)
Genre: Percussion Ensemble
# of Players: 4
Level: Medium | Duration: 9:15
Publisher: C. Alan Publications | Copyright: 2020
Download mp3 | Click on images to left for score sample
Rating:
Price:
$32.00
Item #:
27200
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Notes & Instrumentation
Dance Suite is a set of six short pieces inspired by ballroom dance styles. The movements present a variety of musical styles and opportunity for exposure to the music, movement, and culture behind each dance style. Students will be excited to perform any movement of the Dance Suite, and audience members will have trouble sitting still in their seats!
Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 4
Level: Medium | Duration: 9:15
Instrumentation
Glockenspiel (double or substitute Vibraphone)
Xylophone (double or substitute Marimba)
Marimba 1 (4-octave)*
Marimba 2 (4-octave)*
*Marimba 1 & 2 can share a single 4-octave instrument
Program Notes
Dance Suite is a set of six short pieces inspired by ballroom dance styles. The movements present a variety of musical styles and opportunity for exposure to the music, movement, and culture behind each dance style. Each movement provides each player an opportunity to perform various roles within the ensemble, so no one gets stuck just playing an accompaniment part. The four parts present a range of difficulty levels so that a group of four players with varying abilities are able to perform together. Several movements provide an opportunity to learn about relative and parallel minor scales, and each movement utilizes some extended technique, including playing with the handles of the mallets and playing with dead strokes. Students will be excited to perform any movement of the Dance Suite, and audience members will have trouble sitting still in their seats! -
Product Reviews
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Percussive Notes New Literature Review
This mallet quartet consists of six short movements, each based on a classic ballroom dance style. Chris Carmean has done a terrific job orchestrating parts that are accessible to intermediate players and musically challenging enough for more advanced players.
The first movement (“Cha-Cha-Cha”) is written at quarter note = 128 bpm, but has a feel of cuttime. It would be a great opportunity to introduce or work on the concept of half-time or “in two.” The second movement (“Foxtrot”) is appropriately more xylophone heavy, but balances the melodic duties very well throughout the other parts. The third movement (“Galop”) is a nice feature for the glockenspiel player, but once again distributes the responsibility relatively equally. This would be a great opportunity to showcase how to incorporate scale study into a performance. The fourth movement (“Polka”) is very Czardas-esk! It is a great opportunity to work on rhythmic precision and shared ensemble responsibility. “Tango,” the fifth movement, is by far the most rhythmically complex and is a great opportunity to work on syncopation in an ensemble setting. The final movement (“Waltz”), is another opportunity for all parts to shine. The melody is a terrific blend of John Williams and Clara Schumann.
“Dance Suite” provides the perfect opportunity to dig deeper into mallet playing for a young ensemble, or chamber music skills for more advanced students. The whole suite lasts about ten minutes (each movement is a little less than two minutes), making this the perfect selection for a school percussion ensemble or mixed instrument recital concert.
Joe Millea
PERCUSSIVE NOTES
VOL. 59, NO. 3, JUNE 2021 Joe Millea on Jun 29th 2022
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