Pulse (Perc Ens 4)

Pulse is a short and exciting burst of musical energy for four marimbists inspired by the music of indoor drumline shows. The piece offers four percussionists the chance to have a great time playing fun music with each other on an instrument we love so much.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 4
Level: Medium | Duration: 6:00

Instrumentation
4-octave Marimba
4-octave Marimba
4.3-octave Marimba
5-octave Marimba

Program Notes

Pulse is a short and exciting burst of musical energy for four marimbists. Written in 2010 for the Skill Stop Percussion Quartet at Truman State University, the primary inspiration for the piece was my collective experience with my first musical love: marching percussion. In many ways, I consider this Pulse a “love letter” to the marching activity. The various themes and gestures of the work were originally the sketch of an indoor drumline show I had been writing and this influence is apparent in the driving rhythms and fast, flashy runs.

I’ve always felt that one element concert percussion ensemble literature is lacking is the utilization of the keyboard percussion “chops” that percussionists work so hard to develop. One of the goals of Pulse was to explore just how much speed, dexterity, and control an expert keyboard percussionist has at their disposal. Pulse is simply about having fun playing the marimba. There are very few times where the piece does not “groove,” the harmonies get very jazzy at times, and the forward motion/energy never stops. In summation, Pulse offers four percussionists the chance to have a great time playing fun music with each other on an instrument we love so much.