Silence Won't Save You (Perc Ens 5 + Vocalist, Bass, & Solo Instrument)

Silence Won’t Save You is a contemporary pop-influenced piece for percussion quintet, vocalist, electric bass, and solo instrument that welcomes some open-ended opportunities for collaboration.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble + Voice, Solo Instrument, & Bass | # of Players: 5 + 3
Level: Intermediate | Duration: 5:10

Instrumentation
Score (8.5"x11" stapled booklet)
Voice: any voice type, transposed to appropriate octave*
Solo Instrument: any pitched instrument**
Vibraphone: 3-octave
Marimba 1: 4.5-octave
Marimba 2: 5-octave, Sampler***, Shaker, Cowbell, Seed Pod Shaker
Electric Bass: or Synth Bass
Djembe: Bird Whistle
Drum Set: Kick, Dry Effects Cymbal, Hi-Hat, China Cymbal

*The vocal part may be sung by the bass player, the solo player or an additional eighth ensemble member.

**The “Solo Instrument” can be any pitched instrument. Guitar? Perfect! Tuba? Amazing! Flute? If you’re going to mic it! Transpose for saxophone? Go for it! Bagpipes? Why not!

***The Sampler part (played by Marimba 2) will work best on a DTX or MalletStation where the pads can be hit with drumsticks. If you have gongs pitched to G3 and Bb3 and want to play them live instead, feel free!

Program Notes
At PASIC, Mat Campbell asked me what I was going to write next, and I said, “I don’t know. I just want to write something that’s like, really cool.” There are no real program notes; nothing meaningful behind the piece. I just wanted to write something fun and fresh!

– J.F.