The @Percussion Podcast

The @Percussion - Episode 82 - Emil Richards

082 - Emil Richards

PAS Hall of Fame member Emil Richards' career serves as the first long-term example of a studio musician based in Los Angeles.  He's played on over 2,000 film scores, and at 85 years of age still records for a few composers.  He's seen the industry in its glamorous heydey and witnessed changes - good and bad.

With him we talk about beginning his instrument collection while on tour with Frank Sinatra, special stories attached to key instruments, and his opinions about the field of percussion and where it's headed. Casey couldn't help but mention that he and Emil both have Sicilian heritage.

 

0:00 Intro and hello

2:10 Emil's instrument collection & Frank Sinatra

4:20 Founding hospitals overseas

11:11 Favorites in your instrument collection?

17:00 Harry Partch

33:40 What has changed in the LA scene over the decades?

48:50 Why is studio work moving away from LA?

53:18 Studying timpani with Alexander Lepak? Working with him?

55:45 Staying sharp while busy working?

1:03:20 Progression and the health of percussion?

Watch here. Listen below.

The @Percussion - Episode 81 Colin Hill

081 - Colin Hill

Joining us this week is Colin Hill, Assistant Professor of Percussion Studies at Tennessee Tech University.  In our chat, we learned that his dissertation research on practice colors his teaching.  Laurel shares her newest essay in the Marimba Body series from her blog, which is all about thumbs and a little about anatomical variants.  There's a tendon in the forearm that some have and others don't!

Thanks to all for Facebook questions.

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 Intro and hello
6:15 Keeping a busy real-life balance, how?
13:12 Student peer environment
17:20 Student to adjunt to full-time job
26:23 Colin's dissertation: 10,000 hours, practice habbits, routines, methods 
58:45 Normal variences: fingers, tendons, muscles, grips
1:11:30 What's next for you, Colin?

The @Percussion - Episode 80 Brian Nozny

080 - Brian Nozny

Joining us this week is percussionist composer Brian Nozny.  We chat about inspiration, confidence vs. competence, and even his "side hustle" (Thanks, Arvay), a company called Sylvana Chimes.

Watch here.  Listen below.

0:00 intro and hello
10:30 Do's and don'ts of arranging 
14:45 What's impacted your compositional style?
21:35 Christopher Rouse
39:50 Research of Tomas Chamorro Premuzic, dangers of confidence. The Dunning-Kruger Effect
1:15:35 Making instruments and Sylvana Chimes

The @Percussion - Episode 79 Michael Schutz

079 - Michael Schutz

Dr. Michael Schutz is currently Associate Professor of Music Cognition/Percussion at McMaster University.  He is the founding director of the MAPLE Lab and a core member of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind.  Chatting with him about his gestural research was enlightening and thought-provoking.  He currently chairs the PAS Music Technology committee and has performed at PASIC several times.  

Research in music cognition is nothing short of fascinating, and the implications contained in the findings are exciting not only in performance pedagogy but for arts advocacy as well.

Thanks to our co-host from The Sub List: Tracy Wiggins.

 

Watch here. Listen below.  

0:00 intro and hello
5:28 The Mind of the Listener lecture. Does gesture length have any effect?
 12:38 MAPLE Lab, how did it come about?
16:50 The performer's effect from gesture. Does moving help performance? False gesture
39:52 Super Brain (book)
50:13 "Mosquito Teen Repellant" (hearing loss & aging)
54:33 Possible NEA & NEH cuts
1:23:20 Quote and bye 

The @Percussion - Episode 78 Brad Meyer (part 2)

078 - Brad Meyer, part 2

Continuing our conversation with Brad...

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 Intro and hello
0:40 "I want to be a teacher so why do I have to learn all this other stuff?"
3:30 The improvments you've made a SFA?
13:45 Visit to the Sweetwater shop
17:17 Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent (total BS)
(Rights marches too).
36:33 Jacob TV
47:40 Quote

The @Percussion - Episode 77 Brad Meyer (Part 1)

077 - Brad Meyer

Joining us is Director of Percussion at SFA: Dr. Brad Meyer. He's also the chair of the Health and Wellness Committee. Naturally, we talk about some of Brad's articles and clinics, as well as the tips and traps for those first college teaching jobs.

We're also joined by a host from the Sublist - Brandon Arvay, and two Tag-Along Hosts: Ana Provo (with Megan) and Caleb Pickering (with Casey).

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 Intro and hello
3:30 What's new with Brad? New consortium
7:10 The "Side Hussle"
19:10 Big degrees and so few jobs
28:00 From 1-year position to tenure track
33:56 Saying yes to too much - "Burn Out"

The @Percussion - Episode 76 Brian Zator

076 - Brian Zator

Joining us this is new PAS President and Director of Percussion at Texas A&M Univ.-Commerce: Brian Zator.  Naturally, PAS is a big topic of discussion, as well as his experience in Japan with Keiko Abe.

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 Intro and hello
2:47 What are you most excited about, being the new PAS President? 
4:35 Are there significant changes with different PAS Presidents?
8:30 What do you hope to accomplish in the next two years with PAS? Group memberships, university library subscription, fund raising, 
13:00 PAS Keiko Abe commission
15:34 Website issues?
19:55 Minoru Miki, "Marimba Spiritual", recording "Time"
34:45 How did you come to study with Keiko Abe in Japan? 
37:50 As her student, what has been Keiko Abe's greatest impact on you?
39:50 Traditional grip? 
44:30 What do you do outside of music?
47:50 Other projects? Makoto Nakura 
50:00 PAS with art as a whole?
55:25 Becoming President of PAS?
58:30 Your Fundementals book. 
1:00:00 Quote and bye

The @Percussion - Episode 75 Tracy Wiggins

075 - Tracy Wiggins

Joining us this week is Tracy Wiggins, coordinator of the percussion program at The University of North Alabama.  His interests and experiences are varied, ranging from principle timpanist for several orchestras, to a tuba-percussion duo called Peruba, to playing in the pit for numerous operas and musicals.

Topics: Mariah Carey's year-ending performance, hearing protection and decibel results from PASIC 2016, music programming debates, and John Cage's Third Construction

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 Hello and Happy New Year

10:33 Hearing protection and PASIC 2016 decibel tests results33:31 Quote from Andrew Normam on NewMusicBox.org on why we should program new music54:15 John Cage 3rd Construction - form and "Square Root" formula

The @Percussion - Episode 74 Tom Burritt

074 - Tom Burritt

Hello, 2017!  To start off this new year we are joined by Tom Burritt, Director of Percussion Studies at UT, Austin.  Tom is known as a marimba soloist and percussionist for the twice GRAMMY-nominated choir Conspirare.  Additionally, his video-based episodic Axiom TV was one of the first dives into the combination of classical percussion and new technology.

We talk about the details of his IP mallets, Joseph Schwantner, the "10,000 hour rule" of mastery, being a student for life, and "grit;" he also answers several questions from Facebook.

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 hello

3:25 Ted Jackson: Tom's new mallets from IP?

12:00 Joseph Schwantner

22:00 Gordon Stout: Your overall philosophy of teaching?

28:20 Micah Detweiler: Performing with vocal ensembles?

31:22 Caleb Pickering: Music in three dimensions?

38:50 Ben: Studying with Gordon Stout?

42:02 Tony Kirk: Time and balance?

45:54 10,000 hour "rule", "Student for Life", and "Grit"

59:27 Thom Hasenpflug: How you approach a MM student and a DMA student, level of autonomy / lit / etc.

1:01:28 Axiom TV/ what's next?

1:06:36 Quote

The @Percussion - Episode 73 Steven Schick

073 - Steven Schick

The illustrious and profound Steven Schick needs no introduction from us; we were all too eager to sit with him for an hour or so.

In this episode Steven answers several Facebook questions (Thanks to Fernando, Caleb, Diego, Theo, and Shaun for submissions!), his relationship with longtime friend David Lang, learning Ferneyhough and Xenakis, commissioning, our increasingly specialized field, and the pitfalls of "overtraining."

Watch here. Listen below.

0:00 hello
1:33 wrapping up the semester 
3:10 facebook questions:
3:25 Fernando Meza: What, in your opinion, is the most valuable 
aspect of contemporary music in a society besieged by musical 
alternatives and how can we as practitioners, 
best contribute to its appreciation amongst non-musicians?
13:05 collaborations outside of music
14:15 The Schick Machine
15:16 Caleb Pickering: If you were to create an addendum to your book, 
The Percussionist's Art, what works, composers, or events 
would you add since it's original 2006 publication?
19:51 David Lang
25:33 Diego Becerra: Can you ask him about the relationship 
between the physical gesture and musical gesture in playing marimba?
28:35 Theodor Milkov: "Hi everyone. One question: when it comes to contemporary music, where is the red line between being precise and interpretation(self expression). Thank you for your time."
30:50 Xenakis and Ferneyhough
40:55 So...acting? Over trained, over technical
45:55 Keeping us with how much the percussion world asks of us.
54:34 Percussion becoming more specialized 
58:49 Shaun Tilburg: "What kind of preparation/practice would be helpful for someone just entering college that is positive they want to follow in your line of work. Polyrhythms, score study... acting?" 
1:00:02 Quote