Marimba Solo: Gordon's Bicycle - Movement 1

[Sanguimaru]

Hahaha, wow. It's really cool to see MWSU students from before me working in the percussion trailer. Rock on Aaron.

[xxcandiedapples]

what type of mallets are you using?

[rokdrumm]

Great playing, old video. You should play this again and record it with a better microphone so it's clearer. The mic makes the notes muddled up a bit.

[hirgons]

i love when it begins @ 1:06, especially @ 1:14

[StopTheMoti0n]

awesome

[breakspeare45]

y'all need to just stfu and give the guy some credit for being a good musician.....gawd all your bickering is so depressing.

[TakerFan131]

wow that was amazing:) my teacher posted this for me to see. maybe he thinks that ill get a laugh caue theres no way that im gna be able to play this lol. im really not that good at four mallets. maybe if i split it into a duet, and we could switch off on play the high part... but idk would that be too easy?

[pkim9]

there's a video of two girls splitting the part. it looks really stupid, don't do it.

[TakerFan131]

lol thx for the heads up. i just decided to go with Flight of the Bumblebee, unless he picks something else 4 me

[beaverteeth92]

Is a 5-octave marimba required for this piece?

[pkim9]

no, the lowest note is an a, it fits exactly on a 4 1/3.

[coolasj]

well. time for me to ask my director if i can play this during the concert after indopr

[JahazielakaCurly]

lol andrew, youv been playing vibes all your highschool years. Your only used to playing using the burton technique. I can barely do this, and iv been using the stevens technique all last year, and this year. I dont think any of us will be able to play this, especially you, no offense. Find like a super hard vibe solo, then see if you can play that XD

[coolasj]

maybe i will. i am lazy as hell though. find me one.

[JahazielakaCurly]

dude this is awesome. i wanna learn this...i might be able to pull it off....

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

I say go for it! Even if it's a reach, it'll make you better. Just go slow and with a metronome...you know the drill.

btw, nice videos!

[JahazielakaCurly]

haha thx dude, i feel special now XD

yea, il try to go for it, that is if i figure out where to get the music XD but before i do all this, i need to get WAAAY better with permutations...

[coolasj]

yeah. josh. the worst thing that will happen is that you will get better. xD

[sffforzando05]

Dude nice job....can I get the music for this?

[helburr]

Pro!

[yoyad]

Kevin Bobo just performed tonight at my college. He was amazing!! He played Rhythmic Jambalaya, Marriage of the Lamb, Echoes, NIght Sketches and Gordon's Bicycle. Gordon's Bicycle was actually named after Kevin's Grad teacher, Gordon Stout, who is also an amazing marimbist.

[blitzhell]

gordon stout is very amazing hes one of the best. he came and played at mmpat last year it was so good i wanted to jizz my pants lol

[SaleanaTube]

can i get music to this/ anyone that knows some good ones let me know. im looking for a great piece to learn, im up for anything. :D just let me know!

[Drumskyle]

i would miss some notes too haha.

great job! :P

[rjm1009]

very nice

[freakintom]

fantastic, sounds wonderful dude!

[Nev0rmind]

pretty fast but @ some mom you got some free interp. i think but reallly fine. at least ur plain style! mfg

[scootilybootily]

very impressive

[Penguinbot1324]

i tried learning this.... i had a epic fail... :[

[MattsaMarimba]

how large a marimba do you need to play this?

[luistollinchi]

a 4/3 octave marimba

[vampiracy]

That's a 5 octave he's using

[fromfirsttolast90]

are you using steven's grip on your right arm? I wanna know cause I need to know which grip is easier to use on that arm, as i'm trying to learn this piece. :D.

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

yep, steven's grip. I use steven's grip pretty much exclusively on marimba -- in both hands.

[garfablobble]

pretty good! I'm studying with Bobo right now... he's a frickin genius...

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

yeah, he's insanely amazing! Tell him Aaron says hi!

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

but don't show him this video. It sucks! LOL

I've gotten so much better since then...

[giselectronicc]

i meant right arm, haha :]

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

It didn't take very long to learn, since some of my friends had already played it in their recitals. By the time I decided to learn it, I could already play most of it by ear. But I remember spending at least a week working out various sections.

My RH technique was okay by then, so the 16ths weren't so bad. But I'll admit it took a while for my shoulder to get used to holding my arm up in that awkward position. In fact, I got really sore after my first practice session on this! :\

[giselectronicc]

i bought this solo,

its really heavy on my left arm since youre doing constant 16th notes, lol.

how long did it take you to play it this well?

[vikinglady09]

you cut your hair....oh...nice solo

[TsugaruMJS]

Just curious.. where do/did you go to school. Do you study with Bobo or did he just give a master class? He came and played with my studio and stuff earlier this year so now as I learn this piece for some summer entertainment I'm trying to get through the first movement thinking "What would Bobo do?"

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

Yeah, I studied with him for about 3 1/2 years. He's definitely my biggest influence. And I've gotten much better since this 2003 recording lol. I'm out of school now. I'm a middle school music teacher, and I don't own a marimba :( but I'm saving...

[TsugaruMJS]

That's awesome. I really wish I could study with him. Right now I'm living by his book and his music. I just learned and performed Rhythmic Jambalaya for an audition tape and now I'm playing this and the Seven Days. I study with Gordon Stout, though, so it's not all bad :-D

[ZackSFreeman]

wow a marimba "virtouso" who doesn't own a marimba.

[JahazielakaCurly]

wtf? you dont need to own a marimba to be good. This guy is probably better than you.

[vampiracy]

A 5 octave marimba cost 10-12 THOUSAND DOLLARS! Why would this guy have that kind of money? He looks like he's still in high school. It's ridiculous to expect him to have a marimba. Even the cheaper, 4 octave marimbas are around $2,000, and are very limited in range, as most pieces are written for larger instruments.

[pkim9]

actually, i think he's in his 20's. some other comment, he mentioned his college drum lines days and such, so i assume he's a teacher.

[ZackSFreeman]

I was merely making a comment about his name "marimba virtuoso." It just seems to me that anyone who would call themselves a virtuoso on an instrument would probably own that instrument. Also, your prices are quite inflated, I bought a 5 octave Adams with rosewood for less than $6,000. They cost much less than a good saxaphone or oboe, so it's not ridiculous to expect someone to own one, especially if they fancy themselves a virtuoso.

[minimeiskool]

@ZackSFreeman maybe he's such a beast he owns all the stuff in the room.

[macncheese861]

@ZackSFreeman Where did you find an Adams for $6000? Must be used

[KingKhronic]

looks like hes at school band romm dum ass

[bucoslo]

@vampiracy 4 1/3 abao marimba costs 2400€ and has really good wood(honduras rosewood) gives a very nice clean sound...

[TsugaruMJS]

Just curious, where do/did you go to school?

Do you study with Bobo, or did you just have a master class with him or something?

[himmy0169]

awesome performance

[olivia12333]

amazing! I'm thinking about learning this piece now that I saw you perform it. Do you have any tricks for teaching my right hand to move like that? I'm having an awful time with one-handed rolls, which are similar to this piece. Thanks, Livvie :)

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

Tricks? Well, sort of. More like a good practice technique that I got from Kevin Bobo:

Go super slowly, and very fluently, like you're in a big bowl of jello (stay in motion). Once you figure that out, slowly speed it up. And ALWAYS use a metromome. Leigh Howard Stevens does something similar - minus the jello.

Good luck! And thank you so much for the comments!!

[lilswank555]

I have to say, you could make money out of this. I get paid sometimes to go to a concert or performing arts studio to play my french horn. Im only 14. :) Great work!

[awefi]

What the hell! My instructor wanted me to play this? God damn.

[CaptainYutube]

it's LOADS easier than it looks.

I'm in 8th grade and (probably) going to play this piece to try out for a performing arts academy... easier than i first anticipated!

[boria42595]

OMG! i wish i was that good!

[Drummerman80]

Dam you good bro!

[acidtones1]

Dude! You cut your fro, man!

[TsugaruMJS]

Kevin Bobo gave a master class for my studio earlier this semester (at Ithaca College in New York.. Gordon Stout is my professor) Anyway, he's a badass and you did a pretty good job.  Bobo when he plays almost actually faces completely to the left when he plays, like, full body turn; maybe you could try that.

[LenaNikonovna]

Very good job there! I remember learning these two pieces back when I was in music school. Bobo actually was my teacher though, & it was very intimidating to plan for him!

In order to play this movement successfully, it is crucial that you're physically sort of sprawled out. That will help with reaching those difficult octaves in the left hand. I would recommend softer mallets in the left hand & the ones that you're using are fine for the right- maybe even a harder one in the top mallet.

[ShadowCoH316]

I'll need to agree on the softer left hand, but otherwise you perform this quite impressively and professionally. What kind of mallets are you using in this by the way?

[Drummas101]

good job, if that is your basement you are really lucky lol. how do you get the music for this?

[Victorspenis]

dude love ur pieace can u tell me where to get the sheet music where do u play?

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

Yeah, I know you can get it from the Steve Weiss percussion website (google it). The composer is Kevin Bobo, and it was originally published by Studio 4.

[Victorspenis]

o cool thanx do u do any core?

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

I used to march in high school and college - mainly on tenors. And I've taught several drumlines and frontlines over the years, but I never marched DCI or anything. What about you?

[slumsquirrel21]

very difficult piece, it appears that once you get the rhythm of the 16's the rest of the piece becomes easier. am I completely off?

[JohnnyCowbell]

yeah! good very job.

[asafroth]

impressive!

[drumaholick]

wow (: does it hurt when you use stevens for fast stuff? i got something like a bump when i tried.. and i cant do fast stuff yet.

[hellomotorolo]

Si te rifas mi niño...Sigue trabajando Atte. Robertiviri

[Piffleswaf]

That is completely insane ... My little brother just started with 4 mallets a couple weeks ago, and he really likes this song and hopes he'll learn how to play it eventually. You're an amazing player.

[LenaNikonovna]

As Bobo once told me, "It's not a song, it's a piece! Songs have words!"

[Piffleswaf]

I feel weird calling it a piece though, because I think of a certain phrase with the initials p.o.s. =P So I'd prefer to call it a song.

[thake13]

I think that person did mean to be rude. The sound was great, and I don't understand why they wouldn't see the difficulty in the piece... They obviously are not familiar with Mr. Bobo's compositions and how they are written not only to be musical, but at the same time exercise certain stroke techniques. I agree, this person must be amazing to criticize without knowing the background of the piece. Kudos to you man, it sounds almost exactly like the CD. Mega props

[marimba2]

You seem really defensive about this. We are talking about an etude here. If he thinks that it is boring, than he is entitled to his own opinion.

[thake13]

He is, i didn't say he wasn't. This is no etude. its a published piece, which is also performed on Mr. Bobo's cd 'Chronicles.'

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

What? Bobo finally finished that CD? I definitely need to pick that up! Do you know who's selling it? Or who it's published under?

And btw, thanks for the comments; you were right on. Do you play?

[thake13]

Yeah I play... i'll be a freshman in college next year. I had made up my mind to go study with Bobo at KU, then the next day found out he was leaving KU to go to Indiana.

As for the cd... i'm not sure where you can get one. He gave me mine when I did a masterclass up there. I'll try to figure out where you can get one and let you know.

[xXcarrollynnXx]

You're awesome! I bought this song beacuse I feel so in love with it. Thanks for introducing to me!

[rayfordopolis]

Wow, good job! That's a great song I've never heard of before. I've been looking for a piece for my jury this semester and I think I'll consider this one. Again, very nice!

[JUSTONEEEE]

Just out of curiosity, how old are you? You're a really great marimba player. Also, how long have you been playing 4-mallets? I've been playing marimba for two years and I love it. I'm not as fluid as your are with your second movement with this solo. Great job man.

[chyson]

i dont mean to be rude but i found it quite boring. there is no real difficulty in the piece and its the same rythm all the way through. On a plus side its a wonderful sound!

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

Acutally, you do mean to be rude. Otherwise, you wouldn't have posted such an impertinent comment. On a plus side I'm glad you liked the sound. Are you a marimbist yourself? You must be amazing.

[Alphonce95]

wow your awsome! i never knew that you can use more than two mallets!

[skidrum11]

Nice one handed trills...

[kingofthekit]

Not bad. For a few years ago that was great. I go to school at the crane school of music. I think i will recommend this song to some of the guys at school. Really seems to work the back and forth rotation in the right hand. Reall nice. good work.

[linguamortua]

Awesome, who did you study with?

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

I studied with Kevin Bobo for about 3 years, and I studied briefly with Leigh Stevens (at his summer marimba seminar - AMAZING), She-e Wu, a few lessons with Gordon Stout, and also a couple of master classes with Michael Burritt and Eric Sammut, which I mention because just talking with those guys made me better!

Thanks for the comment.

[marimba2]

With a resume like that, why aren't you playing a better piece?

[rodinkiss]

Really wonderful playing, artistic, expressive and you communicated involvement, enjoyment, and a clear conception of the whole piece. And I loved the piece which is new to me. I felt the first movement desrved to go a fraction faster (just my gut reaction), but the second sounded just perfectly paced. I can't wait to hear more. You have music in you!

[bohemianbrian]

great technique and control. awesome

[featherdude]

Wonderful! I never heard the marimba played by someone who was really good. What a nice sound. Thanks.

[MarimbaVirtuoso]

Thanks! It's good to know that all of those hours in the practice room weren't totally wasted!