In this email: COVID-19 resources for teaching, Five/Nine Minute Drill online versions, Books available digitally, Tap-Off in the classroom, VDL/Sibelius tip, Videos and latest releases

NEWSLETTER - July 2020

Greetings fellow percussionists! We hope you are reading this in good health and spirits after enduring the weirdest spring many of us will likely ever see. As we gear up for a new school year with many unknowns, we wanted to share a few ideas specific to the strange new world we find ourselves in.

Stay positive. Stay smart. Stay sane.

Choosing music with COVID-19 in mind

There's a new feature on our website that may be useful to you as you gear up for the fall — our new COVID-19 filter.

The filter offers options for locating pieces that are:

Playable with masks
Playable at 6' distance
Playable without shared instruments
Playable without shared implements

We hope this is useful and that all of you are staying safe and healthy.
Hang in there!

Online versions of Five/Nine Minute Drill

Teaching online is weird enough. We’ve made online versions available for Five Minute Drill and Nine Minue Drill so those aspects of your daily teaching regimen can remain ongoing if you're teaching virtually. Read more about how to gain access.

COVID-19 Task Force

The Percussive Arts Society has formed a COVID-19 task force that recently released a document concerning protocols that anyone in music education should consider.

For the health and safety of you and your students, please take a few moments to consider their recommendations. Many thanks to the folks at PAS for putting all this together!

Managing COVID-19 Protocols in Administering Performance Curriculum

Books available in digital format

While the majority of our catalog has been available in both physical and digital formats for nearly two years, these offerings now apply to most of our method and compilation books as well.

Save yourself some time and expense and gain access to these resources instantly.

Shop Books & Education

Using the Tap-Off in the Classroom:
a three-tiered achievement system

Ralph Hicks has devised a clever way of using the Tap-Off and Rat-Pad to encourage confidence and participation with young percussionists.

Read the full article

Virtual Drumline, Sibelius Tip:
Impose Sketch onto Template

In this short tutorial, Jim Casella demonstrates a streamlined way in which you can quickly apply music from a co-writer (i.e. a wind arranger who's not using Virtual Drumline) into your working VDL template.

Latest Videos

PINING FOR THE SPRING BREEZE (Teng)

Robert Oetomo's beautiful, expressive marimba arrangement of a classic Taiwanese folk song.

Watch now ➔

MOMENTUM

A musically accessible duet by Max Marsillo for 5-octave marimbas with groove, passion, and an eclectic mixture of musical influences.

Watch now ➔

KIDS THESE DAYS...

Entertaining, lighthearted, and just plain fun, this snare solo by Brian Blume features sounds from the composer’s children’s toys!

Watch now ➔

MARRIED LIFE (Giacchino)

Alex Stopa's charming mallet quartet arrangement of Michael Giacchino’s Oscar-winning main theme from the Pixar film Up.

Watch now ➔

TRACKIN'

A rudimental percussion ensemble for six drummers, originally written by Tim Perry for The United States Army Band.

Watch now ➔

POÉME NO. 1 (Scriabin)

Beautifully enchanting, Stephen Karukas' solo arrangement for 5-octave marimba requires a soft touch and a strong sense of melody.

Watch now ➔

HYPERBOLE

Rob Sanderl's virtuosic piece for solo marimba and percussion trio with an optional extended solo section.