solo – Page 7 – Clark Hubbard

Duration: 3:36

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Released: 2016

Players: (1) kick drum, 4 tenor drums, 2 cymbals, 1 hi-hat, 4 pitched objects

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About “Panthers”

“PANTHERS” was recorded by Clark Hubbard at Vanderbilt University in the spring of 2017 and again at Vanderbilt University in the spring of 2018. “Panthers” was premiered at the Lancaster Kiwanis Club on June 29th, 2016 in Lancaster, Ohio.

“PANTHERS” is a multi-percussion solo written for drum kit + 4 pitched objects. Thematically, “PANTHERS” was inspired by the Wilco song “Panthers” and the multi-percussion solo “Monkey Chant” by Wilco’s drummer: Glenn Kotche.

“PANTHERS” is great for students familiar with drum kit that are looking to explore multi-percussion music or students familiar with multi-percussion that are looking to explore drum kit music.

The setup for “PANTHERS” can vary in size depending on the preferences of the performer. The key elements of the “PANTHERS” setup are:

TIME KEEPER: in score as “hi-hat” played by left foot.
NON-RESONANT MELODY: in score as “tenor drums”
RESONANT MELODY: in score as “4 pitched objects”
OTHER: in score as “cymbals” and “kick drum”

The “4 pitched objects” are notated in the score as: F, Eb, C, Bb (descending).
These pitches may be transposed to any key in order to adapt “PANTHERS” to different instruments and sounds.

The following are different variations of setups for “PANTHERS” to illustrate just a few of the many possibilities available.

SETUP A (original setup, indicated in the score) [2016]

TIME KEEPER: hi-hat (w/ foot)
NON-RESONANT: 4 tenor drums (covered w/ towels)
RESONANT: 4 tuned glasses (descending: F, Eb, C, Bb)
OTHER: 2 large cymbals (w/ sizzle chains), china cymbal, kick drum
MALLETS: Malletech BB34

SETUP B (reduced setup) [2017]

TIME KEEPER: hi-hat (w/ foot)
NON-RESONANT: 2 tenor drums (covered w/ towels)
RESONANT: 4 crotales (descending: F, Eb, C, Bb)
OTHER: china cymbal, kick drum
MALLETS: VicFirth SD1

SETUP C (Nashville setup) [2017]

TIME KEEPER: hi-hat (w/ foot)
NON-RESONANT: 4 tenor drums (covered w/ towels)
RESONANT: 4 tuned metal pipes (descending: F#, E, C#, B)
OTHER: 2 large cymbals, china cymbal, kick drum
MALLETS: Malletech BB34

SETUP D (LOUD setup) [2018]

TIME KEEPER: hi-hat (w/foot)
NON-RESONANT: 3 tenor drums (un-muted)
RESONANT: 4 large metal pipes (pitches were not a direct transposition of those indicated in the score)
OTHER: china cymbal, tam-tam, kick drum
MALLETS: ProMark Shira Kashi Oak “Rock Knocker”

SETUP E (soft setup) [2018]

TIME KEEPER: analog metronome
NON-RESONANT: 3 wooden slats
RESONANT: 4 glockenspiel keys (descending: F, Eb, C, Bb)
OTHER: opera gong
MALLETS: Malletech BB34

Duration: 4:37

Difficulty: ★★★★☆

Released: 2016

Players: (1) vibraphone

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About “To Touch The Forever”

“TO TOUCH THE FOREVER” is a vibraphone solo that combines traditional and specialized performance techniques. In this piece, the performer is called to play the vibraphone with chopsticks and their fingertips (similar to how they would play with normal mallets), roll on two different keys with a single chopstick, and to play a rhythmic ostinato in one hand while the other hand cycles through tuplets of varying lengths.

This piece is an exploration of serialism from both a harmonic and rhythmic perspective. The harmonic structures are derived from Forte Set 5-20 (pitches: G, Ab, Bb, D, + Eb) and its transpositions. The rhythmic structures are derived from a rhythmic translation of the title “TO TOUCH THE FOREVER” (consonants are represented by a pair of eighth notes and vowels are represented by a quarter note) and rhythmic modulations of the title’s translation.

While the harmonic and rhythmic structures were created using serialist methods, “TO TOUCH THE FOREVER” also draws influence from pop and new age music. The title and emotional inspiration for this piece stem from the Queen song “Who Wants To Live Forever.”

“TO TOUCH THE FOREVER” is great for students looking to expand their vibraphone repertoire and explore percussion works using unconventional mallets and performance techniques.