Fall production mode, Christmas books shipping, UIL titles added, VDL's Finale Marching Percussion patch, Artist Spotlight - Kirk J. Gay

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October 2013 Newsletter

IT'S DECORATIVE GOURD SEASON

That's right. Fall is here and while the rest of America is breaking out their collection of shellacked vegetables and searching for the perfect fall leaf, we're going nuts cooking up our largest batch of fall concert releases ever! We've been up to our eyeballs in engraving, editing, recording, proofreading, and, occasionally, squeezing in a quick break. As you can see in the picture below <burp>, we take this responsibility quite seriously. Next month, we'll be unveiling the very real, non-decorative fruits of our labor!

Jim and Murray initiate a post-production board meeting.

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What's Happening

3 NEW CHRISTMAS BOOKS NOW SHIPPING

Our new holiday collections would make both Santa AND Bad Santa proud!

Winterludes by Brian Blume
Winterludes for Two by Brian Blume
Season's Beatings by Jesse Mattson

ADDITIONS TO THE TEXAS PRESCRIBED MUSIC LIST

Festival season will be here before you know it! If you're from Texas, the recently updated UIL prescribed music list contains many Tapspace solos and ensembles. See below for a brief listing or use our website's filter feature to search by state list, duration, difficulty, style, etc.

Not from Texas? Not to worry. Our search filter includes other state lists including Florida, Indiana, Missouri, etc.

Snare Solos

Aisle Seat by Jeff Queen

Tax Time by Jeff Queen
Tribute* by Jeff Queen
Lonely City Suite by Jason Baker
Let It Rip by Danny Raymond
The Scorpion by Danny Raymond

Three* by Mike McIntosh
Train Wreck* by Nick Angelis
Rodent Tomfoolery* by Tyler Dempsey
Bolero for Ed* by Chip Webster
plus 16 solos from The Blue Book

* from Violent Ice Cream

Keyboard Solos

Marimba

Parody by Jesse Monkman
Nocturnal Dance by Jesse Monkman
Un Dia de Noviembre arr. Jason Baker
South Kolora by Alex Stopa
Pure Imagination arr. Alex Stopa
Romance de Amor arr. Ralph Hicks

Northampton by Gary Fieldman

Unforced Rhythms by Brian Blume

Vibraphone

GymnopÃ©die No. 1 arr. Jim Casella
Amazing Grace arr. Eric Rath

Timpani & Multipercussion Solos

Timpani

Farfenmarch by Kirk J. Gay
Overture for Timpani by Kirk J. Gay
Pedal to the Kettle (24 selections)
by Kirk J. Gay

Multipercussion

Two Days by Bobby Lopez
Blade by Benjamin Finley

Percussion Ensembles

Technology by Jim Casella
Metheny Dream arr. Jim Ancona
Rochambeaux by Brian Mason
Katraterra by Jim Casella
La Forza del Destino arr. Luke Aylsworth
PathÃ©tique arr. Alan Miller

Odd Duck by Brian Slawson
Tale of the Dragon by Brian Slawson
El Paso Waltz by Brian Slawson
Stormbreak by Jim Casella
Dystopia by Jim Casella
Nanafushi arr. Jeffery Crowell
Cyclone by Jim Casella

HAVE YOU LOOKED INSIDE?

That's right. ALL of our titles offer you a preview of the score by clicking the Look Inside icon. Regardless of whether you're viewing on your laptop, smartphone, tablet, or desktop PC, you can take a close inside look before you buy. Give it a whirl!

Featured Items

Pedal to the Kettle (Kirk J. Gay) continues to be a valuable educational resource for both teachers and studentsâ€”32 etudes and 6 solos at a variety of levels and written for 2- and 4-drum setups.

Many selections from the book appear on the Texas, Missouri, and Florida state prescribed music lists.

The Blue Book (edited by James Campbell) provides over 40 solos, written by two dozen of the nation's finest performers and teachers, in a wide variety of rudimental styles ranging from beginning to extremely advanced. These solos are suitable for contest, audition, technique development, and just plain drumming fun!

Already adopted by the Missouri and Texas state prescribed music lists, The Blue Book is quickly becoming a contest staple for drummers of all levels.

Virtual Drumline Tip

Playing Back Older Finale Files using VDL's Finale Marching Percussion Patch

If you've used Finale to write marching percussion music without VDL, you're probably familiar with the limitations of the MakeMusic SmartMusic SoftSynth Marching Percussion patch. There's an oft-overlooked patch in the "Combination Instruments" folder of Virtual Drumline called Finale Marching Percussion Map that is mapped identically to the built-in marching percussion patch within Finale's SmartMusic SoftSynth. Using the patch from VDL will allow you to assign realistic VDL sounds to these Finale files with minimal fuss.

To utilize this patch, simply choose to play Finale through VST (PC) or Audio Units (Mac). Instead of using the SmartMusic SoftSynth, load an instance of Kontakt Player into an available bank, then load the 'Finale Marching Percussion Map' patch from Virtual Drumline's "Combination Instruments" section into Kontakt.

You'll want to double-check that you've properly assigned your MIDI channels. Depending on which version of Finale you're using, you'll find outbound channel assignments either in the "Instrument List" or "Score Manager" window. Inbound channel assignments can be found on each VDL instrument loaded within the Kontakt rack.

In addition to quickly gaining more realism without having to re-input old scores, you can quickly swap patches for pitched concert percussion staves. Virtual Drumline instruments like marimbas, timpani, vibraphones, etc., will make your scores sound instantly improved from what you'll hear in the SmartMusic SoftSynth. Since these are pitched instruments, they won't require any sort of percussion mapping.

Assigning playback devices, MIDI channels, Percussion MIDI Maps, etc., are all essential elements of controlling playback within the Finale workspace. For more information on these topics, consult your Finale documentation. Finale's user manual is thorough and helpfulâ€¦and very searchable!

Artist Spotlight

KIRK J. GAY

Kirk J. Gay is currently the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies and an Instructor of Music at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. He teaches student lessons for the percussion studio, directs "Black Steel," the UCF steel drum ensemble, and coordinates the Marching Knights Drumline. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician and an endorser and clinician for Pro-Mark sticks, and Sabian Cymbals. We're proud to publish many of Kirk's timpani works, including the popular collection, Pedal to the Kettle.

In this month's artist spotlight, we asked Kirk the pressing questions that matter - like what his guiltiest pleasure is. Read on to find more about the man behind the kettles!

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars! I was 10 when Star Wars came out. It had a huge influence on me from a science fiction standpoint, but the music had a bigger impact. I still consider the Star Wars soundtrack by John Williams the first "classical" album that I ever bought, and it set me on a path to become an orchestral musician.

Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?

Egypt to see the Pyramids.

University or life experience - which do you feel best prepares you for life?

Real life experience is the best; however, students often need university instruction to be able to be ready for that life experience. I didn't really answer that question, did I? Both are important!

What's your favorite TV show?

30 Rock!

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Ghirardelli Chocolate

At what point did you know music would become a big part of your life?

In 6th grade. I got bit by the band bug and never looked back!

Of all the pieces you've written or arranged, which one is your favorite, and why?

Probably the Shostakovich works we did when I was arranging music for the Phantom Regiment drum and bugle corps in 1996. I love Shostakovich's music, and it was one of the rare shows that I did not get sick of by the end of the summer!

Learn more about Kirk, and peruse all his Tapspace timpani titles here!

SHARE YOUR CONCERTS

We want to hear about the music you've been making! Our website has a simple link where you can Submit Concert Programs and share links to your performances. This information helps us spread the word about our music, and bring exposure to our talented artists.

Submitted by Robbert Houtkamp and the Cadenza Twello percussion ensemble (The Netherlands), from their performance of "Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe" by Jim Casella.

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