Copy
Thank you Sara!, Two New Marimba Solos, Roots of Music, Download Etiquette, VDL Tip: Using Apple's MainStage as a VDL Performance Tool, Artist Spotlight - Jeff Queen
View this email in your browser
Tapspace - creativity in percussion

June 2014 Newsletter

THANK YOU, SARA!
Thank you, Sara!
Sara has been the thread that ties Tapspace together since 2004!
It is with great love and affection that we bid our longest-tenured employee, Sara Gusseck, a fond farewell. For over 10 years Sara has been at the helm of our shipping operation and she's been an integral part of our customer relations from day one. Finding good help is tough enough, but it's almost impossible to find someone who takes complete ownership of every little aspect of her job–that's Sara. She always represented us in the best possible light while handling the phones, making countless trips to the post office, keeping us stocked with shipping supplies and toner cartridges, and making sure our shipments had enough packing material to travel through a nuclear attack and arrive unscathed. 

Sara, we can't thank you enough for what you brought to our operation. Where we are today is in so many ways a direct result of the quality, care, and attention you brought to every little thing you did. We will always be grateful and wish you many happy years of retirement. 

P.S. We know you will miss standing in line at the post office, so let us know if you need a fix now and then!
Share
Tweet
+1
Forward to Friend

What's Happening

 

TWO NEW MARIMBA SOLOS


We’re excited to kick off the summer segment of our new release calendar with two timeless classics, both of which are available today! We've been hard at work licensing these two new solos, which are the first of several that will be released in the coming months, and ensuring that the engraving and layout are painstakingly detailed. We think both will be surefire hits on your upcoming recital, so grab 'em now and be one of the first to play them this fall!


Over the Rainbow

Over the Rainbow

from The Wizard of Oz
arranged for solo marimba by Robert Oetomo

As one of the most famous songs of all time, Harold Arlen's â€œOver the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz is a timeless treasure. In this arrangement for solo marimba, Robert Oetomo combines jazzy harmonies, quasi improvisation, and classical romantic influences to create a rendition that is mysterious, lyrical, and remains as heartwarming as the original.
 


SmileSmile

Theme from Modern Times
arranged for solo marimba by Alex Stopa


“Smile” was composed in 1936 by Charlie Chaplin as the love theme for his acclaimed final silent movie Modern Times. Some two decades later, Nat King Cole's rendition landed a spot on the Billboard charts.

Alex Stopa’s arrangement for solo marimba highlights the warm and mellow characteristics of the middle to lower register of the instrument while giving a casual tip of the hat to ragtime pianists such as Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller and Jelly Roll Morton.

 

IN SUPPORT OF MUSIC EDUCATION 

The Roots of Music

 









After recently catching a terrific live show by the Rebirth Brass Band, who were on a national tour, we learned of a very special organization founded, in part, by the group's amazing snare drummer, Derrick Tabb (seriously…look him up if you haven't already). This organization, Roots of Music, empowers the youth of New Orleans through music education, academic support, and mentorship while preserving and promoting the unique musical and cultural heritage of our city. Their goal is to provide their kids with the resources they need to lead positive, productive, self-reliant lives.

In addition to providing music instruction and performance opportunities to youths from different parts of New Orleans, Roots of Music provides transportation to and from practices, academic tutoring, mentoring, homework assistance, AND a hot meal…5 days a week, 12 months a year. How cool is that?

We, along with some of our artists, have decided to get involved with supporting Roots of Music with yearly donations. We hope you'll consider helping out as well. They're a 501(c)(3) organization, so it's tax deductible. Go to TheRootsOfMusic.org for more info, or donate here.

Download Etiquette

HOW DO I LEGALLY DISTRIBUTE PDF PARTS?


Thank you! You are a thoughtful and forward-thinking person for being so mindful as to ask this question. And you're not alone. We thank everyone who's asked this question over the years! As an answer, let's consider this common scenario:

You're in charge of your university's marching percussion section, and you've just purchased the Martian Mambo ENSEMBLE SET to use as an audition piece for potential new players. Is it okay to upload the included PDFs to the password-protected drumline website? After all, it is not a public website, but rather a private one used only by staff members and prospective drummers that have the login info. This is okay…right?

Wrong. Although well-intentioned, what you probably don't realize is that even though these materials may be hosted on a password-protected site, web crawlers can find these links and eventually index those titles which makes them available for pirates to steal…no matter how strong the password-protected front door may be.

This is why the ENSEMBLE SET license terms that accompany our marching percussion downloads allow for the distribution of parts physically (i.e., print and hand them out) or via email, but do not grant permission for the files to be posted online. While we realize adhering to the terms of the license may be slightly less convenient than simply uploading the parts to a website and passing out a link with login info, it helps to protect our publications from pirates. Why does this matter? Because when people freely take or share our music without paying a fair price for it, it drastically hinders our ability to continue creating material for honest people who support innovative new music. Thank you for being one of those people!

THE MORE YOU KNOW…

Featured Items

 

2.5.5 LIBRARY UPDATE FOR
VIRTUAL DRUMLINE


Since Virtual Drumline 2.5 was first released, it has become a staple for composers and arrangers everywhere. The 2.5.5 update features a completely reformatted library providing faster load times, improved memory management, and increased polyphony performance. It also includes new instruments, improved/updated documentation, and numerous bug fixes. Be sure you have the latest and greatest for your current writing projects!
 
Fiesta de Sueños

FIESTA DE SUEÑOS

for steel band
by Joshua Garrett


Fiesta de Sueños is a driving Cuban piece and one of our latest steel band offerings from Joshua Garrett. The piece switches between a 6/8 Afro-Cuban groove and an equally-groovy half-time feel. Changes are provided so you can create extended solo sections to highlight players within the ensemble. 
 
Very Much (A Lot)

VERY MUCH (A LOT)

for steel band
by Joshua Garrett


Very Much (A Lot) combines elements of medium-tempo mambo as well as straight-ahead rock to create a haunting, mysterious feel. Scored for tenor pan, double tenor, double seconds, triple cello (or guitars), bass, and drumset, this piece features an unusual melody and a few challenging rhythms. It's a great contrast to the more exuberant steel band literature in the repertoire.

Virtual Drumline Tip


USING APPLE'S MAINSTAGE AS A VDL PERFORMANCE TOOL

by Gabriel Cobas
 

Apple’s MainStage is powerful live performance companion application available through the Apple App store. Using it along with a MIDI controller (piano, MalletKat, etc.) will enable you to use your laptop as a high-powered performance tool that can access sounds and loops, and even play samples right from your controller.

Setting up Virtual Drumline for use within MainStage is generally quite simple. With the steps that follow, I'm going to walk you through what I consider to be the simplest, very basic setup approach.

Launch MainStage. By default, it should be in "Edit" mode, which you should see in the upper left corner of the main window. Select "New" from the File menu and choose a template as a basis for your project. To be safe, I suggest using the “Keyboard” template. This will launch a basic setup with a "Suitcase" patch. To be sure your system is set up properly, hit a few notes on your MIDI controller to make sure you are getting sound.Channel Strip




Here is where you need to pay close attention. In the channel strip pane (towards the right side of the window), click and hold the “EVP88” button under the I/O text of the Suitcase channel strip.







Navigate to AU Instruments>Native Instruments>Kontakt>Stereo.



From here, you will see the familiar Kontakt window from which you can load your instruments. For this example, we'll load a VDL Marimba with rosewood bars and medium mallets.

Kontakt Player

Because your MIDI controller is properly installed (which we know because we already checked this in the steps above), you should be able to play your VDL instrument in the main window of MainStage in Layout, Edit, Perform, or Full Screen mode. If you have a sustain pedal connected, you will be able to “pedal” instruments that use pedal control as well (signified by "PED" label in the VDL instrument's filename).

Rename a Patch
In Edit mode, you can change the name of the instrument from "Suitcase" to "Marimba" by double-clicking the name in the "Patch List" pane (on the left side of the MainStage window).


MainStage Edit Window

Using VDL as a live performance tool in MainStage offers a great many possibilities – layered instruments, split instruments, changing patches on the fly, adding effects, etc. The best way to learn is to experiment and make it happen. Best of luck to you!



Gabriel Cobas serves as the Drum Corps Manager and Front Ensemble Supervisor for Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps from Diamond Bar, CA. He also serves as the Director of Percussion for South Pointe Middle School and teaches the front ensemble at El Dorado High School. From 2008–11 Cobas served as the Education Account Executive for Avid Inc. In that time, he was responsible for consulting educators on Avid products, including Sibelius, Pro Tools, and M-Audio. After his time at Avid, he released a book entitled “Mastering Sibelius 6” published by Cengage Technology. 

Artist Spotlight

JEFF QUEEN
Jeff QueenWe're proud to feature an artist this month who requires no introduction. As a two-time DCI and PAS snare drum champion, and as a solo performer and instructor with the original cast of the Tony- and Emmy-award-winning Broadway show "BLAST," Jeff Queen is quite possibly the most recognized rudimental player of his generation.

In this month's Artist Spotlight, Jeff reflects on art, daily pork belly fantasies, and how to roam freely on a large Hong Kong island as a minor.

 

What is your favorite memory?


I lived in Hong Kong in the early 80's. Back then we would take these trips to Lantau Island and go camping with about 20 other kids from our area. There were no adults either…just kids ranging from 2nd to 3rd grade up through 12th. We were a tight group and knew each other's families, and there was total safety and trust. Good times.

 

What is your favorite food?


A great ramen noodle and broth with pork belly. There is a place in New York City, Ippudo…I could eat there every day.

 

What are your top five favorite films?


Apocalypse Now, The Breakfast Club, Ocean's Eleven, Babe, Mr. and Mrs. Smith

 

If you were to create a piece of art, what would the subject be?


I'm not sure. I love impressionistic paintings, especially Monet's. I love the way he treated light and reflections...I would probably create something like that, but with a modern twist, like making it out of metal and using wood for the "reflection." I really dig art that makes you think a little to get it, or that can allow you to form your own opinion of what it is.

 

University or life experience? Which do you feel best prepares you for life?


That depends. I think you need a balance of each to succeed, but in a weird way, they are interchangeable. If we are talking strictly about being prepared to play music for a living, the short story is that you need to get to a point where you are comfortable and confident playing in public and have the skills to eventually get hired. I think both university and life-experience can prepare you to reach this end goal, with life experience giving you more of the people and business skills needed to actually make a living out of your education. 
Browse all of Jeff's music!

Video Submission of the Month
South Pointe Middle School Percussion Ensemble (Diamond Bar, CA) perform "Trout Scherzo"
How often do students in 6th-8th grade get to perform at Chicago Symphony Hall? Well that's exactly what the South Pointe Middle School percussion ensemble (Diamond Bar, CA) under the direction of Gabriel Cobas got to do earlier this year! Check them out as they perform Stephen Primatic's arrangement of "Trout Scherzo"  by Franz Schubert.

To share videos of your latest performances of Tapspace music, click here. We'll look forward to hearing what you're doing with our music, and maybe we'll feature you here!

Share ProgramsPlayed any Tapspace pieces lately?


Like our music? Want to help make sure more music like it is created in the future? 
 
By letting ASCAP know that you performed our pieces in concert, you’ll be supporting composers and Tapspace, and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Every year ASCAP collects monies from orchestras, bars, radio stations, karaoke clubs, even sports stadiums—nearly every place and space where music is played. These funds are distributed based on reported performances. If you don’t report this performance, that’s one or two more pennies that will go to Avril Lavigne.
 
So please, take a few minutes, visit our Submit Concert Programs page and help us support creativity in percussion.

The Friend Zone


Are you following us on Facebook or Twitter? If you are, you already know that the latest and greatest is posted there first. And we often run flash-promotions to save you some quick cash exclusively via our social channels. But mainly, we like to know what you're up to so we can all engage and keep up with everything that is creativity in percussion.
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter
YouTube
YouTube
Copyright © 2014 Tapspace, All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences