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In Clave & Sons, Eric Rath effectively exposes young players to some of the basic patterns and functions of Afro-Cuban instruments like congas, bongos, timbales, claves, and guiro. With simple yet fun parts, students will broaden their rhythmic vocabulary while enjoying the process playing music that’s accessible to audiences.
This piece was extracted from the larger compilation book, Beyond Basic Percussion. Co-written by Eric Rath and Ralph Hicks it contains 10 ensembles from which beginning percussion students can learn. Also helpful is the fact that this piece is flexible in its instrumentation. If you don’t have the full arsenal of players or equipment, some parts have been denoted as optional.
Clave & Sons seeks to provide younger students with exposure to the traditional instruments and rhythms of Afro-Cuban percussion. Trying to be as general as possible, the composer states, “Clave & Sons does not have any particular style associated with it. Instead of writing a piece that is strictly Rumba, Mambo, or Salsa, it is written to allow each of the Afro-Cuban instruments to ‘do what they do’. ”
Three parts (marimba, xylophone, and timpani) are assigned melodic or harmonic roles, while the other parts take on the traditional roles of their instrument. Mallet parts contain suggestions for doubling on other mallet instruments, making Clave & Sons perfect for larger ensembles looking for a piece on which everyone can perform.
At just over two and a half minutes in length, the piece is written in an ABABA ? form with a short coda. All of the writing is highly idiomatic and easily accessible by a middle school or high school ensemble. Given the ability to double the mallet parts, Clave & Sons would be a great piece to use for a festival honors percussion ensemble or other similar events where a large number of players and abilities need to perform together.
Clave & Sons provides a solid foundation for students to learn the basics of performing on a range of Afro-Cuban instruments. With its open-ended nature on some of the parts, this piece could be highly useful to educators at all levels for a variety of programs.
—Brian Nozny
Percussive Notes
Vol. 53, No. 3, July 2015
In Clave & Sons, Eric Rath effectively exposes young players to some of the basic patterns and functions of Afro-Cuban instruments like congas, bongos, timbales, claves, and guiro. With simple yet fun parts, students will broaden their rhythmic vocabulary while enjoying the process playing music that’s accessible to audiences.
This piece was extracted from the larger compilation book, Beyond Basic Percussion. Co-written by Eric Rath and Ralph Hicks it contains 10 ensembles from which beginning percussion students can learn. Also helpful is the fact that this piece is flexible in its instrumentation. If you don’t have the full arsenal of players or equipment, some parts have been denoted as optional.
Clave & Sons seeks to provide younger students with exposure to the traditional instruments and rhythms of Afro-Cuban percussion. Trying to be as general as possible, the composer states, “Clave & Sons does not have any particular style associated with it. Instead of writing a piece that is strictly Rumba, Mambo, or Salsa, it is written to allow each of the Afro-Cuban instruments to ‘do what they do’. ”
Three parts (marimba, xylophone, and timpani) are assigned melodic or harmonic roles, while the other parts take on the traditional roles of their instrument. Mallet parts contain suggestions for doubling on other mallet instruments, making Clave & Sons perfect for larger ensembles looking for a piece on which everyone can perform.
At just over two and a half minutes in length, the piece is written in an ABABA ? form with a short coda. All of the writing is highly idiomatic and easily accessible by a middle school or high school ensemble. Given the ability to double the mallet parts, Clave & Sons would be a great piece to use for a festival honors percussion ensemble or other similar events where a large number of players and abilities need to perform together.
Clave & Sons provides a solid foundation for students to learn the basics of performing on a range of Afro-Cuban instruments. With its open-ended nature on some of the parts, this piece could be highly useful to educators at all levels for a variety of programs.
—Brian Nozny
Percussive Notes
Vol. 53, No. 3, July 2015
