Watcher of the Skies

for solo marimba

Tracy Thomas

Level: Med-Easy

Duration: 2:05

State Lists: Missouri | Texas

Release Date: 2020

Product ID : TSPCS20-003

Price: $10.00

Item #: TSPCS20-003

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Description

Watcher of the Skies by Tracy Thomas is a medium-easy 4-mallet marimba solo, suitable for a young, developing marimbist. This piece is comprised of rudimentary techniques, giving the player a perfect opportunity to hone their basic skills in a musical setting. This piece also provides an opportunity for the young marimba student to focus on musicality, rather than focus on repetitious basic exercises. Containing many dynamic shifts and shapes, Watcher of the Skies will test the young marimbist to focus on their ability to move well on the instrument and their ability to make true music!

Watcher of the Skies ships in a printed, professionally bound folio with a full color cover. This solo also appears in Sequential Studies Volume 2 by Julia Gaines.

Instrumentation

• Marimba (4.3-octave)

Reviews

This brief, introductory four-mallet marimba solo has just enough technical demand to make it challenging for students beginning to learn four-mallet technique. At just over two minutes in duration, this piece would work well for a variety of situations for anyone learning four-mallet technique, from beginning percussion students to college methods students.

Consisting of two parts, the first revolves around a right-hand eighth-note ostinato while the left hand punctuates with double stops and shaped eighth-note lines. The second section utilizes the double stops from the first section as a framework around short bursts of eighth and sixteenth notes before moving into a measured chorale-like section of eighth-note chords before returning to the opening material of the piece.

Extensive performance notes provide insight on technical and musical considerations, breaking down the musical considerations into elements of balance, notation, and harmony. These observations supply great information to the developing performer and provide a clear path towards a successful performance of the work.

“Watcher of the Skies” is a well thought out piece that nails the technical demands for some- one learning four-mallet technique. Combine this with a catchy harmonic progression, and this is a perfect solo aimed at developing middle school or high school percussionists for solo and ensemble festivals or studio recitals.

—Brian Nozny
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 6, December 2020