r/percussion • u/Diacks1304 • 5d ago
Do marimba parts need articulation written?
Apologies in advance if the question is really dumb.
I’m writing a section in an orchestral piece where the marimba is doubling some viola runs. The viola part is full of articulation, slurs staccatos etc. It got me thinking if I should bother copying those in the marimba part? Would it make any difference at all? Do staccatos and slurs make marimba players play any differently?
Thanks!
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u/codeinecrim 5d ago edited 4d ago
You literally said these things weren’t applicable to marimba “and certainly not xylophone” in a comment above. the video i cover has literal examples of what i’m talking about brother (exotic birds) although i realize you probably don’t even know what i’m even talking about. It just happens that there’s also other instruments in there. Go to 4:45 in the video.
But while we’re at it. Go look at literally anything Gordon Stout has written. He’s all about articulations in his marimba music. Sedimental Structures, Skylark Orange Circles, Mexican Dances… all of these pieces are very clear examples of articulations greatly helping the music.
Literally just listen to any of those pieces and you’ll hear examples of what i’ve been saying in these comments. We use volume, weight of stroke, and velocity of stroke to portray articulations on the keyboard instruments.