Laurel Black Music

If there's anything more frustrating than moving a marimba, it's moving a marimba and realizing you've lost a felt or two.  Disappeared - like socks in the dryer.  Though I've been known to use a hair tie in a last-minute situation, I took 20 minutes this morning to make my own felts - 55, to be exact! That's what - less than 30 seconds each?!  Here's how I did it. Supplies - one piece of black felt ($0.40 at Michael's) - ruler - sewing machine (needle and thread works, too, but will take longer)  The brand of felt I found is called Creatology. Here's the label: Instructions 1. Remove a felt from the marimba to take some measurements.  I've found that most are really similar in size, but measure to be sure.   This one is one inch long on the folded edge, 7/8" wide. You'll also want to measure from the fold to the first row of stitching, if there is some visible.  This one is 5/8". You'll want ...

TAPS, ya'll. TAPS made me not hate excerpts. For those that know me, this is a huge deal. Let me explain. My undergraduate education began with assignments of only snare drum, and almost exclusively excerpts.  If you're looking for a way to get rid of a student, I suggest this route.  Not only was I not yet mature enough to have the focus and discipline to learn these, but they were killing my motivation to practice. I wanted  to practice; I was desperate to learn.  Sure, my buzz rolls got pretty good, but I hated the rest of it. I dreaded practice, which as we all know, really sucks. Luckily, my ornery side kicked in and I just started learning marimba pieces in my own time, so the music student was saved!  But that first semester of school has never left me.  Since then, any time a person mentions excerpts, I cringe.  With less self control I'd act like Michael from The Office. In grad school, the quickest way to get me to leave a room wa...