by Brian Slawson
4 players
Instrumentation: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, 2 marimbas*—(1) 4-octave, (1) low A, Temple blocks, Triangle
*If needed, both marimba parts may be performed by sharing one low A marimba.
Today’s percussionists face diverse musical challenges. Understanding odd time signatures is an important step in the development of young players. Odd Duck is a charming piece written to introduce these younger players to the idea of odd meters—in this case 5/8—and how they can be broken down into groupings of 2 and 3.
The piece stays playful and light, allowing players to focus on becoming comfortable with the rhythms. Once the quartet has warmed up to these rhythms, the ultimate goal is to establish and maintain a natural flow to the performance. This will ensure that our duck will be odd but not clumsy!
This piece comes with a full, bound score and includes a CD-Rom containing an audio recording and all individual parts available for printing.
