Drumhead commemorating Ludwig's 100th anniversary 1909-2009

The Winthrop University percussion studio recently toured Ludwig Industries in Monroe, NC. I remember touring Ludwig when they were located on N. Damen Avenue in Chicago while attending graduate school at Northwestern University in 1976. In the early 1980s the entire facility was moved to North Carolina. Many of those old machines I saw in action at the Damen Avenue facility are still in use today. “We had some incredible engineers designing machines,” said plant manager Jim Kinsey. “When we moved to Monroe, we figured ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ so we’ve just kept using those great old machines.”

Some little-known facts I learned on this tour:

Since there is such limited demand for 20″ fiberglass timpani, they don’t use a mold for the 20″ drums. If you order a complete five-drum set of fiberglass timpani, the 20″ will be made of aluminum and painted the same copper color. The original color of the fiberglass is whitish grey, and the original color of the aluminum is a dull silver.

Rack of timpani bowls ready for drilling

Drilling timpani bowl for the tuning gauge assembly

It takes two hours of sanding on a specially-designed machine to bring a copper timpani kettle to the mirror-like finish we are accustomed to.  

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I first met Artie Lieberman through Peyton Becton, Principal Percussionist with the Charlotte Symphony, several years ago (see the post from October ‘09 about Peyton’s recent visit to Winthrop here). I was playing with the symphony and made a remark to Peyton about their new orchestra bells. Peyton said, “They’re not new. Artie Lieberman refurbished them — even replated the bars.”  I looked Artie up. Soon he was retuning all the mallet instruments at Winthrop University. Turns out Artie had apprenticed at the old Deagan factory in Chicago as a young man. He had grown up in New York and studied with Fred Albright since childhood. It was Freddie Albright who encourged Artie to learn more about the manufacturing process and set up the apprenticeship with Deagan. Although Artie would eventually make his living in the automotive industry (starting with gas stations, then moving on to car dealerships and eventually the oil business), he never lost his passion for percussion instruments.

 

Today, Artie’s business, Mallet Instrument Service (with its subsidiary, Vintage Percussion) is thriving. When I first met Artie, I knew of Bill Youhass’ work with Fall Creek Marimbas and Gilberto Serna’s of Century Mallets in Chicago, but I had no idea we had an expert tuner and repairman right in our own community! “Been doing this for years,” said Artie. “Right now I’m working on the Boston Symphony’s xylophone, the London Symphony’s bells, and Bob Becker’s Deagan Artist Special.” But Artie,” I exclaimed, “you don’t even advertise!” “Don’t have to,” he replied in all sincerity.

Lionel Hampton’s 1920s vintage Deagan vibraphone

Artie’s father was a bread deliveryman in Manhattan. One of his best customers was Lionel Hampton, who liked to have his breakfast at a certain coffeeshop in Greenwich Village at 4:00 AM, when Mr. Lieberman typically delivered fresh bread. Artie’s father asked Lionel Hampton if he would recommend someone to teach his son to play drums. Hampton referred Mr. Lieberman to Freddie Albright, who agreed to teach young Artie, on the condition that they must begin on the xylophone. Once Artie learned to read music on the xylophone, they could begin to split the lessons between xylophone and drums. Lessons progressed nicely, and later on Mr. Lieberman again approached Lionel Hampton asking about the purchase of a used vibraphone for his son. Hampton replied that he happened to have one he wasn’t using and would sell it for $300.00. The recently refurbished instrument remains in Artie’s collection and is pictured above.    

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Hello All,

I recently revisited Chartwell’s Shumba YaNgwasha in nemakonde tuning and discovered some errors in my original transcription. Check out the original post and you’ll find the corrected version, which includes some funky additions of the RT 1 key  (on beat 2 in the 3rd and 4th quarters) that I had simply neglected earlier, as well as an easier movement to UL 1 on beat 10 of the 2nd quarter. This correction makes for a much nicer harmonic movement that I simply didn’t hear the first time. Check it out and let me know how you like it.

BMW

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Here is a version of the mbira piece “Taireva” that is a bit different from the one published in my book, “Learning Mbira: A Beginning…”  I call it “Taireva Basic” because it really is a more basic version, and includes the essential melodic material of the vocal melody. This basic melody can be heard by playing the right hand notes alone, yielding the following tune in solfege:

do sol sol mi mi

do sol sol fa mi

do sol sol mi re

re fa fa mi re

This transcription also reflects the metric orientation I hear when I play the piece alone (that is, without the kushaura/kutsinhira interlock). In this orientation, I hear the first note as a “pick up” rather than a “downbeat.” This is the version I teach to any student new to “Taireva.”  Once the student has a firm grasp of this basic version, we move on to the versions presented in my book.

Enjoy!

BMW

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Peyton Becton demonstrates his flawless thumb roll technique!

Peyton Becton demonstrates roll techniques on snare drum

Peyton Becton with Winthrop Percussionists

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I’m very sorry to report that the NAFDA South event in the Atlanta area scheduled for September 12 has been cancelled. The NAFDA leadership made a valiant effort, but as the date drew closer there were too few pre-registered participants. My understanding is that they will go back to the drawing board and look into other possible dates/venues in the near future. Stay tuned!

BMW

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Dear Friends,

This is a terrific opportunity to immerse yourself in frame drumming for a day in the Atlanta area September 12. You get five workshops with notable frame drum experts plus an evening concert for just $100! I think it’s a great deal. My students and I will be there performing some new works in the evening concert. Check us out on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/bmichaelwilliams

To reserve a spot at NAFDA South, send email to nafda1@gmail.com or visit www.nafda1.com/nafdasouth.php.

Hope to see you there!

BMW

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Here is a transcription of Kariga Mombe in tablature notation. Kariga Mombe means “taking the bull by the horns.” It is a song about determination. This is a the basic version that most beginners play. In my book, Learning Mbira: A Beginning…, this is the same as the standard kushaura without the right index finger.  I’ve found that beginning students get a much better introduction to mbira with this most basic version because it uses only the two thumbs in a limited range. Try it!

The notation is described in my article, “Getting Started with Mbira Dzavadzimu.” You can find it here:

http://www.bmichaelwilliams.com/PNGettingStartedMbira.pdf

BMW

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This is a transcription in tablature notation of Chartwell Dutiro’s version of “Shumba ya Ngwasha” (Ngwasha’s version of Shumba), played in nemakonde tuning. Nemakonde is a very low tuning (low E) in phrygian mode. A higher-pitched version of this tuning is called “gandanga.” Chartwell’s performance is elegant in its simplicity. There are no variations, and yet the performance is full. His singing is beautiful and his timing is impeccably balanced.

If you are unfamiliar with the notation, consult my article, “Getting Started with Mbira Dzavadzimu” here:

http://www.bmichaelwilliams.com/PNGettingStartedMbira.pdf

Most nemakonde/gandanga mbiras have an extra key on the lower left manual (8 keys rather than the usual 7).  If yours doesn’t have that extra key (the 2nd scale degree – not found on standard instruments in nyamaropa or dambatsoko tuning, for example), use the notes in parentheses on the transcription.

Below is a link to a video of Chartwell performing Shumba ya Ngwasha.

Chartwell Dutiro playing Shumba ya Ngwasha

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At PASIC 2005, I participated in a panel discussion sponsored by the PAS World Percussion Committee. My portion of the discussion had to do with percussion ensemble literature. I compiled a handout of representative percussion ensemble literature influenced to some degree by world music. The list is loosely categorized by geographical influence (Asian, African, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, etc.). We ran out of handouts at PASIC (who knew so many people would come to a panel discussion?), and over the years I have received emails from people requesting a copy. For those interested, it is now on my website in the “Writings” section, or you can just click here http://www.bmichaelwilliams.com/worldperc.pdf.

BMW

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