The Marimba: Construction and Integration in the Elementary General Music Classroom

The Marimba: Construction and Integration in the Elementary General Music Classroom

George Dickenson

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

the degree of Master of Music in Music Education

July 20, 2013

School of the Arts

Virginia Commonwealth University

Table Of Contents

Introduction 3

Process 16

Reflection 23

References 26

Appendix A 29

Appendix B 40

Appendix C 43

Appendix D 44

Appendix E 45

Appendix F 49

Appendix G 51

Introduction

In July 2007, I began a Level I Orff Certification class. The class involved the use many instruments common to the Orff-Schulwerk approach including a large number of xylophones. Included in this course were two larger barred instruments which were not in proportion to the typical Orff-style xylophone. The first characteristic that separated them from the xylophones were the PVC pipe resonators hanging below each of the bars. The sound of the instruments was louder and more percussive in nature than the xylophones. These were marimbas created by Brent Holl who incorporated marimba songs into the class.

Throughout the next several years, I found the traditional music of the marimba was effective for use with an Orff ensemble using xylophones as a medium. The Shona style arrangements of Walt Hampton and compositions of Brent Holl quickly became the favorites of both the audiences and the students. Holl (2003) notes that playing these songs on marimbas, either homemade or concert, causes his songs to come alive with the same power and energy that might be heard in the balifone and marimba music from Western Africa. In order to capture this ideal, and bring it to the rest of the music curriculum, marimbas would need to be bought or built.

In August 2012, the process of adding marimbas to the music classroom became a serious undertaking, due to the lack of barred instruments in the current classroom and my desire to add the music of the marimba to the music curriculum. Having made the decision to put marimbas into the music classroom, the next step was to decide the process that would bring them there. One of two methods would have to be used, either the marimbas would be purchased or they would be built. Buying a concert marimba was quickly ruled out due to cost and similarly, buying a soprano and bass marimba was too expensive. In addition to the cost, buying a marimba had another downside, the students would not have any hand in creating the instruments, instead, they would simply be shipped to the school. For this reason the decision was made to build one, or possibly two, marimbas. There were two main reasons for this. First, the students would have a direct influence on the instrument that they played. This would give them a newfound respect for both the process of making an instrument and a vested interest in preserving the instrument. Second, the students would have a chance to see the process taken when making a barred instrument. This would support both core classroom science SOL’s and music objectives which would, in turn, create a cross-curricular activity. For these reasons, homemade marimbas were much more desirable and it became necessary to know the methods and materials used in crafting a marimba both in a classroom setting and throughout the history of its development. It would then be important to understand how marimba began to be used in music education in order to incorporate it into the Orff-Shulwerk approach.