Are you a percussion geek? Do you like percussion instruments and setups? Then this is a blog for you! 🙂
Zil-bel Vibes
Ok. I had a Zil-bel by Zildjian cymbals for years. I used it in my punk rock drum set setup. This creative percussion setup gave me the beloved the ability to get an easy “ding” right at the end of a phrase! Well, it was finally time to use this in an improvisation with my current style. Along with a Paiste cup chime! (click on this to go to the first video!) (click this picture for latest video) (read on for the entire adventure!)
Played by the Bell
Well… as you might have seen in “Zil-Bel Vibes,” I totally had a plan to keep adding to this setup. I totally had fun with this too… making a huge mount with FIVE, count em, FIVE different “bells!” How to do this in the best way? That’s what I was thinking about beforehand. How did I think of it? I actually got this idea when I went to PASIC (big percussion convention) and bought a HUGE Sabian Alu Bell. This was the perfect center piece to my new setup…
Having fun in this blog so far? I am! This series brings out the percussion collector in me and gives me a program to follow regarding making videos. As I kept making the setup bigger, it really influenced my playing! I started to listen to the pitches of the bells and made decisions in the music with those bells in mind! I had no idea that it could help me boost creativity!
Add a Bell
The next is titled in a pretty obvious way. In another way I am joking. What I add this time is a gong and a tongue drum! (not a bell at all!). LOL! But, I am adding to the setup, which is the goal of this entire adventure. Check it out!
The Story of Mike Miller
This next one may not be the final one… but is the latest in the series. When I picked up the Sabian Alu Bell at PASIC, I also talked to Billy Miller who designed a really cool percussion tool called “The Miller Machine.” Well, I thought this was perfect as I designed this instrument collection to add more metal sounds to my marimba and vibraphone setup. Boom! He was so cool and I talked to him with the booth shared with Artifact percussion. (also cool guy and cool stuff!) – So, I called the improvisation “The Story of Mike Miller” and came up with a cool story to go along with it. Well, enough about how I found these cool things, but check the music out that has its own story!
This has been a lot of fun so far! I hope you have enjoyed seeing it evolve and hearing the music change a tiny bit due to the new sounds! Of course I have the windchimes happening there… thinking of adding some keychimes… piano pins.. Adam? :). We’ll see!!!
I hope everyone has a great day and I’ll see you around in the next blog! – Mike
