In December, 2011 I received a request from Yale graduate student Victor Caccese to answer a few questions about how NEXUS began and developed.
VC: Mr. Becker, I mainly wanted to ask you about the start of NEXUS with your first performances in 1971. Even though all of its members have accomplished …
Last year (2009) percussionist Daniel Smithiger asked the members of NEXUS to answer a number of interesting questions for an interview now posted on the Black Swamp website. His article was later included as the cover feature for the July, 2010 issue of the Percussive Arts Society’s Percussive Notes magazine. Below are my answers to a few …
George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control for the Snare Drummer first appeared in 1935. With a terse two-page introduction followed by a mere 21 pages of what he called “practice rhythms”, Stone unleashed a new and powerful method of technical development for all styles of drumming. The “HOW TO PRACTICE” page alone is worth the price of the book, and, although he never uses the word exercise, he explains clearly how to use his “conditioners” in a progressive and ambidextrous calisthenic routine, leading to speed, endurance, power and precision.
Dear Bob,
It was great to talk to you the other day, and have the opportunity to hang out with you while here in Banff. Thanks again for your willingness to answer some questions for my doctoral dissertation and larger project to collect anecdotes and interviews from various important senior/accomplished percussionists in our field. Your contribution will surely enhance my understanding …
My name is Gene Koshinski, Professor of Percussion at University of Minnesota Duluth. I am currently finishing a document as my final step to completing my doctoral degree at The Hartt School in Hartford, CT. The title of my paper is: “From West Africa, through Vaudeville, to the Concert Hall: The Evolution of Two-Mallet Keyboard Percussion Solo Performance.” Would you …
Over the past decade I have attended dozens of clinics and masterclasses aimed at explaining methods for preparing orchestral percussion audition repertoire, and describing techniques for succeeding in an audition environment. I have also read numerous articles in percussion magazines, and viewed several educational DVDs addressing the same issues. Furthermore, professional performers (including myself) and educators regularly present workshops focusing on specific percussion instruments used in concert bands and symphony orchestras. In these presentations the same group of short musical excerpts is generally used for demonstration.
Nancy Uscher is currently Provost of the California Institute of the Arts. The following correspondence involved questions from her daughter, Alessandra Barrett, now a student at CalArts, regarding the term “minimalist music” and my association with the composer Steve Reich.
December 1, 2008
Dear Bob:
I think I mentioned that Alessandra (my daughter) had decided to come to CalArts. She wrote out a …
The following excerpt is from an interview with Shannon Wood, originally published in the Artist Insight section of the July, 2005 issue of Mallet Shop Quarterly.
MSQ: Two names come to mind when one thinks of virtuoso xylophone playing: the late George Hamilton Green and Bob Becker. Bob has raised the bar of …
Hi Bob,
Following are the questions I’d like you to answer. You may take your time - the paper isn’t due until December 11th, 2007.
As a percussionist, you often play music and musical instruments from around the world. What are your thoughts on performing music that is not part of your culture?
This is a complex issue, and my answer will vary …
I really want to thank you for doing this with me. As you will see from my questioning I tried to take a perspective of the “Bob the Performer” and “Bob the Composer” and combine the two. If you find that you answer one question in a previous answer and want to omit a question or want to add information …
The following interview was conducted at the request of the Percussive Arts Society, and appeared in the August, 1996 issue of Percussive Notes.
LHS: Let’s get this important question out of the way in the very beginning. Everybody who knows anything about xylophone knows you are not only the greatest living xylophonist, but also the greatest xylophonist who has …
(Are the overtones tuned differently in various ranges of its keyboard?)
The term xylorimba clearly refers to some kind of hybrid instrument, but it depends on who is using the term, and when. Even the word itself is a composite: xylo is the common Greek root meaning ‘wood’; and rimba is an arbitrary clipping of the word ‘marimba’, which itself comes …
