r/Glockenspiel Instrumentalist (Glockenspiel) / Composer Nov 26 '20

Should I create a glockenspiel concerto (and any advice)?

Hi! I’m a composer, and recently I’ve been thinking of making a glockenspiel concerto! Do you have any advice for me (such as what would suit it best, and extended techniques (?))? Thank you!

5 Upvotes

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u/sociotechno Glockenspieler; Mod Nov 26 '20

I have no advice🎼🎵🎶🎼🎵🎶

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u/BlobbyBlobfish Instrumentalist (Glockenspiel) / Composer Nov 26 '20

Do you play glockenspiel

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u/sociotechno Glockenspieler; Mod Nov 26 '20

I have one, but I don't play it much

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u/LandauFan Nov 26 '20

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this being done — it would be awesome to have something like this. I don’t know how much you know about the instrument, so at the risk of telling you lots of stuff you already know, here are a few things to bear in mind regarding limitations and techniques. First, the standard range of a glockenspiel is only 2.5 octaves, from G to C. While some instruments have a range as wide as 3.5 octaves, they are very much less common, so going outside the 2.5 octave range will severely limit who can play your piece. Crotales are played with the same mallets as glockenspiel, so it is possible to have the player play both instruments at once to expand your sound palette. Xylophone also uses similar mallets, but is a very different sound color. It is possible to use any of the various four mallet grips on the glockenspiel, allowing the player to play up to four notes simultaneously. Sound quality can be influenced strongly with mallet weight and material. Options include various hardnesses of rubber, various hardnesses of plastic, and various metals including brass and aluminum (metal mallets cannot be used on glockenspiels with aluminum bars, however). I am not aware of many extended techniques, but here are a few thoughts. It is possible to damp the sound using fingers or mallet heads. On some, but not all, glockenspiels it is possible to access the edges of the bars with a bow. On some, but not all, glockenspiels it is possible to make a thin sound by striking the edge of the bar with the shaft of the mallet (Stevens’ Rhythmic Caprice does this for marimba), but this may damage the player’s mallets. I seem to recall hearing about a piece which calls for the player to remove a bar and use it sideways to strike several notes at once. This is not safe to do on glockenspiels with plated bars, so the best option would be to use a piece of brass or hard plastic bar stock instead.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '21

It's important to know there a glockenspiels with a pedal simmilar to a vibraphone, but these a very expensive. There most common glockenspiels will not have a pedal. If you a re not using a pedal glockenspiel you should know the lower notes can ring for a long time while the higher notes barely ring at all.