Hot Marimba Zimbawean-style Music for Orff Instruments BOOK/CD SET

Percussionist/music educator Walt Hampton launches your upper elementary Orff instrument ensembles into the stratosphere with these nine original pieces, based on or inspired by marimba music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe.

This is dance music, guaranteed to make your students beg to rehearse. Even the preliminary exercises will have your classroom buzzing. And the performance pieces will drive audiences wild!

This powerhouse primer, influenced by the traditional music of Zimbabwe, will enhance your rhythm and ear training program, nurture students' improvisational skills and teach cooperative composition techniques. Start slowly, and be prepared to be blown away!

The 8 1/2 x 11 Book includes:
Nine graded pieces that take your students step-by-step through the skills they need to wail on their xylophones
Copy-OK scores for all pieces
How to approach each piece
Background on the marimba ensembles of both Zimbabwe and the United States
Map of Zimbabwe
Performance suggestions
Teaching suggestions

The Professionally-produced CD includes:
Every tune played clearly in full-length versions that make it easy to hear individual parts
An amazing performance by Walt's students from Marcus Whitman Elementary School in Richland, WA

About the Composer
Walt Hampton received his teaching certificate as well as Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degress in Percussion Performance from Central Washington University. He has performed with numerous symphony orchestras, serving as Principal Percussion/Timpanist with the Yakima, WA Symphony Orchestra, Principal Timpanist with the Tacoma, WA Symphony Orchestra, and Percussionist/Timpanist with the National Orchestral Institute. He frequently performs on drum set, providing back-up for several notable jazz artists who tour the Northwest, including Clay Jenkins, Barney McClure, Kim Richmond, Floyd Standifer and Jan Stentz.
Walt taught for two years for the Pasco, WA school district before commencing doctoral studies at the University of Washington. While there, he became interested in the music of the Shona culture of Zimbabwe. His enthusiasm for Shona marimba music was the inspiration for a project that incorporated his percussion pedagogy techniques and classroom experience and eventually became the basis for this collection. Walt now teaches for the Richland, WA school district, where he continues to write Shona-style music for the grade 3-6 Orff instrument ensembles, and performs with the two groups from Marcus Whitman Elementary. He is in demand as a clinician for music conferences and in-service workshops for teachers, and has been invited to both England and Australia to work with teachers and students there.