Joyful xylophone solo, a first for band

Percussionist Olly performed our first ever piece with a xylophone solo – Joyful Skeleton – at our spring concert. We thought we’d find out a bit more about Olly’s percussion background and how he found playing the challenging solo…

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m Oli. I’m 18 and one of the percussionists here at Bournemouth and District Concert Band.

I particularly specialise in mallet percussion, which includes the xylophone (the instrument Joyful Skeleton is written for) and glockenspiel (the other instrument I play here), as well as the marimba and vibraphone. I also enjoy getting involved in other parts of the percussion section.

I’ve been involved in music for most of my life and it’s a real passion of mine, which has meant trying to get as involved in it as possible. I started out on piano before also getting involved in percussion about three and a half years ago. I’ve also had the opportunity to play other keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord and organ, as well as to get involved in performing choral singing, including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Fauré’s Requiem, and recorder music (spanning from garklein to bass). I’ve even tried out other instruments such as the ocarina and tenor viol.

I joined the band back in October having had a few years of experience in another concert band, and having played with BDCB in a massed bands concert back in 2020. I’ve enjoyed every moment of being a member and hope to be involved in music-making for a long time to come.

How did you get into playing percussion and how long have you been playing the xylophone?

As I said, I’ve always enjoyed making music, and have been playing piano for just over 10 years now. I wanted to be more involved in playing with other people for a long time though. It’s something you don’t necessarily get to do a lot of on the piano, and so I was considering getting involved in other kinds of music. A few people had suggested percussion as something that might be easy for me to get into, and which would allow me to play in music groups.

I was a bit nervous about taking the first step, but when some friends from another concert band encouraged me to get involved as part of a drive to get more members, being a few short of their goal for 50 players for their 50th anniversary concert, I took the plunge. That was just over three years ago now, and it’s one of the best decisions I think I’ve ever made.

There wasn’t much of a percussion section at the time there, and as a pianist I was instantly drawn to the tuned keyboard percussion – the xylophone and the glockenspiel. In terms of percussion, I’m essentially self-taught, but I’ve learnt loads from all the amazing people I’ve played with. I am really excited to have reached the point where I’m now playing solos in concerts.

What’s your favourite piece to play on the xylophone and why?

I’ve had the chance to play some really exciting pieces over the last few years, so this is definitely a difficult question. Film music, a staple of the concert band repertoire, often has some fun mallet percussion parts, and that genre definitely makes up some of the most enjoyable pieces I’ve gotten to play. Medleys from films such as The Greatest Showman, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and of music by composers such as Alan Silvestri and Ennio Morricone definitely belong near the top.

I also really enjoy playing pieces that allow me to expand into other areas. I would have to give special mentions to the theme from Thunderbirds, which had an exciting part for timpani. Also an arrangement of Elfman’s work for Batman arranged by Peter King, in which I got to play seven different instruments!

I think Joyful Skeleton probably gets the top spot though. As a percussionist, sometimes it feels like there’s more counting than playing, but certainly not in this piece! While difficult, it’s also been really exciting and enjoyable to learn and play, and really allows me to show off the instrument.

How do you feel about this being the first xylophone solo ever in BDCB?

I’ve found it a real honour getting to be the first xylophone soloist of the band, especially given how long it’s been playing for. Simon and the whole band have really put their faith in me for this, which has been a great experience.

Despite definitely feeling some pressure and it being nerve-racking playing such a difficult piece, seeing people’s confidence in it has been amazing and has also helped me recognise how far I’ve come since taking up percussion, which feels really good. Getting to shine a light on the section and the instrument has also been a great honour, which hopefully has highlighted to people just how virtuosic and interesting music for xylophone can be. Hopefully this is just one of many more percussion solos to come in the band!

Joyful Skeleton is fast! How have you found practising it? Do you have any techniques you found helpful when practising any tricky passages?

The tempo was definitely a major challenge while practising, and something that was quite intimidating when I started out. A goal I really wanted to reach was being able to play the piece and prove to myself I could attain, so I couldn’t wait to get started. As I mentioned earlier, Simon and the band’s confidence in me definitely helped. As with many things, occasionally practising could be stressful and the end seemed far away, while at other times it was all I wanted to do.

There are a few practising techniques which I would definitely say helped. The first does not even involve playing, just going through the music. Really carefully reading through the part helps and working out effective sticking patterns (which hand to use to play each note), which affects how easily and quickly you can play. Also identifying patterns more generally in the music, which helps with memorising it.

Memorising large sections of the music was definitely necessary to play quickly and accurately, as with a piece like this you don’t get much of a chance to look up at the music. Another technique was to use a metronome to gradually increase speed; breaking the music up into small sections and then ensuring I could play them accurately at very gradually increasing tempos. This helped to build up speed, especially in particularly tricky passages. I used this technique a lot for the big chromatic section at the end of the piece.

Beyond that, just repeating parts until I was comfortable with them. Also d recognising which parts really needed work (it can be all too easy just to repeat the bits you can already do). Also knowing when to take a break (over-practising is definitely a thing!) all helped.

Are there any percussionists you look up to in the world of music and why?

There’s no one person who I’d say I look up to. The people who inspire me in this area are all the percussionists I’ve ever had the opportunity to play with. There have been a good few, but every one of them has been amazing and I’ve learnt things from all of them. I’m definitely biased, but I think musicians, and particularly percussionists, are some of the best people you could meet. The percussionists I’ve had the honour to play with have always been fun, kind and supportive, and inspired me to become a better musician.

You joined Bournemouth and District Concert Band a few months ago. What do you like about band?

There’s so much that’s great about Bournemouth and District! I’ve said this a lot now, but it’s hard to overstate just how friendly and supportive everyone here is. There’s also definitely a very social atmosphere that makes playing here really enjoyable. The high standard of the band is also great. The musicians are all amazing, which means we get to play some really great pieces. Each one has a different challenge, which is always exciting to overcome. This has really helped me develop as a musician, and once it’s down, the music is really fun to play and listen to.

Being in such a great band has also meant I’ve had the opportunity to play some great concerts at amazing venues and locations, which has been really exciting. The chance to play such a big solo as ‘Joyful Skeleton’ has also been a great experience for me.

Olly, percussionist