MUS 145 Mainstream Music Writing - UM-Flint
Hurley Medical 5-2-1-0 Student Jingle Contest and Production
Student Jingle Winners
Bruce Horn
Katie Morden as performed by Young Ra (from current The Opps, Peacock)
Clare Fischer's Compositional Innovations
Within the Latin Jazz Montuno - Brian DiBlassio
Peer reviewed paper presented at the
1st International Clare Fischer Symposium
Graz, Austria, 2010
The DiBlassiophone
Inventing an instrument with students to extend the range of a marimba for arrangement of Hiromi Uehara’s piece “Time Control or Controlled By Time”
Plastic Pipe Pleases Percussionists
You probably heard of a Sousaphone and a Saxophone, now you can add the DiBlassiophone to the list of musical instruments. University of Michigan-Flint Assistant Professor of Music Brian DiBlassio recently demonstrated the new instrument to local TV reporter Randy Conat. DiBlassio, with the help of some of his students built the instrument at his Ann Arbor home out of PVC pipe.
“If you strike a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe it produces a perfect “A” note,” said DiBlassio. “The instrument produces a very heavy bass, but warm sound.”
To play the instrument, two ping pong paddles with glued on foam rubber from a kneeling pad covered by a computer mouse pad are used. Music major Jessica McCormack, who helped build the instrument, said that while she had to learn the technique of playing it from scratch, any percussionist can pick it up. Music major Bruce Horn said helping to build it was a great way to learn the physics of music.
DiBiassio said while there are similar instruments, his is an original design. He built it because he felt there was a need for more instruments for percussionists. Total cost was about $300.
The DiBlassiophone will make its first public appearance at the Jazz Ensemble concert on November 28, 7:30p.m. in the UM-Flint Theatre. - Flint Journal
