Gardner-Shades of Black-SD

Shades of Black was written under the influence of the Vietnam War. The idea for the title came from a popular song during the sixties called "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. Tension and multiple layers are spread throughout the piece giving a dark and confusing atmosphere. Shades of should be played on three different sized snare drums beginning with four soft marimba mallets to represent helicopters flying overhead. The brush and stick section is challenging and requires complete independence in the hands.

Number of Players: 1
Difficulty: Grade 4
Instrumentation:

Snare Drum

Charles was born June 1989.  He has studied under Professor Bill Rice at James Madison University and is currently perusing a BM in music education at the University of North Texas.  Charles was a two-time member of the competitive Virginia All Sate Band.  Charles performed on the Virginia premier of Nathan Daughtry's arrangement of David Dillingham's Marimba concerto with Nathan Daughtry.  Charles also performed on stage with Kieth Urban during his 2007-2008 tour.  Currently Charles is a percussion tech and arranger for Washington County Schools in Virginia.