Six Instructions for Vibraphone

Vibraphone Solo. (2014-2017)

There is nothing like playing your own music. As a composer/performer you know what feels best for your instrument and your music, you can change pitches as many times as needed, play the music faster or slower, louder or softer, etc. The piece becomes a partially filled canvas where there is a lot of room for experimentation (especially, because you don’t have someone else complaining for changing their music!). This piece had around ten versions in the span of three years, and I have finally decided to settle down on a “definitive” one. I had the chance to premiere it during my first concert with UT Austin composer collective – CLUTCH.

In the middle of the many revisions of this piece, I decided to deviate and derived some materials to build my other piece “Instruction Manual.” This other project ended up being a more colorful re-interpretation for violin and piano. Just as that piece, I like to think the the “Six Instructions” as accompaniments for the actions suggested in the titles. Two of them (Instructions for Singing and for Crying) come from Julio Cortázar’s “Historias de Cronopios y Famas:” while the other ones, are my own invention. These pieces also work as technical études that explore specific techniques I have encountered to be present in modern vibraphone pieces.

Yeah, that’s me in the vibes!