Two-Beat Tango
mallet solo with optional piano accompaniment
Two-Beat Tango by Brian Slawson combines old-school charm with multicultural flavors. The original melody resembles that of traditional Hungarian folk music while the contrasting middle section exhibits qualities more typical of Spanish music. The piano accompaniment included with the score is optional and can easily be played by a young percussion student who is interested in learning the instrument. In an effort to make this piece even more accessible, the mallet keyboard part can be performed on any mallet percussion instrument that spans at least two octaves.
This piece ships as a fully bound score or as an instant PDF download for printing or tablet viewing. It also includes a separate downloadable piano part and audio accompaniment.
- Any mallet keyboard instrument, spanning at least 2 octaves
- Piano (optional)
Reviews
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Joshua D. Smith –
Check this out if you are looking for a two-minute mallet solo for your beginning percussionists! With melodic and harmonic material based on Hungarian folk music traditions, this ABA composition doesn’t contain rhythms more complex than eighth notes, has a melodic range of only 1.5 octaves, and can be played with two mallets.
The opening and closing sections center around A-minor with a melody written in stepwise motion with an “oom-pah” piano accompaniment pattern. The B-section is slower, requires rolled notes from the performer, and is cast in A-major. This change of pace complements the A sections and even evokes images of traditional Spanish music. While the composer states that the piano accompaniment is optional, incorporating it into a performance would benefit the percussionist greatly in terms of maintaining tempo integrity, successfully playing in the genre and style of the music, and musical collaboration.