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Mary Poppins - Alec Wilmart

Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.

Alec's write-up below photos.

Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.

Below: Chris Monroe and Alec Wilmart. Chris played drums for this production of Mary Poppins.

Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.

"It was a really fun book to play, and unique in a couple of ways.

First, as you can see, there are a lot of instruments required. I have seen many Mary Poppins setup's that utilize a MalletKat for the Marimba/Kalimba/Boo Bam parts. Honestly, there is so little of those parts (not much vibraphone either), some productions just put those parts in one of the keyboard books.

Secondly, it’s a busy book at times, but with long rests within songs, allowing time to get to the next thing. By looking at the setup, one might think you are running around the whole time. Not so. In fact, one of the most unique things I found is that during many rests, I could hear Marimba or other mallet parts in the keyboard books. Kind of a head scratcher!

There is quite a bit of Xylophone, Glock, and Timpani playing. 'Step In Time' is a real challenge, with some quick switches between Xylophone and Timpani. If I had to do it all over again, I would have put the Bass Drum on the other side of the Timpani to facilitate that. Other notable songs include, 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', 'Let’s Go Fly a Kite', 'Spoonful of Sugar', and 'Jolly Holiday'.

The vibes pictured above are a Deagan 35 'Rondo' model from the late 40’s. The original cross-bar style pedal has been replaced with a single bass drum pedal by a previous owner. Using only the pedal and some stainless steel cable wire, the damper works surprisingly well!

In terms of timpani mallets, I prefer to use Hinger Maple Timpani Mallets by Malletech. Being a generalist and not a high-level timpanist, I use the hingers because they have always felt comfortable and well balanced. I started using them when I was a teenager and have been using them ever since!

As I said, there is a lot of timpani in this book, and a wide range of dynamics and textures require a few choices. I'm using Hinger Reds (staccato), Hinger Greens (general), and instead of using my Hinger Yellows for the legato passages, I substituted some well-used Mike Balter T3’s. I used these due to the fact that I also needed Timpani mallets for suspended cymbal passages, as well as on some of the Tam Tam parts for a more distinct timber. This takes its toll on the mallets, and the T3's are less expensive to replace than the Hingers. I believe the T3's are always a pretty good 'meat and potatoes' mallet choice for my pit orchestra percussion needs. I really enjoyed this book!"

Instruments:

  • Timpani (2)
  • Chimes
  • Tam Tam
  • Xylophone
  • Piatti (Zusammen)
  • Glockenspiel
  • Bass Drum
  • Cabasa
  • Mark Tree
  • Vibes
  • Bell Tree
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Crotale (high octave)
  • Marimba
  • Washboard
  • Bird Whistle
  • Tambourine
  • Cowbells
  • LP Jam Blocks

Mary Poppins - Regional - Alec Wilmart
January 2015

Alec Wilmart's percussion setup for Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.

"Conducting a National Tour is incredibly challenging, but so rewarding. Stepping on to the podium with a new orchestra every few weeks really keeps you on your toes. Every player responds differently so you are constantly adjusting to get the desired result. I would compare it to playing a multi-percussion piece where the instruments are constantly moving."
"After a grueling four years at SUNY I still had one theory class left to finish. I was really depressed. A classmate of mine recommended me for a tour of a Broadway show. This completely changed the course of my life."
"When I first got the call to start working on Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, I was curious about which era the show was going to focus on. Their career began in the early 1960’s and they’re still releasing albums today."
"The timpani tunings are the real challenge of The Little Mermaid. Changing pitches must be done by feel, that was my biggest challenge. Memorizing the mallet parts was also very necessary."
"As you can see in the pictures, I prefer to have as much 'stuff' right in front of me, as close as possible. Because there are so many instruments close in, I have mounted a music stand off of the tom mount.
"Different from the tour, the original Broadway production had acoustic drums, an acoustic set of timbales, and an acoustic tambourine - the tambourine is now programmed in the SPD-SX."
  • 2 min read

Gene Krupa's drum solo from "Gene's Blues" from the album Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich released November 1955.

Steve Jordan's drum solo from the title track of the album Casa Loco.
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

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