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The Life - Matthew Dudek

Matthew Dudek's percussion setup for Cy Coleman’s The Life at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

Matthew Dudek's percussion setup for Cy Coleman’s The Life at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

“With ‘classics’ like 'The Oldest Profession' and the big dance number 'The Hookers Ball' this show was a lot of fun to play. It's almost continuous music so you rarely get a chance to catch your breath, which isn't always a bad thing either. I've found many theaters are quick to eliminate the percussion book for budget reasons and ask the drummer to ‘grab what they can’. However, this show definitely needs the percussion book to go hand in hand with the drums. Not only are there well written mallet parts, especially a Milt Jackson-esque vibraphone line, but the additional Vibraslap hits and shaker-feels truly set up the musical styling and New York environment.

This was the first I had heard of anyone doing this show and I had to do some digging around to find out more about it. Hopefully more people will get a chance to experience this show and enjoy this percussion book like I did.

While I work on catching a National Tour and expanding outside of Michigan, getting to play great shows and work with even better theaters is always an honor.

Like most percussion books, the difficulty was primarily in the choreography of instrument to instrument. It took a few days of running the show to find where things truly needed to be to work, but this was a great experience!

Because this is a black box theater with no pit, the band was in the scene shop next to the theater."

Percussion:

  • Yamaha Glockenspiel
  • LP Vibraslap
  • TreeWorks Double Row Wind Chimes
  • LP Granite Blocks
  • Miller Machine with Alan Abel 6" Triangle
  • LP Cowbell
  • Rhythm Tech Tambourine
  • LP Congas
  • Wooden Shells
  • Rainstick
  • Maracas
  • Shaker
  • Finger Cymbals
  • Ratchet
  • Bell Tree

Cymbals:

  • Zildjian 17" K Constantinople Suspended Cymbal
  • Zildjian 16" K Fast Crash
  • Zildjian 9" Zil-Bel

Electronics:

  • MalletKat Pro for Vibraphone and Xylophone
  • Apple iPad running ThumbJam for Timpani sounds

Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets

The Life - Regional - Matthew Dudek
November 2014

Matthew Dudek's percussion setup for Cy Coleman’s The Life at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

"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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