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The Vibra-Kit

Technology, Improvisation, and Creativity in Percussion

Dr. Thad Anderson
University of Central Florida School of Performing Arts
Professor & Coordinator of Percussion Studies

Percussive Arts Society
President and Board of Directors

tra@ucf.edu
www.thadanderson.com

The Vibra-Kit is a combination vibraphone and drum set. Both instruments are synonymous with improvisation and spontaneity and this instrument combination has been the central playground of my creativity for the past few years. Improvisation and drum set were how I began my life as a musician and exploring this setup has allowed me to go back to my roots in music.

The Vibra-Kit

I started experimenting with this setup as I worked on my Northbound project in 2015 and 2016. Images from the premiere performance of this instrumentation can be seen below:

vibra-kit 1.jpeg An overhead view of the first version of the vibra-kit. Photo by Austin S. Warren, 2016.

vibra-kit 2.jpeg A front view of the first version of the vibra-kit. Photo by Austin S. Warren, 2016.

vibra-kit 3.jpeg Another view of the first version of the vibra-kit. Photo by Austin S. Warren, 2016.

During the summer of 2020, I made further developments to the setup by lowering the vibraphone 5-inches and adding pick-ups to electronically amplify and create effects processing.

This upgraded setup is the one I used for the solo Peregrination project that I created and premiered in 2020. Here is a video tour of the setup taken at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in October 2020:

Video tour of the vibra-kit taken at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, October 2020.

Gear List

Vibraphone:

Drum Set:

Audio:

Northbound (2016)

thadanderson.com/compositions/northbound

Even the shortest of train trips can be exciting. Changes in scenery, passengers, and sounds, each leg and stop has its own character and mood. At the encouragement of Patrick Greene, one of the curators of the Transit Interpretation Project (TrIP), I took a northbound SunRail train from its southern most point to its final northern destination with the plan to create a musical composition relating to the experience. Along the way, I used an omni-directional microphone to record the sounds heard while on the train. At each arrival and departure point, I created markers in my digital audio workstation to denote the twelve stations on the northbound route. These markers are used to create formal structure within the work (the full trip is just over an hour and two-minutes long). The end result is a live performance composition utilizing the processed field recording from the trip, composed electronic playback, and live acoustic improvised percussion sounds. The premiere performance took place at The Gallery at Avalon Island (now CityArts) In-Between Series on March 14, 2016.

The entirety of the work uses an arc structure. The initial departure and the final arrival movements bookend the piece as Prelude and Postlude music, respectively. Fantasia movements feature definite pitched instruments, such as the vibraphone and other tuned metals, while Rhapsody movements utilize indefinite pitched instruments most commonly associated with a common drum set. Impromptu movements utilize a combination of definite and indefinite pitched instruments and are unaccompanied by electronic playback.

This project was recognized by the Orlando Weekly, receiving the “Best City Soundtrack” award. It was also been featured by the Orlando Sentinel and in an episode of Intersection hosted by Matthew Peddie on 90.7 WMFE.

The 11 movements are as follows:

Prelude: Sand Lake Road to Orlando Health/Amtrak Fantasia: Orlando Health/Amtrak to Church Street Rhapsody: Church Street to Lynx Central Impromptu: Lynx Central to Florida Health Village Rhapsody: Florida Health Village to Winter Park Fantasia: Winter Park to Maitland Impromptu: Maitland to Altamonte Springs Fantasia: Altamonte Springs to Longwood Rhapsody: Longwood to Lake Mary Impromptu: Lake Mary to Sanford Postlude: Sanford to DeBary

This video is from the premiere performance on March 14, 2016. I performed it at the then Gallery at Avalon Island (now CityArts) In-Between Series, a monthly concert series that takes place between gallery exhibits.

Northbound premiere performance at the Gallery at Avalon Island In-Between Series on March 14, 2016.

This video is from a second performance that I gave on October 30, 2016 at the Timucua Arts Foundation in Orlando, FL.

Northbound performance on October 30, 2016 at the Timucua Arts Foundation in Orlando, FL.

M.O.D.E. (2018)

dianareichenbach.com/mode

M.O.D.E., which stands for musical optical dome experience, was a live immersive multi-media presentation performed at the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences to launch the Macon Film Festival on August 16th, 2018. The experience included 360 immersive visuals by Diana Reichenbach, accompanied by a live musical performance by composer and percussionist Thad Anderson. The project was made with support from the Knight Foundation and the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, GA.

mode1.png Thad Anderson and Diana Reichenbach in rehearsal under the full dome. Photo by Chris Brannan, 2018.

mode2.png Thad performing in rehearsal with visuals in the background. Photo by Chris Brannan, 2018.

Video documentation of a full live performance.

August: Improvised Music for Vibra-Kit (2020)

When I made modifications to the setup in the summer of 2020, I spent the month of August journaling experiments with processed vibraphone and drum set. Each day I would discover a new effects processing method, audio and video record an improvisation, and then post it to Instagram.

You can listen to the full album here:

This album contains all of the tracks recorded during the August project.

I have also created a YouTube playlist of all of the videos that I posted on each day. You can access it here:

August: Improvised Music for Vibra-Kit

Peregrination (2020)

Peregrination / ˌpɛr ɪ grəˈneɪ ʃən /noun

  1. to travel from one place to another; journey.
  2. to voyage through or over; traverse.

PEREGRINATION is a multimedia work combining stunning landscape cinematography and live video processing along with composed electronic audio and live improvised percussion elements. Intended to take the viewer on a journey from the comfort of their home, this project is a collaboration designed for presentation using modern video conferencing platforms (Made for Pandemic™). It was presented eight times over four nights from November 30 through December 3, 2020.

Each premiere event had a limited digital audience gathering to allow for intimate conversation and viewing experience. The artists provided background information on the collaborative process, production details, and their vision for the project. After each presentation of the work, there was a Q&A period and a general discussion between artists and audience.

Thad Anderson, composer & performer
Chris Brannan, film editing and visual effects
Diana Reichenbach, film editing and visual effects
Benjamin McGonnel, aerial cinematography
David Randag, aerial cinematography

thadanderson.com/public/media/peregrination/peregrination-poster.jpg The poster for the Peregrination project. The show ran four nights with two performances each night

Elements

Fixed media

Processed & aleatoric media

Improvised percussion

Structure

Part 1 (Semblance)

Part 2 (Cycles 1)

Part 3 (Illumination)

Part 4 (Cycles 2)

Part 5 (Twelve-Twenty)

Below is a full performance of Peregrination and audio recordings of each of the eight live performances:

A full performance of Peregrination that took place on December 1, 2020.

This album contains recordings of all eight live streamed performances that took place during the premiere.

Answers

Answers is a quintet of improvising composers. Equally at home in amplified and acoustic settings, the band performs spontaneous improvisations, original works, interpretations of graphic scores, virtuosic contemporary classical music, and works for open instrumentation. Answers is on a mission to perform without limitations.

Thad Anderson, vibrakit Beatriz Ramirez-Belt, oboe Chris Belt, guitar Brandon Miller, bass Caitlin Pequignot, violin

Check us out: https://www.thebandisanswers.com https://answers.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/thebandisanswers

Here is a record that we released in May 2021 along with a video of us performing the second track:

Answers, A New Path to Touch the Earth composed by Brandon Miller, May 2021.

Answers performing Children of the Flowers from A New Path to Touch the Earth.

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