Im a piano teacher looking to take up tuned percussion and to take exams. I have some questions for those in the know!:

1. what glockenspiel is acceptable for the exams
2. Do the exam pieces need a accompanist?
3. What tutor books are good for adults and what grade should i go for (am diploma level piano)?

Thanks

Your teacher will be able to advise you on this, along with appropriate beaters etc.

1. They are not very fussy about what kind of glockenspiel you use in the exams. It`s possible to get what is called a CB pack which includes a glockenspiel and stand, a drum pad and sticks. The only problem you may have with this is that it may be too small for you. It`s relatively cheap, though, at around 100 pounds. Something to look into!

2. Often the pieces don`t need an accompanist, but you`d need to check on the syllabi.

3. Can`t think of any good tuned tutor books at the moment. (Not at home and can`t remember the names). It`s absolutely impossible to know which grade you should start at! Yes, being able to play piano will help considerably, but tuned percussion is still rather different! I can imagine that you may well find grade 1 and 2 stuff quite easy. Rolls and more technical things like that start being included at about grade 3. Maybe go to a music shop and see if you can look through some books. The ABRSM books actually come in groups of grades, as there aren`t all that many pieces to choose from in each grade. So maybe book II might be good, which covers grades 3 and 4, although you might want to look at book I first.

One thing with ABRSM percussion exams is that you can`t just do tuned percussion, you`d also have to do either timpani or snare drum. If you just want to do tuned, then you should look into either Trinity or LCM exams, which both offer the option of just tuned.

Hope that helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

Can I ask why specifically the Glock ? Only as a pianist, you may get more joy from the Vibraphone, Marimba or Xylophone. The reason I say this is the Glockenspiel is more of a finishing touch, whereas the others have a greater scope and use as an independent instrument.

Tuned percussion is far from a cheap hobby, I enjoy my love of it through the world of Drum Corps and am very fortunate that my local Drum Corps are the current British and European champions. We get to take advantage of some very experienced teachers from the States where percussion education is in another league.

Scales, Arpeggios and Chromatic runs are your best friend as a keyboard percussionist, they are the best way of familiarising your self with the keyboard, enabling you strike the notebars with your mallets in the correct positions with a minimum of effort.

I agree here, I would suggest a xylo for Graded exams as its the easiest technique (No pedaling to deal with etc)
I would advise to get a teacher for beginning as you will need to be shown proper stick technique etc.

About an accompanist: some pieces have accompaniments you will just need to have a look at the AB books.

Thanks for the advice, i will look into glocks.