Ball the Jack (1988)
Stephen Bull
PUBLISHER: Australian Music Centre
RECORDINGS: None
RANGE: 4.0 octaves
DURATION: 7:00
MOVEMENTS: Single movement
TYPE OF ACCOMPANIMENT: Fixed
MUSICAL OVERVIEW: The work is written in the style of an instrumental popular song reflective of the 1980s. The tape is always secondary to the performer. The work employs mixed meter, utilizing 3/8 5/8/ 7/8 and 3/4 mostly. In the middle of the work, twenty bars are identified as improvisation upon a C ascending melodic minor scale without the seventh. There are no dynamic markings. The writing spans less than three octaves of the marimba. A matched set of four medium-hard or hard mallets is recommended.
ACCOMPANIMENT OVERVIEW: Drum machine and recorded bass guitar are the only sounds in the accompaniment. The background track is repetitive and layered, and it is dynamically static.
TECHNIQUE OVERVIEW: The DV is prominent in the writing. There is minimal use of SI and SIA strokes. The writing is simple and focuses on hand-to-hand motions.