Baila from Song Book, Vol. 2 - marimba + singing - Ivan Trevino

Baila is the first song from Song Book, Vol. 2, which is a collection of pieces written for a singing marimbist. The collection will be available on November 9th at PASIC 2017 and IvanDrums.com.

When I composed Song Book, Vol. 1 for solo marimba in 2011, I did so with an emphasis on songwriting techniques as opposed to academic, compositional structures. Through this songwriting lens, I created little "tunes" with simple melodic and rhythmic hooks, some of which were conceived away from the marimba, through singing.

With Song Book, Vol. 2, I want to stretch this songwriting idea even further. This collection of five songs requires the marimbist to play and sing simultaneously, featuring the marimba as a true singer-songwriter instrument, much like an acoustic guitar or piano.

It is my hope that Song Book, Vol. 2 helps expand the scope of the marimba and demonstrates the instruments versatility within the songwriting genre.

A big thank you to Ben Pitt and the Song Book, Vol. 2 consortium for supporting and believing in this project!

About Baila:
My mother was born in Mexico and I was born in the United States. She wanted me to maintain some connection to Mexican culture, so we would travel to Mexico every summer to attend a 300 person family reunion. It was fun and beautiful. There was loud music, plenty of food, and of course, dancing. Baila, which translates to “dance”, is sung in Spanish. It tells the story of a family member teaching me to dance.

Lyrics:
Como la flor en el viento,
se mueve así, así, así.
Un pasito adelante, un pasito para atras.
Rapido, mi vida. El tiempo se va, y se va,
y se va, y se va.
Baila, baila mi vida…

Translation:
Like a flower in the wind,
Move like this...
One step forward, one step back.
Hurry up my love. Time is passing us by.
Dance! Dance my love…
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Song Book, Vol. 2 was commissioned by a consortium of
musicians whose support brought this music to life:

Ben Pitt (organizer)
Cole Andrade
Andrew Bockman
Sarah Brooks
Brian Calhoon
Joanna Chen
Tyler Cunningham
Peyton Esraelian
Caleb Evans
Noel Holloway
Christina Hurlbut
Brandon Ilaw
Eri Isomura
Michael J Jones
Saki Kurata
Tyler Mashek
Rebecca McDaniel
Neil McNulty
Alex Mendoza
Paulina Michels
Reed Puleo
Nicholas Samuel
John Smigielski
Doug Smith
Tyler Tsunekawa
Colin Williams
Thomas Yagisawa
Yi David Yang
Yongyun Zhang