The Gershwin Mallet Collection: Mallet Instrument Book

Anders Åstrand has done the hard interpretive work for you. Instead of asking mallet players to improvise over changes, these arrangements give them melody and chords together, with genuinely musical bass lines that ground each tune in real rhythm section feel. Your students get to play Gershwin seriously, not as a novelty.

Sophisticated without being fussy. These are songs written for the stage, arranged here with attention to jazz harmony and rhythmic detail. Playing through them, you're in the company of Gershwin's original vision: music that swings, sings, and makes you want to move.

Mallet percussionists with some ensemble experience who want to move beyond basic mallets-only repertoire into music that feels both authentic and contemporary. This collection also works well for percussion students pairing with a jazz combo or pianist, since the arrangements are designed to support ensemble play without demanding real-time improvisation.

• Balance the chordal accompaniment against the melody so the tune remains the focal point. The arrangements invite lush harmonic color, but Gershwin's melodies deserve clarity.
• Shape the bass lines with the same attention you'd give a walking jazz line. These aren't just rhythmic padding; they're where the swing and forward motion live.
• Let the harmonic language breathe. These pieces sit comfortably on mallet instruments because the resonance of vibraphone and marimba enhances the jazz voicings Gershwin wrote.
• Approach tempo and phrasing as you would in a jazz or popular music context. These songs were written for singers and dancers, not concert halls, so rhythmic flexibility and rubato suit them.

Pair these pieces with jazz history units or early-20th-century American music concerts. They work equally well as standalone recital items or as part of a percussion feature that spans from classical to contemporary repertoire. The five songs can be programmed individually or as a thematic set.

• Reading and voicing jazz chord symbols on mallet instruments
• Coordinating independent lines between melody, harmony, and bass
• Interpreting swing rhythm and jazz phrasing on non-pitched percussion
• Building ensemble awareness by supporting a melody with harmonic and rhythmic foundation
• Understanding the connection between popular song form and concert music arrangement