THREE BY FIVE
for shared marimba trio + track
Publisher: Gottry Publications (2026)
Composed: 2026
Duration: 4’30”
Difficulty: Medium-Easy
Instrumentation (3 players): shared 4.3-octave marimba
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

Three by Five started as a response to an Instagram challenge to compose a work for any instrumentation, any level, and any length using only the notes C, D, E, F, and G. The first movement, “Index Card,” was my response to that challenge, but the process compelled me to create an additional two movements similarly limited to five notes. “Picture Postcard” became the second movement and utilizes the five pitches in the E-flat minor pentatonic scale. Rounding out the work is “Workout Plan,” which is the most energetic of the three movements and uses five of the six notes in a standard F minor blues scale.

Three by Five is playable on a shared 4.3-octave marimba and is limited to standard two-mallet technique for all three players throughout. Notes marked tenuto should be played with a slight emphasis. The pair of slurred notes that appear throughout “Workout Plan” should be played with an emphasis on the first note and a slight deemphasis on the second.

In an effort to engage pre-collegiate percussion students in chamber percussion performance with a fixed media element, this piece is published as a “pay-what-you-wish” digital download. The play-along track can be downloaded as one complete performance track or as three individual movements. The play-along tracks for “Index Card” and “Picture Postcard” begin four measures prior to the notated parts. The play-along track for “Workout Plan” begins two measures prior to the notated parts. The complete performance track that includes all three movements has approximately eight seconds between movements.