The koi pond at our new house has served as a source of immense inspiration for yours portly.  I’ve spent many late nights researching various species of aquatic life that can thrive in our little pond ecosystem.  I’m most excited about getting some Japanese Trapdoor Snails for our pond.

In the meantime, however, I’ve added some ramshorn snails to the pond already.  They arrived in a bag from an eBay seller in Oklahoma, clinging to the walls of their watery shipping compartment.  I drove them up one frosty night and gently plopped them into the pond, which inspired today’s new piece.

“Snail Drop” depicts dropping tiny ramshorn snails into a koi pond.  It is a quartet for four marimbas:

Here is the original manuscript:

I had fun playing around with the gaps between the notes, as well as the grace notes.  I experimented with the vibraphone sound pallet first, but I found the more wooden attack of the marimba had a more naturalistic feel.

What do you think of this little snail-based composition?  Does it capture the experience of plopping and dropping little snails into a pond?

Happy Listening!

—TPP