Falling Water (solo marimba) - Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith performs his lush marimba solo, "Falling Water."

"Falling Water" strives to embody the elements of the architectural marvel by Frank Lloyd Wright. Described as a tour-de-force and arguably Wright’s greatest architectural accomplishment, Falling Water is built over a waterfall and seamlessly fills into its natural surroundings. A sensibility of space and balance allows the sounds and sights of nature to bleed over this Japanese-influenced home while the nuances of man-made design and natural beauty enter twine. This was the inspiration for my piece. I wanted to write for the marimba in a way that balances movement around the keyboard while the melodies naturally show themselves.


The piece was written at the keyboard to feel very natural and reflect the fluidity of the water moving through the house and pouring into a waterfall. As always, practice with a metronome but with this piece it's important to not feel locked into a definitive beat in the beginning. Allow the phrases to breathe so the instrument creates the music, not so much the player. As the piece passes into the B section a more definitive tempo should be felt as the melody becomes very clear in the top mallet, symbolizing the stable structure of the home. As the music continues to move the phrases should build to the wide D-flat major spread, symbolizing the waterfall. Then the music slowly drifts away downstream.


This piece is written for my mother, who loved Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and will always inspire me as an artist.

– N.S.

Nathan Smith, marimba
   / @nathansmith5784  

Instrumentation: Marimba (5-octave)

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