Rencontre avec le Xylophone by Alain Huteau

‘The main purpose of this book is to aid the student in his or her first “encounter” with the xylophone. The young xylophonist and his teacher must give priority to looking at the bars, reading the score and perfecting the way the bars are hit to ensure that a good sound is produced. The exercises and recreational pieces are deliberately very short, with no rhythmic difficulties and no Tempo indications so that the player can choose the speed at which he feels most at ease. All the fingerings have been carefully chosen and should be scrupulously respected to avoid frequent arm movements and crossing over of hammers, too often a cause of “wrong notes”. I very much hope that this book will spark off a great friendship between young percussionists and their xylophone, encouraging them to explore the whole family of percussion keyboard instruments’ – Alain Huteau