Rattletree School of Marimba

Specialties

Play African music in community! Whether you’re a absolute beginner who thinks they have «no rhythm» or a seasoned musician, we promise you’ll be playing music in 5 minutes, guaranteed!

History

Established in 2000.

Joel Laviolette has loved African music for as long as he can remember. Upon moving to Austin in 2006 he started building marimbas in his shed and teaching out of a small rented home on Annie St. Pretty soon his entire living room was filled with the instruments. The bass marimba alone stands 6 feet high and 8 feet wide!

After gigs with his band Rattletree Marimba, people would ask how they could learn. In 2008, he took a leap of faith quitting his job at Yoga Yoga, and decided to be a full time professional musician, music teacher, and instrument builder.

Joel is excited to have opened the brick and mortar Rattletree School of Marimba, and marimba-​building workshop in the Thornton Rd. Studio Complex.

The community around this music continues to grow as word of mouth spreads. Whether you’re a absolute beginner who thinks they have «no rhythm» or a seasoned musician, we promise you’ll be playing music with your «bandmates» in under 5 minutes, guaranteed!

Meet the Business Owner

Joel L.

Business Owner

Joel’s passion is to bring Zimbabwean music to Austin. Founder and Artistic Director of the award winning Rattletree School of Marimba, he teaches community classes, builds Zimbabwean instruments, directs several local Austin bands, and has taught Zimbabwean music internationally for over 20 years.

His passion took him to Zimbabwe where he lived for two years-​studying with and recording many of the masters of this music. He has a leading authority on Shona music and been featured as a guest on NPR, serves on the World Music Panel of the Percussive Arts Society, and has been featured in Percussive Notes, as well as several academic journals. Laviolette has released four albums, an instructional DVD, and produced and recorded eleven albums of traditional music for his non-​profit record label, Mhumhi Records.

Joel is happiest seeing the joy on people’s faces when they first get to experience this beautiful and uplifting music.