A Look at Some of Harry’s Small Percussion Instruments
by Barbara Brabec
In one of Harry’s letters, he made reference to a tambourine he owned, saying, “I’m looking for a good tambourine. I kept one double row of jingles (German). I find that for very loud single strokes (or hits) it’s great, but to try and shake it is next to impossible because of its weight.”
Since Harry obviously liked that tambourine enough to keep it, and since there’s a great tambourine story in The Drummer Drives!, I decided to keep it along with a few of his other small percussion instruments that I always thought were 
especially beautiful. I turned this collection of instruments into a table centerpiece, which has often sparked interesting conversations when musicians visit my home.
The other beautiful instruments in the centerpiece include a pair of his rosewood sticks (which he never used because he appreciated their beauty), a pair of claves, castanets, and a wood block.
Talking Tambourine with Percussionists in the U.S. Marine Band
When the U. S. Navy Band was performing in Naperville in the summer of 1984, Harry and I went to hear the concert, and his friend Scott Thomas and his wife joined us. After the concert, I tagged along as Harry went backstage to find the percussionists and introduce himself to them.
I was out of earshot when I snapped this picture. I’m sure he later told me what they were talking about, but memory fades. What I do remember is how his engaging personality immediately won them over, and how attentive they were as he demonstrated one of his techniques on a tambourine, perhaps telling them one of his favorite Chicago Symphony tambourine stories (one of which is documented in The Drummer Drives, Everybody Else Rides.) See book’s Table of Contents here.
Later, he told Scott about this meeting, saying, “They were a little standoffish at first because they had never heard of me, but I eventually made friends with all of them and we had a good time.”
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