Mallet Percussion:

A Common Elements Approach Jonathan Sharp, D.M.A., Assistant Professor of Percussion Iowa State University

Equipment • Practice Keyboards • Musser M3PM Padouk Practice Marimba • Adams 3.0 Octave Academy Series Padouk • Adams 3.0 Octave Soloist Series Padouk Marimba • Majestic M5533D padouk marimba • Bell Kits • These are cheaper and work fine, but are not as realistic as the practice keyboard. • If you do not have enough keyboard instruments at your school for students to use during class, have them obtain a bell set and they can take it back and forth from home and school.

Selecting the Appropriate Implement • Selecting a mallet for an instrument should always start with THE GOLDEN RULE: DO NOT STRIKE AN INSTRUMENT WITH SOMETHING THAT IS DENSER THAN THE INSTRUMENT. In general, if an individual thinks that a mallet may dent or crack the instrument, then that person is probably right! • Here is a list of general mallet selections for the middle registers of these instruments: • Bells – Hard Plastic (Vic Firth M135 – M138) – careful with brass mallets • Xylophone – Medium Plastic (Vic Firth M132 – M134) – in general, “clear, gray, or black…put it back.” • Marimba – Medium Yarn, birth shaft (Vic Firth M113 – M114) • Vibraphone – Medium Cord, rattan shaft (Mike Balter 23B)

Making The Mallet Grip Beginner - similar to the standard matched grip • Find the point where there are about two inches from the end of the mallet shaft and place the pinky finger here and let the other fingers in the hand fall into place. • The mallet rests between the first two fingers and thumb known as the GRIP POINT. • The thumb pad should rest in line with the mallet. • Fingers 1 and 2 curve completely around the mallet without creating tension • Fingers 3 and 4 are loose and lightly touch the mallet shaft. • A space should be present between the thumb and first finger.

Advanced - creates more weight and velocity • Find the point where there are about two inches from the end of the mallet shaft and place the pinky finger here and let the other fingers in the hand fall into place. • The mallet rests in the last three fingers creating a GRIP POINT that is further back than the beginners’ GRIP POINT. • The thumb pad should rest in line with the mallet. • The first finger lightly touches the shaft in a slight curve, but not enough of a curve to wrap around the mallet shaft.

Why not start with the advanced grip? • The standard matched grip has more TRANSFER VALUE, which means, although it may not be the best grip for keyboard, it is easier for a beginner due to their lack in muscle control and dexterity. After sufficient progress has been made in these areas using the beginner’s grip, incorporating more advanced techniques can help a player find their musical voice by varying when they use either grip.

Approaching The Attack The Key: start up, end up • Start with the mallets as high as your wrists will allow (beginners will be surprised how much they can raise the mallet with the wrist alone) • After every stroke, try returning the mallets to the original position by lightly touching the mallet that played with the mallet at rest before initiating the next stroke. • Make sure that the mallet doesn’t freeze for an instant either on the bar or right above the bar. Look for “floating mallet” an inch above the bar, if that is seen, then the mallet is not rebounding correctly. • It is best to try and move above the next note that is going to be struck by the same hand, this is known as “shifting.” This helps with a person’s efficiency of motion, which helps players play passages more accurately. • Practice Tip: make sure to practice at a full height as a beginning student, and then as one progresses through their education, practice as different heights with the same discipline as at the full height.

The Beating Area • Naturals: strike near the center of the bar. • Accidentals: strike near the center of the bar unless the speed of a passage makes this too difficult, then use the technique of hitting on the absolute edge of the bar “trying to cut the mallet head in half.” • Practice Tip: attach a shoestring at both ends of a xylophone, where the string lays across the correct beating area. By using a regular med-soft plastic mallet (Vic Firth M133), the student will be able to hear the difference between the correct and incorrect beating area. When striking the correct area (where the shoestring is located), the student will hear a darker sound with less rebound, whereas if the student does not strike the correct playing area, the sound will be more brittle and have more rebound. This also works on with the accidentals as well on both the edge and off-center playing areas.

Technique Overall, your musical ceiling can only be as high as your technical ceiling. Developing “chops” and a strong foundation of correct motions will make learning music easier and increase your ability to perform music at a much higher level. • 2-mallet Fundamentals • Technique o Mechanics o Touch (legato vs. staccato) • Scales • Intervals: Thirds, Fourths, etc. • Arpeggios • Double Stops • Double Strokes • Rolls: o Single-Stroke Rolls o Have them play straight sixteenth notes, then just relax their hands/fingers and speed their hands up a little.

• 4-mallet Fundamentals (with Burton or Stevens grip) • Double Vertical • Single Independent • Single Alternating • Double Lateral

Sound Quality Sound quality is one of the most important aspects about playing any instrument. • What type of sound are you looking for? o Full o Rich o Resonant • Can you hear differences between thin and full sounds? o Once you can hear this difference, decide what you did differently to produce a full sound – was it technique or playing area? o Posture is everything. Upright, Square to the instrument…no leaning o After the stroke - Hands are below the mallets - full sound and projection • How will mallet selection affect the sound? o Mallets should have enough weight to create the warm sounds desired. o The mallets should do most of the work for you. • Where should you strike the bar? o Differences between playing areas: • Center • Just off Center • Edge of Accidentals • Node • Should you play on the edge or off center of the accidentals? o Playing on the edge is a different sound quality o Decisions made by preference of sound and tempos o I usually prefer to play just off center.

Individual Techniques: • Vibraphone o Downstrokes? o Pedal timing o Mallet dampening • Glockenspiel o Finger, Hand, Arm dampening o Vibrato • Crotales o Mallet choice • Xylophone o Sustains require very solid technique - fast single strokes • Chimes o Horizontal stroke on edge of cap o Hand Dampening

Watch Out! …Common Pitfalls… 1. Inefficient mallet tracking • Choose a tracking position and stick with it. • Rolls - mallet closest to next note moves first. 2. Tension in difficult or faster passages 3. Body positioning - can be your best friend or your worst enemy! - Move body to stay behind the notes you’re playing. 4. Too much arm in the stroke. Always initiate with the wrist. …very common in wide intervals with 4-mallets. 5. Learning music too quickly (bad for memory, trains incorrect muscle memory, less opportunity for analyzing efficient movements/strokes)

Suggested Methods: • A Fresh Approach to Mallet Percussion - Mark Wessels

• Two – Gene Koshinski

• A Fresh Approach to Technique & Musicianship with Four Mallets - David Skidmore

• Method of Movement - L.H. Stevens