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Pages: 1 Nathan Tiger Talk Pro Reged: Oct 27 2002 Posts: 84 Loc: California Tips for the 4-Mallet beginner       #24638 - Thu Nov 21 2002 11:37 PM (64.12.96.104) Edit   Reply   Quote   Quick Reply   Hi, My name is Nathan and I have played mallets for a year now. I march tenors at my high school but the marimba holds a special place in my heart. So special, in fact, that I dropped my first period food class to stay in the band room and practice on the marimba every morning; subsequently, I have been at a loss as to how I should go about beginning playing with 4-mallets. I know the basic technique and I have learned some exercises from the internet and from the percussion instructor at our school, but the internet is limited and the percussion instructor is hired privately for certain times, during which I am playing the quads. I would like to know what specific excercises I should practice (I use the modified Musser grip, if it matters) and how I should break up my time to make the most of my 70 minutes. Also, are there any tips on how I should advance my playing besides just exercises? Thanks for all your help, Nathan Post Extras:       James Walker Tiger Talk Pro Reged: Mar 18 2002 Posts: 1283 Loc: Connecticut Re: Tips for the 4-Mallet beginner       #24639 - Sat Nov 23 2002 12:09 AM (65.58.186.183) Edit   Reply   Quote   Quick Reply   Hi, Nathan, Welcome to the marimba! As a teacher with several students who never seem to "find the time" to practice, I'm impressed with your dedication to the instrument at this early stage. While I appreciate your drive to work on this even though your school's percussion instructor isn't available to you for marimba studies, I'd recommend finding a percussion teacher, even if only for a few lessons. There are many things that can be done wrong with the Musser/Stevens grip, and even a few lessons could prevent you from developing some really bad habits - habits which at least will make it tougher for you to play, and at worst might cause injury. Find a teacher. Ask your school's percussion teacher if he's available in addition to the lessons in school, or ask if he can recommend someone else. It will be well worth the investment. If you want to get serious about this - and it sounds like you do - you'll want to pick up Leigh Howard Stevens' Method Of Movement For Marimba textbook. It discusses many important issues you'll have to deal with in your four-mallet playing. It also offers an exhaustive collection of exercises. There are a few basic techniques you should practice: 1) Single independent strokes: basically, playing one mallet at a time 1a) Work on being able to play your scales while holding four mallets, with the following stickings: "1-3-1-3..." "2-3-2-3..." (the way most Musser/Stevens grip players play single-line textures) "2-4-2-4..." (BTW, that's numbering the mallets "1-2-3-4" left to right.) 2) Double-stops (or in Leigh's terminology, "double verticals"): striking the marimba with both mallets in the same hand at the same time. 3) Block chords: playing all four mallets together. With the double-verticals and block chords, work to get all four mallets to strike at *exactly* the same time; avoid any "flam" effects. 4) Interval changes between the two mallets of either hand; there are three basic movements: inside mallet moves, outside mallet stays on the same note outside mallet moves, inside mallet stays on the same note both mallets move Start with the lower manual of bars (the "white keys"), but eventually work the upper manual into your practice of these interval changes 5) Sequential stickings: the different orders in which you can play mallets 1,2,3, and 4 as individual strokes. I've got a couple of lesson pages on my web site which deal with four-mallet technique, including: Interval Expansion Exercises Four-mallet Exercises - Practice Room Timesavers I'd also start working on some literature. Some common "first four-mallet pieces" include Mitchell Peters' "Yellow After The Rain" and the Pitfield "Sonata." There are also the Musser etudes and preludes - some are two-mallet, some are four-mallet. The Musser C major is a pretty common choice as an early four-mallet piece. JW Post Extras:       Nathan Tiger Talk Pro Reged: Oct 27 2002 Posts: 84 Loc: California Re: Tips for the 4-Mallet beginner       #24640 - Sat Nov 23 2002 07:41 PM (152.163.188.226) Edit   Reply   Quote   Quick Reply   Thanks, your comments are a lot of help and encouragement. Nathan Post Extras:       Pages: 1

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