Welcome back to another #TechniqueTalk episode! If you're having trouble with your mallet grip being too tight or unnatural, this video is for you. Let me know down below if there's any other videos you'd like me to make about playing ⤵️ And thank you again for streaming my new album 'Hope' - less than 2 weeks and it's already over 2K streams on both Apple Music and Spotify! You can check it out by searching for me on your favourite platform, or just head to adamtanpercussion.com/hope 😊 Hope you're all staying safe and have a great week ahead. #TheStudioFamily
Hi, very good everyone, I wanted to ask someone if they have worked with the book of 4 mallet democacy by jaak vam geem and if they know if there is a video with the final piece of the book passacaglia improvisation and marimbiology, could you record that piece?
Hahaha I remember the first time I attended a masterclass of a marimbist saying to turn knobs, and someone asked 'how big are we talking? 3 inch knobs? 5 inch knobs?' 😂
@@AdamTanPercussion Thank you for making this video, it helped me a lot. I am 14 and just starting to really learn and get into 4 mallet playing and technique.
My teacher taught me to think of each mallet as an axle, and each independent stroke rotating about the other (non-striking) mallet - basically what you get when you hold the non-striking mallet. That, and keep the mallets low, maybe an inch above the bars. I've spent much time doing those exercises, and still sometimes slip into using too much wrist like I'd use with a single mallet. Tonally, he has me focus on lifting, like you're pulling tone out of the bar. One exercise I like is alternating 1-3-2-4, doing eighths, then eighth triplets, then sixteenths, then back to triplets and eighths. I mix up the sticking pattern, sometimes 1-2-3-4, then 4-2-3-1, then 4-3-2-1, etc. I also practice doing scales with four mallets, but just playing with the inner two, to improve my speed on runs. I practice arpeggios with four mallets, and if you go through them chromatically, you get a good workout of holding the mallets in various awkward and non-awkward positions.
@@AdamTanPercussionidk if you’ll even see this my rotation is horrible I mean it is so bad I can get a decent rotation at 3 inches but the second I get into my music or higher heights in music it falls off lol
Hey! Love your content. Have you ever considered making a video on avoiding injuries on marimba? I know you made a video on blisters and skin irritations, but I’m talking more like stretches and a proper warm up to avoid wrist strain/ carpal tunnel, etc. I feel like it would be very helpful, especially for younger/ newer players to learn those kind of things. Just an idea, though!
Thanks so much Sarah! I have a couple of warm up videos on the channel but definitely will consider making a better one for the purposes of injury, really appreciate this suggestion :)
Thanks for this video, Adam. I think there are a lot of intermediate players (such as me) who can overcome particular challenges by going back to fundamentals to identify a weakness, isolate it, and condition it to get both hands up to the level of the repertoire that is presenting the challenge. This was the case for me when trying to play independent strokes in large intervals such as octaves, but my precision and speed in the rotation just wouldn't/couldn't keep up with my right hand. Going back to the basics revealed the problem. I used techniques like the ones you discussed in the video to recondition my left hand, and now the speed and precision in my left hand is quickly catching up to my right hand.
you demonstrated down strokes for independent isolation. bringing the mallet back to its starting point goes a long way in getting runs and register shifts clean. it also makes you look more professional when you play which can be useful for solo stuff. this is, of course, from the perspective of someone whos learned mallet technique through marching band, so what you were taught and what im taught will differ.
Yes you're absolutely right about getting the upstroke to be there too. My concern when teaching a lot of younger students is we put too much emphasis on 'simulating' the upstroke rather than it being a byproduct of the natural stroke, so in this video I wanted to make sure that the initial stroke is relaxed and natural first. I also feel like if you have a natural downstroke, the upstroke from you having to lift it up in an exaggerated manner is going to naturally become a natural lift. I used to focus a lot on upstrokes at the start in university, until I realised you get a lot of forced upstrokes in an effort to 'look' more natural, but actually it's super stiff and you aren't playing any more efficient or fast than before :)
For some reason i just have really good technique But ive only been playing for a year so the muscles are strong enough to play super hard stuff That and the advanced techniques i dont exactly have down yet. My double laterals arent bad, but triple lats and one handed rolls especially arent there yet. Those will get better though cause im still in marching band. Because the muscles in my wrist havent been doing this forever, dynamics are kind of hard because it takes more energy to change dynamic and keep sound quality. So despite my strengths i still have weaknesses i hope to clear up before the end of highschool
I'm not sure if this is a common problem or not, but I have problems with going from the inside to the out on my permutations. Going from 1-2 and 4-3 are easier than 2-1 and 3-4. It makes playing some things awkward as some parts if pieces are easier than another. Maybe this is something you could address on another video? It would be interesting to see if there would be a to target this issue besides just playing a ton of the inside to outside perms.
This is fairly common and everyone has some things that trip them up at first. But really the best way to get over it is just with practice. Repeat the patterns that are difficult for you over and over and it will become smooth as butter.
@@goldenafro4791 Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I honestly think it is because all the of the pieces I have played usually are less inner perms (Strive to be happy, Rotation 2). I will continue to work on them. Thanks for the advice!
@@jonrattenborg1907 One other thing to keep in mind is how you're playing outside (1 & 4) strokes. I caught myself letting my fingers do the work (loosening up a bit and dropping the mallet onto the bar) instead of turning my wrist for the motion. It may feel easier going from outside to inside because you might be letting the weight of the outside mallet aid you in the stroke before playing your controlled inside stroke. The exercise Adam plays at 12:20 is a really great place to see if the mallet is moving as a result of your wrist turning or if it's moving as a result of dropping it.
I find that if you go back into doing it with just your hand on a table (mimicking 2-1 and 3-4) you'll be able to see how you're moving your hand and hopefully loosen the transition more. I used to just play these permutations with my hands on my lecture theatre's desks hahaha, annoyed people very much 🤣 Other things you can try that are a bit more lively and rudimental-like - paradiddles with mallets (1-2-1-1-2-1-2-2 and 3-4-3-3-4-3-4-4) individually and together. Some of the fastest marimbists do paradiddles regularly and have insanely nice laterals 😁
Adam: Plays Marimba Spiritual. Me: dRuM cOrP?¿ (Boston Crusaders 2018) Also this video was very helpful overall. Thank You Adam for taking the time to make this video :)
Hi, very good everyone, I wanted to ask someone if they have worked with the book of 4 mallet democacy by jaak vam geem and if they know if there is a video with the final piece of the book passacaglia improvisation and marimbiology, could you record that piece?
I’m new to Four Mallet Technique, and it seems like my fingers start gripping (especially my outside mallets) and I’m not sure how to loosen up and still play with control, do you have any tips for this?
I would start away from the marimba. When I was working on that same problem, I would check myself by just playing independent strokes in one hand (keep the other hand free) and just randomly freeze. With the other hand, try to pull the mallet in question out of its hand. If you feel resistance, open those fingers just a little and try again. It was one of those things that I had to make small adjustments for. It may also be a muscle issue, meaning the muscle may not be developed enough yet. Play extremely slowly and gradually speed up until you just notice that you're starting to grip too hard. Stop and record that tempo. Play 5 bpm under that for a week and try again. It's definitely a process to teach your hands what it feels like to not squeeze. Personally, I've found that, with few exceptions, if my fingers are touching my hand, then I'm already working too hard. I have to literally keep my hand open. Experiment often until you find what works for you.
Ryan's nailing it! I'd also add you can try doing single stroke rolls with just your outside mallets (just have your mallet 1 and mallet 4 and remove 2 and 3) - I have done this a lot as a pad rudiment. You will find it get looser as your finger muscles get looser. Also mallet tape can help make it easier to grip the mallets if you haven't got it already 😁
So while I'm playing one mallet tends to drift while the other is hitting the marimba. I feel like I'm not holding them tight enough or something, any tips?
Love all of your content! This was such a refreshing reminder of The foundation for 4 mallet technique. It's also been really awesome to see your interest in the marching percussion arts grow! It's rare when you see a classical percussionist open enough to appreciate both styles of playing. I'm curious to know if you happen to know of Alex Stopa? He is an incredible Marimbist/Percussionist from Australia.
Welcome back to another #TechniqueTalk episode! If you're having trouble with your mallet grip being too tight or unnatural, this video is for you. Let me know down below if there's any other videos you'd like me to make about playing ⤵️
And thank you again for streaming my new album 'Hope' - less than 2 weeks and it's already over 2K streams on both Apple Music and Spotify! You can check it out by searching for me on your favourite platform, or just head to adamtanpercussion.com/hope 😊
Hope you're all staying safe and have a great week ahead.
#TheStudioFamily
Hi, very good everyone, I wanted to ask someone if they have worked with the book of 4 mallet democacy by jaak vam geem and if they know if there is a video with the final piece of the book passacaglia improvisation and marimbiology, could you record that piece?
instaBlaster...
my band director told me to imaging i’m turning knobs and i deadass forgot what it’s like to turn a knob
Hahaha I remember the first time I attended a masterclass of a marimbist saying to turn knobs, and someone asked 'how big are we talking? 3 inch knobs? 5 inch knobs?' 😂
When he said "a complete marimba genius" I thought he was just going to end at "a complete marimba" lol
Hahahahaha I've always wanted to be a complete marimba
@@AdamTanPercussion Thank you for making this video, it helped me a lot. I am 14 and just starting to really learn and get into 4 mallet playing and technique.
@@Vitamin_D_ it's a great skill once you get into it, keep it up man 😁
My teacher taught me to think of each mallet as an axle, and each independent stroke rotating about the other (non-striking) mallet - basically what you get when you hold the non-striking mallet. That, and keep the mallets low, maybe an inch above the bars. I've spent much time doing those exercises, and still sometimes slip into using too much wrist like I'd use with a single mallet. Tonally, he has me focus on lifting, like you're pulling tone out of the bar.
One exercise I like is alternating 1-3-2-4, doing eighths, then eighth triplets, then sixteenths, then back to triplets and eighths. I mix up the sticking pattern, sometimes 1-2-3-4, then 4-2-3-1, then 4-3-2-1, etc. I also practice doing scales with four mallets, but just playing with the inner two, to improve my speed on runs. I practice arpeggios with four mallets, and if you go through them chromatically, you get a good workout of holding the mallets in various awkward and non-awkward positions.
That's a cool grid exercise! Thanks for suggesting :)
My teacher taught me the same thing when i was starting off playing with 4 mallets. It helped me a lot!
@@AdamTanPercussionidk if you’ll even see this my rotation is horrible I mean it is so bad I can get a decent rotation at 3 inches but the second I get into my music or higher heights in music it falls off lol
I absolutely lost it at “Y’all Know What’s Crackin’ In the Rain.” But seriously, I’ll probably be coming back to this video a lot.
Hey! Love your content. Have you ever considered making a video on avoiding injuries on marimba? I know you made a video on blisters and skin irritations, but I’m talking more like stretches and a proper warm up to avoid wrist strain/ carpal tunnel, etc. I feel like it would be very helpful, especially for younger/ newer players to learn those kind of things. Just an idea, though!
Thanks so much Sarah! I have a couple of warm up videos on the channel but definitely will consider making a better one for the purposes of injury, really appreciate this suggestion :)
Thanks for this video, Adam. I think there are a lot of intermediate players (such as me) who can overcome particular challenges by going back to fundamentals to identify a weakness, isolate it, and condition it to get both hands up to the level of the repertoire that is presenting the challenge. This was the case for me when trying to play independent strokes in large intervals such as octaves, but my precision and speed in the rotation just wouldn't/couldn't keep up with my right hand. Going back to the basics revealed the problem. I used techniques like the ones you discussed in the video to recondition my left hand, and now the speed and precision in my left hand is quickly catching up to my right hand.
This was absolutely the most helpful video for music i have ever seen. I just started playing marimba, and this helped soooo much, thank you!
I just recently learned that the rest of the world doesn't call them 8th notes. My mind is blown.
HA! yall know whats cracking in the rain.
man some good first year memories.
The amount of alternative names I have for that piece 😂
Thank you soooo much. This is the 1 technique I’ve always had trouble with! You’re video really helped😀
Thanks for watching man! Glad it helps and keep at it 😁
bro, 8:23 was too smooth 🤙🏼
you demonstrated down strokes for independent isolation. bringing the mallet back to its starting point goes a long way in getting runs and register shifts clean. it also makes you look more professional when you play which can be useful for solo stuff. this is, of course, from the perspective of someone whos learned mallet technique through marching band, so what you were taught and what im taught will differ.
Yes you're absolutely right about getting the upstroke to be there too. My concern when teaching a lot of younger students is we put too much emphasis on 'simulating' the upstroke rather than it being a byproduct of the natural stroke, so in this video I wanted to make sure that the initial stroke is relaxed and natural first. I also feel like if you have a natural downstroke, the upstroke from you having to lift it up in an exaggerated manner is going to naturally become a natural lift.
I used to focus a lot on upstrokes at the start in university, until I realised you get a lot of forced upstrokes in an effort to 'look' more natural, but actually it's super stiff and you aren't playing any more efficient or fast than before :)
Thank you. Am a pianist guitar and flute player. This is very interesting and you are a good teacher.
want to apply this on a kit - haven't really played a marimba. thanks for this video!
For some reason i just have really good technique
But ive only been playing for a year so the muscles are strong enough to play super hard stuff
That and the advanced techniques i dont exactly have down yet. My double laterals arent bad, but triple lats and one handed rolls especially arent there yet. Those will get better though cause im still in marching band. Because the muscles in my wrist havent been doing this forever, dynamics are kind of hard because it takes more energy to change dynamic and keep sound quality. So despite my strengths i still have weaknesses i hope to clear up before the end of highschool
I'm not sure if this is a common problem or not, but I have problems with going from the inside to the out on my permutations. Going from 1-2 and 4-3 are easier than 2-1 and 3-4. It makes playing some things awkward as some parts if pieces are easier than another. Maybe this is something you could address on another video? It would be interesting to see if there would be a to target this issue besides just playing a ton of the inside to outside perms.
This is fairly common and everyone has some things that trip them up at first. But really the best way to get over it is just with practice. Repeat the patterns that are difficult for you over and over and it will become smooth as butter.
@@goldenafro4791 Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I honestly think it is because all the of the pieces I have played usually are less inner perms (Strive to be happy, Rotation 2). I will continue to work on them. Thanks for the advice!
@@jonrattenborg1907 One other thing to keep in mind is how you're playing outside (1 & 4) strokes. I caught myself letting my fingers do the work (loosening up a bit and dropping the mallet onto the bar) instead of turning my wrist for the motion. It may feel easier going from outside to inside because you might be letting the weight of the outside mallet aid you in the stroke before playing your controlled inside stroke. The exercise Adam plays at 12:20 is a really great place to see if the mallet is moving as a result of your wrist turning or if it's moving as a result of dropping it.
@@aakarshverma4991 Thanks! I'll keep that in mind :)
I find that if you go back into doing it with just your hand on a table (mimicking 2-1 and 3-4) you'll be able to see how you're moving your hand and hopefully loosen the transition more. I used to just play these permutations with my hands on my lecture theatre's desks hahaha, annoyed people very much 🤣
Other things you can try that are a bit more lively and rudimental-like - paradiddles with mallets (1-2-1-1-2-1-2-2 and 3-4-3-3-4-3-4-4) individually and together. Some of the fastest marimbists do paradiddles regularly and have insanely nice laterals 😁
thank you for your videos Adam , say I would like to know where did you buy your curtain to store the chopsticks it's a great idea
I just learned 4 mallets technique, so this will be helpful!
Welcome to the 4 mallet club! Keep it up man, you're doing great 😁
Adam: Plays Marimba Spiritual. Me: dRuM cOrP?¿ (Boston Crusaders 2018) Also this video was very helpful overall. Thank You Adam for taking the time to make this video :)
Ah man that is an epic arrangement of MS. Thanks for watching Rob 😁
Hi, very good everyone, I wanted to ask someone if they have worked with the book of 4 mallet democacy by jaak vam geem and if they know if there is a video with the final piece of the book passacaglia improvisation and marimbiology, could you record that piece?
I was taught to have my index finger somewhat below the thumb to create more of a fulcrum of sorts but you seem to have it tucked in, thoughts?
what is your preferred mallet, specifically?
Well, i got into marching band, but the season was just cancelled sooo...
Ah I am so sorry to hear that :( keep on playing if you can!!
I’m new to Four Mallet Technique, and it seems like my fingers start gripping (especially my outside mallets) and I’m not sure how to loosen up and still play with control, do you have any tips for this?
I would start away from the marimba. When I was working on that same problem, I would check myself by just playing independent strokes in one hand (keep the other hand free) and just randomly freeze. With the other hand, try to pull the mallet in question out of its hand. If you feel resistance, open those fingers just a little and try again. It was one of those things that I had to make small adjustments for. It may also be a muscle issue, meaning the muscle may not be developed enough yet. Play extremely slowly and gradually speed up until you just notice that you're starting to grip too hard. Stop and record that tempo. Play 5 bpm under that for a week and try again. It's definitely a process to teach your hands what it feels like to not squeeze.
Personally, I've found that, with few exceptions, if my fingers are touching my hand, then I'm already working too hard. I have to literally keep my hand open. Experiment often until you find what works for you.
Ryan Carlisle Thank you, I’ll have to try that!
Ryan's nailing it! I'd also add you can try doing single stroke rolls with just your outside mallets (just have your mallet 1 and mallet 4 and remove 2 and 3) - I have done this a lot as a pad rudiment. You will find it get looser as your finger muscles get looser.
Also mallet tape can help make it easier to grip the mallets if you haven't got it already 😁
So while I'm playing one mallet tends to drift while the other is hitting the marimba. I feel like I'm not holding them tight enough or something, any tips?
is that the switch menu sfx in the beginning?
It's single independents isn't it?
Edit: Yeah!
Love all of your content! This was such a refreshing reminder of The foundation for 4 mallet technique. It's also been really awesome to see your interest in the marching percussion arts grow! It's rare when you see a classical percussionist open enough to appreciate both styles of playing. I'm curious to know if you happen to know of Alex Stopa? He is an incredible Marimbist/Percussionist from Australia.