User Manual

VICKI PETERSON JENKS 1
Educator Series
PERCUSSION
Practical Strategies for Teaching
Beginning Mallet Instruments
By Vicki Peterson Jenks
Vicki Peterson Jenks is an artist/clinician
representing Yamaha Band & Orchestral Division,
Sabian Cymbals, Mike Balter Mallets and Vic Firth
Snare Drum Sticks. Vicki is also the owner of Jenks
Music Studio (Madison), Wisconsin’s largest
private percussion studio. Under Vicki’s leadership,
the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra
Percussion Ensemble has performed at the
prestigious MidWest International Band and
Orchestra Clinic on three separate occasions and
performed for “standing ovation” audiences in
Great Britain, Western Europe, Japan and Taiwan.
During the summer months, Vicki serves as
percussion artist faculty member at the
International Music Camp, (North Dakota), Birch
Creek Music Performance Center, (Door County,
Wisconsin), and U. W. Madison Summer Music
Clinic. Vicki has also visited eastern and southern
Africa to study djembe and marimba bands. Vicki
was principal timpanist with the Wisconsin
Chamber Orchestra for 21 years.
The mallet family includes the xylophone, marimba, orchestra bells, vibraphone and chimes. The
xylophone has roots in Africa. Today, bars are made of exotic hardwoods or synthetic materials.
Synthetic bars are more durable, seldom need retuning and are cheaper than rosewood. The
characteristic “crisp” xylophone sonority is enhanced with medium hard rubber or polyball mallets.
Plastic mallets damage bars and must be avoided! Concert xylophones are three and a half octaves in
range (F45- C88) and sound one octave higher than written. Due to its wide range and tonal warmth,
the marimba is the most popular solo mallet instrument. It reinforces lower woodwinds, brass and
strings while allowing two to three students to play simultaneously on one instrument. An array of
rubber, cord or yarn mallets are utilized. Marimbas range from two and one half to five octaves with
the four and one third octave (A25- C76) most commonly used. Marimbas sound as written.
Today’s tempered steel orchestra bells feature two and one half octave range (F57 or G59- C88), sound
two octaves higher than written and are played with rubber, plastic or brass mallets. Bells are soloistic
and often double melodic passages. The vibraphone is the youngest mallet member and was
introduced in 1916. Aluminum alloy bars stretch three octaves (F33- F69), sound as written, and are
played with cord or yarn mallets. A foot pedal controls tone duration and variable motor speeds
provide a subtle musical nuance. Chimes are vertically-suspended chrome tubes capped at the top.
The caps, not the tubes, are struck. A one and one half octave set (C40- F57 or G59) with one and
one half inch diameter tubes are most durable and sound best using acrylic (not rawhide) mallets.
The following physical aspects of playing mallet instruments are most efficiently learned by imitating
the instructor. Invite student discovery using awareness-learning phrases such as “notice,” “be
aware,” “imagine,” “describe,” etc. With the palm facing up, imagine holding a handful of popcorn,
and place the mallet shaft between the first joint of index finger and the fleshy pad of the thumb. Curl
remaining fingers around the shaft creating a “tube.” Turn your hand over. Notice the thumb resting
on the side of the mallet shaft and the index finger which is pointing downward. Also, notice the
mallet being held with “relaxed control,” two thirds of the distance from the mallet head.
Center yourself behind the instrument with your feet spread comfortably apart. Shift your lower torso
back and forth as though awaiting a tennis serve. This athletic stance delivers the upper torso to the
correct basic keyboard area. Relax elbows at your side and adjust your forearms so they are parallel to
the floor. Use height adjustable instruments, or two-inch blocks of wood to ensure parallel forearm
positioning. Your wrists supply basic motor power to accelerate the mallet heads to the bars. Their
primary motion is “down-up” and is called the “piston stroke.” The “piston stroke” doesn’t waste
energy as there are no unnecessary stops or directional changes. All motion after contact is in service
of the next stroke. The “piston stroke” starts at the correct height for the desired dynamic and recovers
only as high as it is necessary for the next dynamic. Keep your wrist and mallet level as close as possible
to the keyboard to ensure accuracy! Remember: it is easier to hit a bull’s eye at three inches than at six!
Vicki Peterson Jenks