Needed this I'm playing vibes in my schools jazz band. Never learned 4 mallets as I wasnt in the pit(im bass 5 in drumline) and pit players learned it. I hate being behind so i got to youtube for most of my self learning. Traditional grip diffrent exercises etc...
Great video! I’ll be recommending this to students, as it covers pretty much everything I would tell them, but they never seem to believe me! So I’ll let them hear it from a pro!
It became known as “Stevens Grip” after the publication of Leigh Howard Stevens’ extensive and detailed lesson book, Method for Marimba. Stevens himself doesn’t call it the Stevens Grip. He still calls it the Musser Grip. Stevens defined several ways of moving around the instrument with that grip, so the term really refers to his definitions of the various motions, rather than to the grip itself. This is a nit picky point, but there it is. Stevens’ contribution - figuring out and explaining these motions - is huge, and so is Clair Omar Musser’s earlier development of the grip which Stevens’ studies were based on, so it’s worth denoting which is which. The Stevens approach uses essentially the same handhold as the Musser style, but it involves more different motions that Musser hadn’t explored yet. It’s the result of one generation exploring and building upon what was passed down from the previous generation, as players and composers find new things to do. So the Term “Stevens Grip” is really defined by an approach that includes those additional motion options, rather than just the handhold itself. (Again, nit picky but interesting.) The grip that Mr Skidmore calls “Traditional” here is the one I learned as “Cross Grip.” The “Burton Grip” is a variant of the Cross Grip (developed by Gary Burton because he found it to be more comfortable for the kind of playing he wanted to do). So I guess nowadays, the accepted terms are Musser/Stevens, Burton and Traditional; instead of Musser, Burton and Cross. Same things.
i guess im asking randomly but does anybody know a tool to log back into an Instagram account?? I was stupid forgot the password. I would appreciate any help you can give me
@Brooks Legend i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and im in the hacking process now. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Just place the first mallet near the end of your palm past the pinky then place the pinky and third finger there but not the middle finger, then stab the next mallet in the middle of your hand and put it past your thumb and first finger and hold it down with your middle finger then put the first knuckle of your first finger on the mallet and line it up with your thumb that will be flat on the mallet and then make sure your first finger is kinda like a shrimp and have the nails of the first finger and thumb to line up as if a metal nail could go past the thumb, mallet, and first finger and you'll be fine I hope lmao, I was able to learn how to hold it in an hour lmao
Go slowly. Watch and pause the instructions as many times as you need to. Stay relaxed and patient. You’ll get it eventually, but remember that getting the hang of anything new is going to take time, repetition and patience. It’s not hard, it’s just new. (Also, if your current teacher can’t help with this, maybe you can find a teacher who can.)
Great video, very informative! Regarding the Stevens grip, can you discuss your thoughts on the role of the middle finger? I have always learned that it curls around the bottom of the inside mallet and generally stays in that position with some small exceptions. For example when playing with an octave the middle finger will be higher up the hand, but still curled. It looks as though at 4:17 David points the middle finger out as he is demonstrating moving the mallets to an interval of an octave. Any insight is appreciated. Thank you!
Yeah! I was watching that too, Blaine! Trying to see if he pulled the middle finger away from the thumb, or if it just looks that way because the middle finger moves toward the thumb. For me, the middle finger does feel like it has to pull back, but that introduces discomfort in the back of my hand, so I try to avoid it unless going for really wide intervals. Pulling the middle, ring and pinky back does make the grip weaker, especially using steelpan mallets, but on pan, there are fewer motion options.
Glad to see someone I know here, Blaine! I wanted to ask if anyone else is reminded of Joe Moxon while watching Mr Skidmore, but didn’t know whom I could ask!
I understand the tip of the middle finger as being meant to anchor the end of the mallet against the palm, so the touch point of the mallet to the palm can act like a ball and socket joint as the mallet rolls over the index finger when changing intervals.
At 4:45, I see that the outside mallet falls off the edge of the book at first, because of the reflex to pull the back fingers back as the interval opens. Then David does it again, keeping the hand relaxed so the outside mallet stays put. That’s the reflex I meant about trying not to do myself. But it’s kind of a natural thing to do.
All of them go something like. Stevens Grip : "Ok, so this is the one I need to learn...ok...hard but I think I got it..." Burton Grip : "OOOOOOKAY? THIS IS AN UMM MOMENT....but understandable...what's the last one?" Traditional Grip : "Sooo, I'm a crab?"
The explanation here is good but it would help if we could see Mr Skidmore’s palm, so you know where the ends of the mallets are. Look around for some other videos that show the palm in the explanation, and combine the information. Then come back to this lesson series; I think it’s gonna be good. Also, give your hands time and repetition to get familiar. At first, you’ll have to carefully place the mallets in your hand one at a time, and just picking them up will be frustrating. That’s normal. Before long, though, you’ll be able with one hand to grab two mallets lying on the bars and just go, as easily as with a drumstick. Remember when you had to constantly check where your thumb was on the stick, or whether your back fingers were in the right places, but now you can grab a stick by feel, right? (Or maybe you’re still working on that too; that’s ok! It’ll get there too!) Resist the temptation to squeeze the mallets. You will feel like you’re gonna drop them or can’t control them, so you’ll want to hold on too tight. Don’t. If it hurts, you’re probably holding too tightly. Try doing what Mr Skidmore said, resting the mallets ln the bars and just letting your hands relaxer in position on the mallets, getting used to how the position feels. Seems like you’re doing nothing, but it’s really useful. When you then lift the stick to the “start position” (as it’s called in the next video), keep the fingers just as relaxed. It’ll feel weird at first but that’s just because it’s new. It’ll get better.
Needed this I'm playing vibes in my schools jazz band. Never learned 4 mallets as I wasnt in the pit(im bass 5 in drumline) and pit players learned it. I hate being behind so i got to youtube for most of my self learning. Traditional grip diffrent exercises etc...
Great video! I’ll be recommending this to students, as it covers pretty much everything I would tell them, but they never seem to believe me! So I’ll let them hear it from a pro!
Very good video series. I learned so many useful things for my marching marimba play.
I just realized my school always uses Stevens grip :0 I thought that was traditional the entire time whenever I played
It became known as “Stevens Grip” after the publication of Leigh Howard Stevens’ extensive and detailed lesson book, Method for Marimba. Stevens himself doesn’t call it the Stevens Grip. He still calls it the Musser Grip. Stevens defined several ways of moving around the instrument with that grip, so the term really refers to his definitions of the various motions, rather than to the grip itself. This is a nit picky point, but there it is. Stevens’ contribution - figuring out and explaining these motions - is huge, and so is Clair Omar Musser’s earlier development of the grip which Stevens’ studies were based on, so it’s worth denoting which is which. The Stevens approach uses essentially the same handhold as the Musser style, but it involves more different motions that Musser hadn’t explored yet. It’s the result of one generation exploring and building upon what was passed down from the previous generation, as players and composers find new things to do. So the Term “Stevens Grip” is really defined by an approach that includes those additional motion options, rather than just the handhold itself. (Again, nit picky but interesting.)
The grip that Mr Skidmore calls “Traditional” here is the one I learned as “Cross Grip.” The “Burton Grip” is a variant of the Cross Grip (developed by Gary Burton because he found it to be more comfortable for the kind of playing he wanted to do).
So I guess nowadays, the accepted terms are Musser/Stevens, Burton and Traditional; instead of Musser, Burton and Cross. Same things.
i guess im asking randomly but does anybody know a tool to log back into an Instagram account??
I was stupid forgot the password. I would appreciate any help you can give me
@Izaiah Ralph Instablaster =)
@Brooks Legend i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and im in the hacking process now.
I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Brooks Legend It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy:D
Thanks so much, you really help me out!
He did a lot of videos about percussion on RUclips 👏
That's so hard, I'm so confused. Huh, and also my teacher doesn't know any of those grips...
Just place the first mallet near the end of your palm past the pinky then place the pinky and third finger there but not the middle finger, then stab the next mallet in the middle of your hand and put it past your thumb and first finger and hold it down with your middle finger then put the first knuckle of your first finger on the mallet and line it up with your thumb that will be flat on the mallet and then make sure your first finger is kinda like a shrimp and have the nails of the first finger and thumb to line up as if a metal nail could go past the thumb, mallet, and first finger and you'll be fine I hope lmao, I was able to learn how to hold it in an hour lmao
Go slowly. Watch and pause the instructions as many times as you need to. Stay relaxed and patient. You’ll get it eventually, but remember that getting the hang of anything new is going to take time, repetition and patience. It’s not hard, it’s just new.
(Also, if your current teacher can’t help with this, maybe you can find a teacher who can.)
What grips does your teacher use?
Great video, very informative! Regarding the Stevens grip, can you discuss your thoughts on the role of the middle finger? I have always learned that it curls around the bottom of the inside mallet and generally stays in that position with some small exceptions. For example when playing with an octave the middle finger will be higher up the hand, but still curled. It looks as though at 4:17 David points the middle finger out as he is demonstrating moving the mallets to an interval of an octave. Any insight is appreciated. Thank you!
Yeah! I was watching that too, Blaine! Trying to see if he pulled the middle finger away from the thumb, or if it just looks that way because the middle finger moves toward the thumb. For me, the middle finger does feel like it has to pull back, but that introduces discomfort in the back of my hand, so I try to avoid it unless going for really wide intervals. Pulling the middle, ring and pinky back does make the grip weaker, especially using steelpan mallets, but on pan, there are fewer motion options.
Glad to see someone I know here, Blaine! I wanted to ask if anyone else is reminded of Joe Moxon while watching Mr Skidmore, but didn’t know whom I could ask!
I understand the tip of the middle finger as being meant to anchor the end of the mallet against the palm, so the touch point of the mallet to the palm can act like a ball and socket joint as the mallet rolls over the index finger when changing intervals.
At 4:45, I see that the outside mallet falls off the edge of the book at first, because of the reflex to pull the back fingers back as the interval opens. Then David does it again, keeping the hand relaxed so the outside mallet stays put. That’s the reflex I meant about trying not to do myself. But it’s kind of a natural thing to do.
@@scottvelardo700 Yes. I can see that.
Are those Peter Martin's blocks at 9:26? :)
still dont know how to hold stevens grip
Ethan Ellis same my finger canNOT
All of them go something like.
Stevens Grip : "Ok, so this is the one I need to learn...ok...hard but I think I got it..."
Burton Grip : "OOOOOOKAY? THIS IS AN UMM MOMENT....but understandable...what's the last one?"
Traditional Grip : "Sooo, I'm a crab?"
The explanation here is good but it would help if we could see Mr Skidmore’s palm, so you know where the ends of the mallets are. Look around for some other videos that show the palm in the explanation, and combine the information. Then come back to this lesson series; I think it’s gonna be good.
Also, give your hands time and repetition to get familiar. At first, you’ll have to carefully place the mallets in your hand one at a time, and just picking them up will be frustrating. That’s normal. Before long, though, you’ll be able with one hand to grab two mallets lying on the bars and just go, as easily as with a drumstick. Remember when you had to constantly check where your thumb was on the stick, or whether your back fingers were in the right places, but now you can grab a stick by feel, right? (Or maybe you’re still working on that too; that’s ok! It’ll get there too!)
Resist the temptation to squeeze the mallets. You will feel like you’re gonna drop them or can’t control them, so you’ll want to hold on too tight. Don’t. If it hurts, you’re probably holding too tightly. Try doing what Mr Skidmore said, resting the mallets ln the bars and just letting your hands relaxer in position on the mallets, getting used to how the position feels. Seems like you’re doing nothing, but it’s really useful. When you then lift the stick to the “start position” (as it’s called in the next video), keep the fingers just as relaxed. It’ll feel weird at first but that’s just because it’s new. It’ll get better.
Buy the book "Metod of Movement for Marimba by LHS. Then use a couple of 1000 hours. If it is still hard, then find something else to do 😆