The Stevens Grip is not a cross grip. The outside mallet should be between the third and fourth fingers on both hands. The inside mallet should rest on the index finger, with the thumb on top. The thumb and index fingers control the distance and intervals between both mallets. The hands should also be turned so the thumb is on top.
Is the Stevens grip a cross grip?
The Stevens Grip is not a cross grip. The outside mallet should be between the third and fourth fingers on both hands. The inside mallet should rest on the index finger, with the thumb on top. The thumb and index fingers control the distance and intervals between both mallets.
How do you hold a mallet in Stevens grip?
In Stevens grip, the mallets are held loosely. The first mallet, which becomes the left-most mallet, will be placed between the middle and ring finger, with the little and ring fingers wrapped around the mallet and less than an inch of the mallet hanging past the end of the hand when the palm faces upward.
What is Stevens grip in marimba?
Stevens grip is a technique for playing keyboard percussion instruments with four mallets developed by Leigh Howard Stevens. While marimba performance with two, four, and even six mallets had been done for more than a century, Stevens developed this grip based on the Musser grip, looking to expanded musical possibilities.
What are the best venues for the Stevens grip?
The best venues to use the Stevens grip would be places where audience members are quiet and the player can take advantage of the acoustics of the venue. Concert Halls, libraries, auditoriums, clinics, and many other similar settings where subtle nuances are part of the performance are best for this grip. The Stevens Grip is not a cross grip.
What is the Stevens technique?
What grips do percussionists use?
What is the piston stroke in Stevens technique?
About this website
How do you play Stevens grip?
1:558:04Ep. 11 Stevens Grip Philosophy + Pedagogy - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe more your arm angle is going to prevent upward wrist motion. So they've tilted it to the side toMoreThe more your arm angle is going to prevent upward wrist motion. So they've tilted it to the side to be able to still get a nice good turn.
How do you hold mallets in Stevens grip?
In Stevens grip, the mallets are held loosely. The first mallet, which becomes the left-most mallet, will be placed between the middle and ring finger, with the little and ring fingers wrapped around the mallet and less than an inch of the mallet hanging past the end of the hand when the palm faces upward.
How do you play Burton grip?
0:042:23Burton Four Mallet Grip Tutorial - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd more power grab one mallet like you would normally this will be the inside mouth. Take a secondMoreAnd more power grab one mallet like you would normally this will be the inside mouth. Take a second mallet and slide it in between your index. And middle finger. And behind the other malar shaft.
How do you hold a double mallet?
2:129:08Instructional video: Burton grip (two mallets per hand) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo the index finger simply wrapped around these. Back three fingers are wrapped around both malletsMoreSo the index finger simply wrapped around these. Back three fingers are wrapped around both mallets for now and the thumb is on the outside.
What is the proper way to hold a mallet?
0:141:26How to Properly Hold a Xylophone Mallet - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIt's nice to hold the sticks at a slight angle maybe not quite a 45 degree angle but somewhereMoreIt's nice to hold the sticks at a slight angle maybe not quite a 45 degree angle but somewhere between you know you're 90. And you're 45. So you just feel comfortable. You want your shoulders.
How do you hold a 4 mallet grip?
The grip operates with the palm facing down position as the Traditional and Burton Grip, except for rolls when the hand position switch to vertical( thumb facing up). The mallets do not cross in the hand. The 3rd and 4th finger held the outside mallet and the thumb, 1st and 2nd finger held the inside mallet.
Who made Burtons grip?
vibraphonist Gary BurtonThe Burton grip is a method of holding two mallets in each hand in order to play a mallet percussion instrument, such as a marimba or a vibraphone, using four mallets at once. It was developed by jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton around the 1960s.
How do you hold a marimba mallet?
3:064:44Holding on to the Marimba Mallets! - Tips for Playing the ... - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNow sometimes sometimes with particular pieces I will put more than one piece of tape one for theMoreNow sometimes sometimes with particular pieces I will put more than one piece of tape one for the top part of my hand my thumb. And my forefinger.
How do you do 4 mallets?
The mallet is kept in place by your palm, pointer finger and thumb. Put the second mallet between your ring finger and your middle finger. The end of the mallet should reach to about the first line in your palm. Repeat steps one and two for the third and fourth mallets, which go in your other hand.
How do you hold 6 mallets?
3:207:38The Six Mallet Grip - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe single independent middle stroke place the thumb and index finger on the middle mallet and doMoreThe single independent middle stroke place the thumb and index finger on the middle mallet and do like this a single independent outside stroke to do this stroke let the inside mallets hang loose.
How do you hold 6 mallets?
3:207:38The Six Mallet Grip - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe single independent middle stroke place the thumb and index finger on the middle mallet and doMoreThe single independent middle stroke place the thumb and index finger on the middle mallet and do like this a single independent outside stroke to do this stroke let the inside mallets hang loose.
How do you hold vibraphone mallets?
0:598:17The "Burton" 4-Mallet Vibraphone Grip - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipPut the thumb on. Top. Don't squeeze too hard but hold the stick fairly firmly. And that's the gripMorePut the thumb on. Top. Don't squeeze too hard but hold the stick fairly firmly. And that's the grip that's it held at a 90 degree angle.
What is the Stevens technique?
The Stevens technique is a method of playing keyboard percussion instruments with four percussion mallets —two in each hand. It was developed by marimba player Leigh Howard Stevens during his studies at the Eastman School of Music in the 1970s, and codified in his 1979 book Method of Movement for Marimba. In this book, Stevens explains that the grip is an evolution of the Musser grip. This mallet-gripping technique is, therefore, sometimes called the Musser-Stevens grip .
What grips do percussionists use?
There are three main grips used by mallet players: Traditional crossed, Burton (which is a variation of traditional crossed), and Stevens-Musser. The traditional crossed grip is used almost solely by marimba players (such as Keiko Abe ), but Stevens and Burton's grips have found favor both among marimba and vibraphone players, thus making them the two most popular 4-mallet grips for percussionists in the United States.
What is the piston stroke in Stevens technique?
The piston stroke is an essential component of Stevens technique. With this stroke, the mallets start in the up position, strike the bars, then return to the up position. The mallets are propelled completely by the wrist , and there is no prep stroke. When changing notes, the piston stroke is modified so that it starts above the first note and ends above the second note, ready to strike.
Step 1: Equipment
You are going to need an instrument to play on. Some mallet instrument options you have are a vibraphone as shown above, a marimba, a xylophone, or a glockenspiel. You are also going to need four mallets, two mallets for each hand.
Step 2: Parts
Each mallet will be referred to with a number. The numbers ascend from one to four from left to right as if you were look at your own hands holding the mallets.
Step 3: Alerts
If you are a beginner your hands aren't used to holding mallets. Your hands will blister due to the constant rubbing of mallets on your skin when you play. Not to worry though, with enough practice your blisters turn into calluses to protect your fingers and palms.
Step 6: Leveling the Mallet Heads
It’s normal for beginners to have uneven mallet heads (one will sit higher than the other). To fix this we level the mallet heads.
Step 7: Picking Up Things With Mallets in Hand and Mallet Four
Luckily you can still pick things up while holding two mallets in your hand. Since your middle finger is securing Mallet Two and your ring and pinky are securing the Mallet One you can pick objects up with your thumb and pointer finger.
Step 9: Piston Stroke
Now that you are holding the mallets, we can learn the techniques for playing using the four mallets. We are going to start with the Piston stroke which utilizes both mallets of a hand at the same time.
Step 11: Conclusion
Hopefully you found this Instructable helpful and enjoyable! It is a basic tutorial on how to use the mallets. Some practice exercises you could do is to play eighth notes using the piston stroke to a metronome to gain piston stroke chops. My favorite exercise to practice rotation stroke is to play the mallets in this order:
What is the Stevens technique?
The Stevens technique is a method of playing keyboard percussion instruments with four percussion mallets —two in each hand. It was developed by marimba player Leigh Howard Stevens during his studies at the Eastman School of Music in the 1970s, and codified in his 1979 book Method of Movement for Marimba. In this book, Stevens explains that the grip is an evolution of the Musser grip. This mallet-gripping technique is, therefore, sometimes called the Musser-Stevens grip .
What grips do percussionists use?
There are three main grips used by mallet players: Traditional crossed, Burton (which is a variation of traditional crossed), and Stevens-Musser. The traditional crossed grip is used almost solely by marimba players (such as Keiko Abe ), but Stevens and Burton's grips have found favor both among marimba and vibraphone players, thus making them the two most popular 4-mallet grips for percussionists in the United States.
What is the piston stroke in Stevens technique?
The piston stroke is an essential component of Stevens technique. With this stroke, the mallets start in the up position, strike the bars, then return to the up position. The mallets are propelled completely by the wrist , and there is no prep stroke. When changing notes, the piston stroke is modified so that it starts above the first note and ends above the second note, ready to strike.
Overview
Stevens grip is a technique for playing keyboard percussion instruments with four mallets developed by Leigh Howard Stevens. While marimba performance with two, four, and even six mallets had been done for more than a century, Stevens developed this grip based on the Musser grip, looking to expanded musical possibilities. Stevens codified his grip and his approach to performance techniques developed during his studies at the Eastman School of Music in his 197…
Grip
In Stevens grip, the mallets are held loosely. The first mallet, which becomes the left-most mallet, will be placed between the middle and ring finger, with the little and ring fingers wrapped around the mallet and less than an inch of the mallet hanging past the end of the hand when the palm faces upward. The end of the second mallet will be placed directly into the middle of the palm. Once the end …
Movements
There are three major movements associated with Stevens grip. While playing, the hands and arms should be relaxed, but the muscles engaged. The first movement focuses on the movement of both mallets hitting the board at the same time. To achieve this movement, the player will only move the wrist in an up and down motion. The second movement is achieved through the movement of the two outer mallets, or the first and fourth mallets. These mallets should be move…
Stroke types
The "piston stroke" is an essential component of Stevens grip. With this stroke, the mallets start in the up position, strike the bars, then return to the up position. The mallets are propelled completely by the wrist, and there is no prep stroke. When changing notes, the piston stroke is modified so that it starts above the first note and ends above the second note, ready to strike.
Strokes are further divided into four categories of motion. "Single independent" strokes involve …
Comparison to other grips
There are three main grips used by mallet players: traditional crossed, Burton grip (developed by jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton as a variation of traditional crossed), and Stevens. The traditional crossed grip and Stevens grip are primarily used by classical marimba players (the former being more popular in Asia, while the latter is more popular in Europe and the Americas). Burton grip is primarily used by jazz vibraphonists.
See also
• Burton grip
External links
• Introduction: The Four Mallet Grips by Vic Firth