Two-mallet style Vibraphone

milt jackson, circa 1980. note characteristic palms-inward two-mallet grip.

another popular grip similar timpani grip. mallets again held between thumb , index fingers , controlled remaining 3 fingers, palms held vertically, facing inward towards each other. of stroke action comes finger-tip control of shafts.

passages played hand-to-hand double-sticking (playing 2 notes in row same hand) used when convenient in minimizing crossing hands.

the player must pay close attention damper pedal play cleanly , avoid multiple notes ringing unintentionally @ same time. because notes ring significant fraction of second when struck damper pad up, , ringing bars not stop ringing when contacted pad, players use technique called after pedaling. in technique, player presses damper pedal after striking bar—shortly enough struck note continues ring, long enough previous note stops ringing.

in damper technique—half pedaling—the player depresses pedal enough remove spring pressure bars, not enough make pad lose contact bars. lets bars ring longer pad , can make medium-fast passage sound more legato without pedaling every note.