Technique Vibraphone

1 technique

1.1 two-mallet style
1.2 four-mallet style
1.3 specialty techniques

technique

vibraphone busker. resonators have been removed, presumably ease transportation.

the world of vibraphone players can divided play 2 mallets, , play four. in reality division not quite neat. many players switch between two, 3 , 4 mallets depending on demands of current musical situations.

furthermore, concentrating on number of mallets player holds means missing far more significant differences between two-mallet , four-mallet playing styles. of 2008, these differences not quite extensive when gary burton first introduced world four-mallet style in 1960s, still exist large degree.

two-mallet style

the two-mallet approach vibes traditionally linear, playing horn. two-mallet players concentrate on playing single melodic line , rely on other musicians provide accompaniment. double stops (two notes played simultaneously) used, reinforcement of main melodic line, similar usual use of double stops in solo violin music. in jazz groups, two-mallet vibraphonists considered part of front line horn players, contributing solos of own contributing little in way of accompaniment other soloists.

two-mallet players use several different grips, common being palms-down grip same matched grip used drummers. mallets held between thumb , index finger of each hand, remaining 3 fingers of each hand pressing shafts down-facing palms. strokes use combination of wrist movement , fingertip control of shaft.

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.

four-mallet style

the four-mallet vibraphone style multi-linear, piano. thinking pianist, arranger, , orchestrator, vibist approaches instrument piano , focuses on multi-linear way of playing. in jazz groups, four-mallet vibraphonists considered part of rhythm section, typically substituting piano or guitar, , providing accompaniment other soloists in addition soloing themselves. furthermore, four-mallet style has led significant body of unaccompanied solo vibes playing. 1 notable example gary burton’s performance of chega de saudade (no more blues) grammy-winning 1971 album alone @ last .

although vibes players made use of 4 mallets, notably red norvo, adrian rollini, , lionel hampton, pianistic four-mallet approach entirely creation of burton. many of key techniques of four-mallet style, such multi-linear playing , advanced dampening techniques described below, applied playing 2 mallets , modern two-mallet players have adapted these devices playing, blurring distinctions between modern two- , four-mallet players.

vibraphonist gary burton , guitarist julian lage. note burton s four-mallet grip.

the popular four-mallet grip vibraphone burton grip, named gary burton. 1 mallet held between thumb , index finger , other held between index , middle fingers. shafts cross in middle of palm , extend past heel of hand. wide intervals, thumb moves in between 2 mallets , inside mallet held in crook of fingers.

also popular stevens grip, named marimbist leigh howard stevens. many other grips in use, variations on burton or stevens, others idiosyncratic creations of individual vibes players. 1 common variation of burton grip places outside mallet between middle , ring fingers, instead of between index , middle.

vibraphonist joe locke s idiosyncratic four-mallet grip. many vibes players adapt standard grips varying degrees.

four-mallet vibists play scalar linear passages same two-mallet players, using 1 mallet each hand (outside right , inside left burton grip), except four-mallet players tend make more use of double strokes, not avoid crossing hands minimize motion between 2 bar rows. example, ascending e flat major scale played l-r-r-l-l-r-r-l, keeping left hand on black bars , right hand on white . linear passages leaps, 4 mallets used sequentially.

pedaling techniques @ least important four-mallet vibist two-mallet players, all-or-nothing dampening system of pedal/pad presents many obstacles multi-linear playing since each line has own dampening requirements independent of other lines. overcome this, four-mallet players use set of dampening techniques referred mallet dampening , in addition pedaling techniques used two-mallet players. mallet dampening techniques vibist garlic , fresh basil northern italian chef , contribute expressive four-mallet playing.

mallet dampening includes dead strokes player strikes bar, , instead of drawing mallet back, directly presses head of mallet onto bar, causing ringing stop. produces distinctive choked sound , dead strokes used particular sound in addition dampening aspects.

in hand-to-hand dampening, vibist plays note 1 mallet, while simultaneously pressing mallet onto ringing bar. dampening mallet , striking mallet held in different hands, advanced players can, in circumstances, use 2 mallets same hand. powerful of mallet dampening techniques can used dampen note on instrument while simultaneously striking other note.

slide dampening can used dampen note physically adjacent new note being struck. player strikes new note , controls rebound of mallet slides on , onto note dampened. slide dampening can make new note sound bent or if there glissando dampened note ringing one, 2 notes ring short period of time.

hand dampening (also known finger dampening) can used dampen white note while striking nearby black note. player strikes black note mallet, simultaneously press heel of hand or side of pinky finger onto ringing white bar, using same hand strike black note , dampen white note. using both hands, s possible dampen , strike 2 notes @ once.

specialty techniques

matthias lupri using 2 cello bows on vibraphone electronic pickups, vancouver jazz festival 2005.

five or 6 mallets: achieve denser sound , richer chord voicings, vibraphonists have experimented 3 mallets per hand, either in both hands total of 6 mallets or in left hand total of five.

bowing: cello or bass bow can used achieve sustained tones neither decay nor have percussive attack. steve reich s sextet uses effect.