What Mallets Should I Use?
by Sarah Basel
Many beginning percussionsists are not sure what type of mallet should be used for which instrument. The following is a basic guide you can use when selecting your mallets.
| Instrument | Type of Mallet or Stick to Use | Rhapsody Percussion Model |
|---|---|---|
| Xylophone |
Very hard yarn, cord,
plastic,
rubber or wood mallet. |
Cordwound Series: C10, C20, C30
Unwound Series: U10, U20, U30, U40, U200,
U300 (Never use U100-brass on a xylophone)
|
| Marimba | Soft yarn or cord. |
Cordwound Series: C10,
C20, C30 Yarnwound Series: Y10, Y20, Y30
Yarnwound Longshaft Series: Y100, Y200, Y300
(Never use U100-brass
or any hard plastic on a marimba) |
| Glockenspiel (Bells) |
Hard metal, hard plastic
or hard rubber.
|
Unwound
Series: U10, U20, U100, U200 |
| Vibraphone | Soft yarn or cord | Cordwound Series: C10, C20, C30
Yarnwound
Series: Y10, Y20, Y30 Yarnwound Longshaft Series: Y100, Y200, Y300
(Never use U100-brass or any hard plastic
on a vibraphone) |
| Multi-Percussion |
Wood (snare drum sticks),
plastic, yarn or cord
|
Snare Drum Sticks : SD2B
Unwound
Series: U10, U20, U30, U40 Cordwound Series: C10, C20, C30
Yarnwound Series: Y10, Y20, Y30
Yarnwound
Longshaft Series: Y100, Y200, Y300 Timpani Mallets: T100, T200, T300, T400
|
| Timpani | Soft felt or wood |
Timpani
Mallets: T100, T200, T300, T400 Wood Timpani Mallets coming soon
|
| Snare Drum | Wood Snare Drum Sticks | Snare Drum Sticks: SD2B |
| Drumset |
Wood Sticks, either
wood-tipped or nylon-tipped. You
can also can use timpani sticks
for
rolls on tom toms and yarn mallets for rolls on cymbals.
|
Snare Drum Sticks: SD2B
Timpani Mallets: T100,
T200, T300, T400 Cordwound Series: C10, C20, C30
Yarnwound Series: Y10, Y20, Y30
|
| Woodblock |
Soft to
hard rubber, snare drum sticks
|
Unwound Series: U10, U20, U30, U40 |
| Triangle | Metal Triangle Beater | Coming Soon |
Sarah Basel is a professional percussionist in the Chicagoland area. She has a masters in percussion performance from San Francisco Conservatory where she studied with Jack Van Geem (principal of San Francisco Symphony). She also received a Bachelor of Music Education which enabled her to study with Ed Harrison (principal timpanist of Lyric Opera of Chicago) from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. Sarah has been both a performer and a music educator for the past 16 years.