Mental and Manual Calisthenics for the Modern Mallet Player is a collection of 249 technique-building exercises and 34 special contemporary studies for the advanced player of mallet instruments.

"The ultimate companion to UP FRONT"

Not long ago, Tapspace released Up Front – the world’s most definitive resource for the modern pit. Up Front Etudes is the next step of the journey. It breaks the monotony of traditional scales and pit exercises with six cool mini-compositions designed to add spice and variety to your front ensemble training program.

Jim Ancona, percussion caption head for the 7-time world champion Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, has created this warm-up repertoire for students and instructors alike. The pieces are technically focused and diverse enough to provide a realistic way to hone any ensemble’s musical skills.

By Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps. Composed by Jim Casella & Jim Ancona. Pit Percussion. A complete resource for todays pit ensemble.

Level: Beginning to Advanced.

Through the past twenty years or so, the "pit," or "front ensemble," has grown to be an integral part of the modern drum corps and marching band activities. This evolution has brought us into a new realm in the world of percussion education and performance, merging outdoor playing styles with indoor playing styles. "Up Front" explores the numerous details of a successful front ensemble. Topics included are: equipment, instrument ranges, transporting, instrument care, technique, exercises, teaching techniques, arranging, and much, much more. At a whopping 225 pages thick, this resource is sure to provide years of insight. It is meant to be an all-encompassing guide for pit members and educators of all experience levels. Jim Casella and Jim Ancona have instructed and arranged for some of drum corps' most musical and innovative percussion ensembles. Now they have combined their "pit knowledge" into one complete resource. "Up Front" explores every unique aspect of today's front ensemble, from technique and musicianship to arranging and instructing.

Method Book Simple Steps to Keyboard Percussion

By Anthony J. Cirone. 48 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

For the beginning percussionist, expert instruction in the rudiments of the keyboard percussion instruments. Detail-oriented, teaching the specific skills for the instrument.

Method Book Impressions on Wood

2008 Texas All State 4-Mallet Keyboard Selection

Page 24, Jeux
Tempo: Quarter Note = 124 - 132
Play: Beginning to end

Mallet suggestions: This piece is well suited to mallets in the medium to medium-hard range.

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This book provides etudes that will develop the various technical elements involved in 4-mallet playing, and also introduces students to a variety of contemporary harmonic, rhythmic and notational styles, and different musical forms. Contemporary Etudes for 3 & 4 Mallets still provides one of the few pathways leading students from traditional harmonies, simple rhythms and conventional notation to the complexity and variety of musical styles they will encounter in the 21st century.

By Karen Ervin Pershing. 32 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

Mallet Percussion for Young Beginners

Method Book Marimba: Technique Through Music
By Mark Ford
Marimba etude book

Modern School for Xylophone, Marimba and Vibe by Morris Goldenberg.

Instructional book for xylophone, marimba and vibraphone. 132 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.

This method features exercises and studies that cover the problems of technique in playing these instruments. Includes 30 progressive etudes, arrangements of violin concertos by Bach and Paganini for 'fixed-pitch' percussion, and orchestral excerpts from Ravel, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Gershwin, Delibes, and others.

Contents:

Alexander Nevsky composed by Serge Prokofieff, excerpt.

Concerto In A Minor (Bach) composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, excerpt.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 composed by Franz Liszt, excerpt.

The Irish Washerwoman composed by Leo Sowerby, excerpt.

Shepherds Hey composed by Percy Grainger, excerpt.

Gayne Ballet Suite No. 1 composed by Aram Khatchaturian, excerpt.

Violin Concerto composed by Niccolo Paganini, excerpt.

Forest Murmurs - 'Siegfried' composed by Richard Wagner, excerpt.

Siegfried's Rhine Journey composed by Richard Wagner, excerpt.

Mother Goose Suite composed by Maurice Ravel, excerpt.

Dance Of Camorrists composed by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, excerpt.

Much Ado About Nothing composed by Erich Korngold, excerpt.

Petrouchka composed by Igor Stravinsky, excerpt.

Les Noces composed by Igor Stravinsky, excerpt.

Scythian Suite composed by Serge Prokofieff, excerpt.

Colas Breugnon (Kabalevsky) composed by Dmitri Kabalevsky, excerpt.

Polka- Golden Age composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, excerpt.

Symphony No. 5 composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, excerpt.

Symphony No.6 composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, excerpt.

Symphony No.7 composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, excerpt.

Overture - Porgy & Bess composed by George Gershwin, excerpt.

Tubby The Tuba composed by George Kleinsinger, excerpt.

Pee-Wee The Piccolo composed by George Kleinsinger, excerpt.

Prelude In G composed by Sylvan Levin, excerpt.

Guaracha - Latin-American Symphony composed by Morton Gould, excerpt.

Harvest composed by Morton Gould, excerpt.

Drum Tune No.7 composed by Robert Russell Bennett, excerpt.

Indian Bell Song From Lakme (Delibes) composed by Leo Delibes, excerpt.

Spoon River composed by percy Grainger, excerpt.

The Magic Flute Overture composed by Wolfgand Amadeus Mozart, excerpt.

Method Book Masterworks for Mallets

By Beth Gottlieb. Published by Row-Loff Publications.

Method Book For Four by Josh Gottry

7 Original Solos for Developing 4-Mallet Marimba Technique

For each solo in this wonderful collection, there is a full page of exercises meant for technical development (concentrating on the strokes being used in the piece) and piece preparation (concentrating on specific patterns found in the piece). You will find that For Four really fills a gap in the early 4-mallet marimba literature.

Stroke Types Used in Each Solo-

Double Dip: Double Vertical

Triple Vision: Single Alternating and Single Independent

A Little Mixer: Single Alternating and Single Independent

Feeling One: Double Vertical, Single Independent, & Double Lateral

Chorale Without Time: Double Vertical and/or Double Lateral sequenced rolls

Groove: All 4 Stroke Types

Bac-a-tu Ba: All 4 Stroke Types

Method Book Instruction Course for Xylophone

By George Hamilton Green. Meredith Music Percussion. 160 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.

The most comprehensive method for keyboard percussion ever written. A complete course of 50 lessons including ragtime, improvising, blues and exercises for individual hand development.

Method Book My Marimba and I


Instrumentation: marimba and vibraphone collection

Challenge I

Level: Beginning to Intermediate.

For band directors, percussion instructors, and percussionists of all ages. Finally, a clear-cut method on the fundamentals of four-mallet percussion technique! While this style of performance is becoming standard in modern percussion, never before have you had such a clearly defined resource to answer all your questions. This book is sure to take the fear out of playing with four mallets!

Included in this book:

• Step-by-step breakdown of the Stevens and Burton style grips.
• Technique-enhancing exercises.
• Progressive and inventive etudes.
• Tons of detailed photos.
• plus much more!!

Each copy of "Simply Four" ships with a free DVD produced by Vic Firth Inc. On this DVD you'll get to see some live demonstrations by Howarth himself further illustrating his methods as well as lots of promotional material from Vic Firth Inc.

Reading Mallet Percussion Music

Method Book 15 Bach Inventions


In duet form: Especially arranged and transcribed for all mallet instruments.

Mallet Appetizer's for Two

2008 Texas All State Two Mallet Keyboard Selection

Instrumentation: Marimba Low A

"This collection of two-mallet marimba solos focuses on the technical and stylistic development of the intermediate mallet-keyboard performer. Although designed for marimba, several of the etudes could be practiced or performed on xylophone or vibraphone. The composer offers an informative foreword regarding each etude’s structural intent. Lawless states that Etude 1 is similar to a flute or violin etude of Handel or Telemann. Etude 2 reflects a Guatemalan marimba heritage, while Etude 3 is in a “Goldenberg-ish” G-flat major and 12/8 meter. Of particular interest is Etude 6, which is in a jazz style--scored in 2/2 and notated in D major; however, the etude has a sense of E Dorian and several difficult rhythmic passages. Overall, this collection will challenge the intermediate to moderately advanced two-mallet keyboard percussionist. It could be useful for marimba students or as a pedagogical resource for percussion teachers." - Jim Lambert Percussive Notes, June 2004

Percussionist, composer and educator, Larry Lawless has written some wonderful marimba compositions for the 2-mallet performer; intermediate to advanced. These aren't your typical mallet solo etudes that we've all come to dred ... you know, those "etudes" which are nothing more than mallet calisthenics (aka boring). All of these etudes are musical compositions which happen to incorporate a variety of mallet techniques, perfect for auditions, recitals and solo competitions.

If you are student and/or performer, you want something that is fun to play and sounds nice. If you are an educator, you want the same thing, but you also want it to be a challenge for your students, giving them some new techniques to develop as they work towards performance. You'll find this collection of marimba solo etudes to be especially enjoyable and useful.

Four-mallet Studies for Vibraphone

Method Book Jazz Mallets in Session

By Arthur Lipner. Texas State Solo & Ensemble List. Published by Row-Loff Publications.

There is no doubt about it: most of the "band method" books don't do the job when it comes to teaching beginning percussionists how to READ music!

"A Fresh Approach to Mallet Percussion" was written to address the specific problems associated with learning to play the keyboard percussion instruments.

• Note size is very large in the beginning of the book and printed on the lower half of the page to facilitate the beginner learning to use their peripheral vision when locating the keys on the keyboard.

• "Speed tests" and written work reinforce basic music theory concepts.

• Fundamental technique is addressed, as well as learning to read music in the Bass Clef - necessary for playing timpani.

In addition to graphical scale pages which help the student learn tetrachords and major scales, a nine page supplemental "mini-book" for timpani is included in the back of the book - providing instruction, exercises and solos for the beginning timpanist.

Just pop the CD-ROM in your computer and you'll have access to an all new SPEED NOTE READING TUTOR VIDEO GAME – designed to help the beginning percussion develop great music reading skills – PLUS 18 video lessons for the beginning timpanist, PLUS over 50 pages of additional sightreading material.

Method Book Masterpieces for Marimba arranged by Thomas McMillan. Collection for marimba. 32 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

A collection of pieces from the Baroque music period arranged for marimba solo.

Contents:
Sonatina C Major, composed by Clementi
Sonatina D Major, composed by Telemann
Sonatina G Major, composed by Telemann
Sonatina F Major, composed by Telemann
Sonatina A Major, composed by Telemann
Thema Con Variazioni A Major, composed by Mozart
Sonata F Major, composed by Handel
Sonata D Major, composed by Handel
Sonata E Major, composed by Handel
Sonata F Major, composed by Corelli
Sonata A Major, composed by Handel
Sonata D Major, composed by Handel
Sonata E Major, composed by Handel
Sonata G Minor, composed by Bach
Sonata C Major, composed by Bach
Sonata E Major, composed by Bach
Sonata E Minor, composed by Bach
Sonata G Minor, composed by Bach

Method Book Percussion Keyboard Techniques

By Thomas McMillan. 56 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

This method provides material for beginning students to progress according to their abilities and continues to motivate and sustain interest with the highest quality music.

Method Book Art and Language of Jazz Vibes
By Jon Metzger

Four-Mallet Method for Marimba

Method Book Fundamental Method for Mallets: Book 1

By Mitchell Peters. 166 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

This comprehensive method by Mitchell Peters (principal percussionist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) helps percussionists at any level develop solid skills. The method contains an abundance of essential exercises and etudes for both 2- and 4-mallet technique in two convenient volumes! Covers the grip, stroke, playing position, reading and technical studies, and more!

Contents:

About the Author

Preface and Acknowledgments

Notation

Mallet-Played Keyboard
Percussion Instruments

The Bars

Selection of Mallets

Part I: Two-Mallet Technique

The Basic Two-Mallet Grip

Playing Position

The Stroke

Technique and Reading

Beginning Technique Exercises

Reading

Basic Technique Patterns

Sticking

The Roll

Reading Studies and Technical Exercises

Part II: Four-Mallet Technique

Four-Mallet Grips

Musser-Stevens Grip

Burton Grip

Traditional Cross-Grip

Identification of Mallets

Double Vertical Strokes

Single Independent Strokes

Single Alternating Strokes

Studies

Method Book Fundamental Method for Mallets: Book 2

By Mitchell Peters. 248 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

This comprehensive new method by Mitchell Peters (principal percussionist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) helps percussionists at any level develop solid skills. The method contains an abundance of essential exercises and etudes for both 2- and 4-mallet technique in two convenient volumes! Covers the grip, stroke, playing position, reading and technical studies, and more!

Method Book Fundamental Solos for Mallets

By Mitchell Peters. Book. 24 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

These expertly written, early- to late-intermediate solos were written as a companion to Fundamental Method for Mallets, but can act as supplementary material to any method book. Each solo is suitable for contests or juries and features a challenging variety of musical styles and contexts.

Method Book Shazam!

By John Pollard. Texas State Solo & Ensemble List. Published by Row-Loff Publications.