Teaching Mallet Keyboard Technique
BY WESSELA KOSTOWA AND MARK ANDREAS GIESECKE
T
hose who teach four-mallet keyboard technique will sooner
or later be confronted with one or more of the following
questions:
1: What is the appropriate age to begin learning four-mallet
technique?
In order to determine the appropriate age for teaching four-
mallet skills, we should first have a look at how and when per-
cussion students were exposed to mallet keyboard instruments
in the past. For males, the typical progression with percussion
instruments (regardless of experiences with other instruments)
has been to start with snare drum and/or drumset as a child or
a teen, and to add mallet keyboards to the personal “instrument
roster” at a relatively late point of time (often for an audition to
a college percussion program). For females, the typical percus-
sion career has developed sort of the other way around. Many
women who have started on piano become fascinated by the ma-
rimba, and wish to transfer their piano experience to mallet
playing. Snare drum and drumset, as well as timpani, are often
introduced under the pressure of an audition.
The latter could be one of the reasons for the increased call
for special undergraduate studies devoted solely to marimba
playing. There is not enough space here to properly and thor-
oughly discuss the advantages and drawbacks of a general
percussion education versus an early and maintained special-
ization on a specific percussion instrument. (Note: The authors
admit that there are many exceptions to the above-described
“typical male” and “typical female” percussion careers. But we
believe that these terms properly describe an overall tendency.)
In the last several years, the circumstances under which
Kostowa-Giesecke-Duo
PERCUSSIVE NOTES 36 FEBRUARY 1999
young people are acquainted with mallet percussion have
changed dramatically. In Germany, the music schools offer sev-
eral specific programs for children as young as eighteen months
up to three years (Music Garden) and from four to six years
(Early Music Education). Although these programs make use of
percussion instruments, they are generally not directed by pro-
fessional percussionists.
Therefore, when starting true instrumental training in per-
cussion, the child is at least six years old. In our studio at
Mosbach School of Music (south-central Germany), we have de-
veloped a program for six-to-eight year-olds named “early in-
strumental education in percussion.” In this program, we teach
the children snare drum and xylophone (two mallets) in groups
of two to three students, before individual lessons take place
from age eight and older. Very gifted and diligent students al-
ways get individual lessons as early as possible.
We believe that the appropriate age to start mallet keyboard
training (under the described environment we have worked in)
is six years. We could even imagine lowering this age down to
four-and-a-half, and have already developed a percussion pro-
gram for such very young children. Having started two-mallet
techniques at age six, adding four-mallet techniques could take
place at age seven or eight, depending on the talent and dili-
gence of the respective student.
2: Does the beginner in four-mallet technique have to have
previous experience in two-mallet training?
It is best for a beginner at age six to start with two-mallet
technique first. But for students starting at a more advanced
age, like nine or ten, it can be advisable to start both two- and
four-mallet training at the same time.
3: How should four-mallet and two-mallet technique training
best be balanced, in order to provide an organic growth of tech-
nical and musical abilities in both of these techniques?
A good balance would be fifty/fifty.
4: Which of the various four-mallet grips is best for a begin-
ner?
This question is hard to answer because it depends on three
factors: 1. the availability of instruments (marimba, vibra-
phone, others); 2. the personal grip preference(s) of the teacher;
and 3. the anatomy of the student’s hands and/or arms.
More often than not, a cross grip will be preferred for a young
beginner (e.g., the Burton/Friedman/Samuels grip, the
Delecluse grip, or the Stout grip) because they are technically
easier to handle for small hands and wrists. (For a detailed de-
scription of six different four-mallet grips in common use, refer
to Wessela Kostowa and Mark Andreas Giesecke: Compendium
of Four-mallet Techniques, English text edition, Zimmermann
Music Publishers, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 1996, ZM 80267,
hereafter referred to as Kostowa & Giesecke Engl. 1996.)
5: Is it possible and appropriate to teach different grips for
different situations to the same student? If so, how advanced
should the student be in one grip before starting to learn a sec-
ond grip?

Some examples:
1. One-handed rolls are easiest to play with the traditional
grip.
2. Parallel motions in any interval, as well as jazz flams, are
easiest played with the Burton/Friedman/Samuels grip or the
Stout grip (the latter is especially good in large intervals).
3. The true Stevens roll can only be played in all dynamics by
using the Stevens grip. (This list could be extended ad libitum.)
Therefore, when working on a specific piece, it is generally a
good idea to consider the type of grip the piece was originally
written for (or in many cases, written with). Generally, a spe-
cific piece is played easiest (which also means loosest) with that
specific grip.
Of course, no one can maintain expertise in all of the avail-
able grips, because it is time-consuming enough to maintain ex-
pertise in one grip. A good compromise would be to play both an
independent grip and a cross grip, in order to be able to use the
advantages of both types. (For a discussion of advantages and
disadvantages of the various grips, please refer again to
Kostowa & Giesecke Engl. 1996.)
It is best to have the student gain a feeling of security in one
specific grip first, before acquainting him or her with another
grip. This is usually done in one to two years. The use of second
grip does not mean doing the same amount of work a second
time, because: (a) the body already knows many of the move-
ments (e.g., turning the hands); (b) many principles of learning
the first grip—interval opening and closing, single-line playing,
playing double stops, dynamic differentiation, etc.—need not be
thought through a second time.
6: Is there any teaching material available for four-mallet
technique that is versatile in terms of using different grips, and
which provides both technical material (exercises) and musical
environments (etudes) for properly applying these techniques in
musically demanding situations?
In our studio at Mosbach School of Music, we have been able
to invent and develop methods that “work.” These methods—ex-
ercises as well as short music pieces in a variety of styles—were
released as what we here refer to as Kostowa & Giesecke Engl.
1996. The printing of the music scores in this book are consider-
ably larger than normal because the distance between the page
and the eyes of the mallet-keyboard player is much larger than
the distance between, say, a brass or woodwind player and the
music. Playing a mallet instrument can be very hard for a
young child for a number of reasons. Small printed music can
cause the player to bow the back and strain the eyes, and take
the fun out of playing. We have used this text successfully with
more experienced and advanced players, as well as with fairly
young beginners.
We wish you and your students best results, every success,
and lots of FUN!
Wessela Kostowa and Mark Andreas Giesecke are internation-
ally known solo percussionists from Bulgaria and Germany.
Their method books, compositions and editions of new music for
percussion instruments are published in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, England and the USA, and composers such as
Dobri Paliev and Ney Rosauro have dedicated works to them.
As the Kostowa-Giesecke Duo they have done numerous con-
certs, masterclasses, and seminars, and have recorded two CDs.
Giesecke is president of the German PAS chapter. PN
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