FLOOR PARTIES 

Developing 4 Mallet Technique without a Keyboard 

By Dean Johnson & Dr. Matthew Jordan  

Philosophy
Since technique is defined as ‘a skillful or efficient way of doing or achieving something,’ it is only natural that we, the collective
percussion community, approach our studies of the percussive arts as a vehicle to promote a better awareness of self. By repeating
isolated rotations and movements in the pursuit of a better understanding of percussion techniques, we are essentially meditating on
ways to better and more ​efficiently​ manipulate our bodies. To put it plainly: if one can develop a more holistic awareness of the
sensations (sight, sound, touch) that are attached to ​how​ they play their instrument they should be able to naturally and consistently
replicate this approach without having to dedicate specific focus to the task.

In our teaching careers, we’ve found that we naturally gravitate towards a focus on technique for two distinct reasons:

1. Technical precision is the gateway to unlocking a student’s ability to play faster rhythms and tempi and better prepares them
for the back-to-back technical demands that are common in more advanced literature. By promoting a better awareness of the
rules and parameters of your program’s approach to technique you will naturally see an increase in efficiency of motion, which
promotes a student’s preservation of energy and increased reaction time.
2. While technique is certainly not the most important aspect to consider when cleaning an ensemble, I’ve found that the groups
I’ve taught that used a consistent approach to technique across all players in the ensemble have a higher chance of creating
more precise blend/balance and tend to have a higher probability of nailing their attacks and re-entrances. In other words,
utilizing a consistent technique promotes a more innate ability to play clean together.

Over time, we’ve noticed that students often display technical abilities differently when their focus is placed on the development of
technical mechanics (like when playing fundamental exercises) and when they are performing a piece that requires them to execute
more than one aspect of musicality at a time (dynamics, accent/tap differentiation, metric modulation, etc.). This is not because there
is a lack of care or attention within the student, but instead because we are sometimes unconsciously asking our students to process
too much at one time.

As mallet percussionists, there are several aspects of our playing that must be balanced simultaneously in order to meet the various
demands that our music entails. When we talk about a group that plays “clean” we are not simply talking about whether or not they
can play all of their rhythms in unison. The cleanest groups have established a good “balance” of the ​layers of musicianship​ between
players: consistency of sound quality, technical and mechanical demonstration, touch/expression, bar placement, and manipulation
of velocity (to name a few).

When we take all of these layers into consideration it can naturally feel a little overwhelming to try to tackle every single element of
our playing at once, and for good reason. Scientists have recently determined that the human brain can only realistically juggle ​two
different tasks​ at once, citing that the “​interference​” of similar cognitive functions between tasks prevents us from making adequate
progress in either. Our brains don’t have the capacity to split themselves exactly in two, making it impossible to try and perform two
separate tasks within the same time it would take to do either independently. Because multitasking tends to distract or confuse our
ability to understand the task at hand, it is critical for us to understand and work within the limitations of our body’s natural abilities.

In response to this information, we’ve found that it’s best to split the demands of our craft into layers of musicianship that we ​must
perform at a keyboard (note accuracy and bar placement being the main ones that jump to mind) and those that can be isolated and
worked on away from the board (as long as mallets are available). Since adopting this ‘divide and conquer’ philosophy, we’ve found
that our students are able to more efficiently hone the multiple responsibilities of their playing when supplementing their normal
practice habits with technical development away from a keyboard.

Materials
We’ve found that the following materials are necessary to make the most out of our Floor Party time:
1. A mirror, smart phone, or video camera
+ You need these for ​accountability​. When practicing, these tools offer an unbiased perspective of what your hands look like
from the front--the spot where everyone (adjudicators and spectators alike) will be judging you. The mirror holds an
advantage over recording devices due to the instantaneous feedback you receive, making it easier to make adjustments
on the fly and to really gauge the difference of feel between bad technique habits and good ones. You can also write
reminders (“Low wrists, high mallets” or other tried and true mallet idioms) or sketch a line where your plane is at when
resting at full extension. A video camera, on the other hand, allows you to play something all the way through and then
check out what you look like afterwards. This can be beneficial because it allows you to play something the way it feels
comfortable and take stock of the changes you need to make in response to the video. This helps prevent you from
confusing old habits with new ones that you’re building up (which is essential!), but can be a lot more time consuming. We
encourage you to pick whichever method works best for you.

2. A blanket or a couple pillows

+ These are necessary for sound cancellation and reduction of rebound while working up sound quality or chops. By
reducing the rebound, the pillows will encourage your hand to use faster and more efficient motions. Your hand will not
 have as much support in the return of each mallet to the top of the plane, which means you will have to rotate a little
farther and a little more than normal, which helps build chops and makes your sound a little bigger and bolder. Even
though the sound of the mallets hitting the floor will be muted, it should still articulate enough to give you an idea of what
your sound quality is like at its core. Even though we want to focus on building a better consistency of sound quality when
playing at the board, we can actually gain a better understanding of our core sound without the distractions of resonance
and note accuracy.

3. A metronome, music, or recording of show music

+ These are necessary because they add another dimension to help further your musicianship: the dimension of ​time​. As
we know, accelerating any skill set’s speed makes it harder to accomplish with the same level of cleanliness and
relaxation. In order to truly master a skill set at the upper range of the accepted tempo scale, you must work towards
endurance at those tempos. We can obviously play along to a metronome or a recording of the music that we’re
practicing, but we’ve found that students tend to latch on to this idea more readily when they can queue up their favorite
music and play along. When using music, it is wise to monitor the ​bpm​ of each track you play at in order to know if you are
pushing your limits. By finding your breaking point in terms of bpm, you can work towards--and eventually, past--your
goals. ​This​ website makes it easy to sort the songs in a Spotify playlist by their bpm, which will help figure out your own
personal flow when sitting down for a Floor Party.

Rudimental Four-Mallet Techniques

Below, we’ve attached a pdf that Dr. Jordan put together that features a fairly comprehensive list of fundamental four-mallet skills and
techniques. In essence, we can look at these as rudimental skills that should be broached and perfected over the course of our
education. While there are a large number listed here, we will be focusing primarily on skills 1 through 21, which covers the four
fundamental stroke techniques of four-mallet playing: Double Vertical, Single Independent, Single Alternating, and Double Lateral.

When you’re planning out your Floor Party session, we encourage you to isolate two to three techniques and to spend a longer
period of time building each up across a wide range of tempos (warm up > speed up > chop out > warm down). This will help
promote better efficiency in the long run by giving you more time to focus on furthering your understanding of isolated skills instead of
simply touching on each one briefly.
 4 Mallet Floor Party!
Double Verticals play all exercises in all inter vals. repeat each exercise for 2-4 minutes each!

1 2 3
/ 4 ™™ œœœ œœœ œœœ
œœ ™ ™ œœ œœ œœ œœ
œœ ™ ™ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ ™™ ™™ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ ™™
4 œ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ

Single Independent

/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
4 œœœœœœœœ 5 œœœœœœœœ 6 œœœœœœœœ
œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ
3 2 4 1 2/3 1/4 1/3 2/4

7 8
/ ™™ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
2/3 3 2 ... 2/3 2 3 ...

9 10
/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™
™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
1/4 ... 4 1 ... 1/4 ... 1 4 ...

Single Alternating
play all in 8-16 style

™
11
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ 14™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ 15™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ 16™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™
12 13
/ ™œ œœœœœœœ ™ ™œ œœœœœœœ ™ ™œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ ™œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™
œ
1/3 2/4 1/4 2/3 1 3 2 4 ... 1 4 2 3 ... 4 2 3 1 ... 4 1 3 2 ...

Double Lateral
play all in 8-16 style
17 18 19 20
/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

1 2 3 4 ... 4 3 2 1 ... 1 2 4 3 ... 2 1 3 4 ...

"16th Broccoli" (play in a 4-2-1 grid)

21
/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œ œ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœ œ œœ œœœ œœœ œœ
œ œ œ œ
1 2 3 4 ... 2 3 4 1 ... 3 4 1 2 ... 4 1 2 3 ...

œ œ ™™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
/ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
4 3 2 1 ... 3 2 1 4 ... 2 1 4 3 ... 1 4 3 2 ...

assembled by Matthew Jordan - mattjordanpercussion@mac.com

Triple Lateral

22 23 24 25 26 27
™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™
™ ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
™
œ œ œ 3 œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ 3 œ œ "up"3 œ œ œ œ
/ ™œœœ ™ ™ œ ™ ™ œ ™ ™œ œ ™ ™ œ
"inside" "outside" "outside/inside"
"down" "inside/outside"
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
3 3 3 3 33 3 3 3

œœœ œ
œ œ 3 œ œ 3 œ
œ œ 3 œ œ 3 œ 3 œ œ
œ 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
3 3 3 3 3 3
2 1 2 3 4 3 ... 1 2 1 4 3 4 ... 1 2 1 3 4 3 ... 2 1 2 4 3 4 ... 1 2 3 4 3 2 ... 4 3 2 1 2 3 ...

Sequential Sixes
"up" 6 "down" "LH pu-duh-duh up" "LH puh-duh-duh down"
29 30 31
/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
28 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

1 2 3 2 3 4 ... 4 3 2 3 2 1 ... 1 3 4 2 3 4 ... 1 4 3 2 4 3 ...

"RH puh-duh-duh down" "RH puh-duh-duh down" "LH puh-duh-duh alternating" "RH puh-duh-duh alternating"
32 33 34 35
/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
4 2 1 3 2 1 ... 4 1 2 3 1 2 ... 1 3 4 2 4 3 ... 4 2 1 3 1 2 ...

2:3 Polyrhythms

/ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ ™™ ™™ œœ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
36 œ œ œ œ 37 œ œ œ œ 38 œ3 œ
3
œ œ
3
œ
3
œ 39 œ3 œ
3
œ œ
3
œ
3
œ

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Floor Inter val Exercises

/ ™™ œœ œœ œœ œœ ™™ ™™ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ™™ ™™ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
40 "leaps" 41 "2nd to 5th" 42 "5th to 8th" 43 "whole scale"

œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
RH/LH RH/LH RH/LH

™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
"split scale"
44
/ ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
1 2 1 2 1 2 ...
3 4 3 4 3 4 ...

16th Note Timing Independence

(play in a 4-2-1 grid)

/ ™™ œœ œœ œ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ ≈ œ œœ œ ≈ œ œœ œ ≈ œ œœ œ ≈ œ œœ œ ™™
45 œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

(play in a 4-2-1 grid)

/ ™™ œ œ ™™
46 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈ œ œ ≈ œ ≈ œ œ ≈ œ