Q&A #4: How To Choose MALLET HARDNESS!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Thank you so much for 4,000 SUBSCRIBERS! I'm answering some of your most asked questions again, and of course you can skip ahead to 1:03 to see all the timestamps for each question if you're interested in a specific one! Let me know if you have any other questions or suggestions below, I'd love to hear from you :) Thanks for watching! P.S. MY NEW PIECE IS COMING THIS WEEK - STAY TUNED! #TheStudioFamily

[@ItsBeastiee]

Adam Tan HoW dO yOu SpEeD uP mArImBa SpEeD?? FoUr MaLLeTs Or JuSt TwO mAlLeTs

[@ItsBeastiee]

Lol just a question. But I just can't speed up marimba strokes

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Beastboyee .Hue. It's a good question! You have to build it up slowly, single stroke practice with a metronome and increase it in increments over time. If it gets too hard, slow it down a bit and start again. The more you do it the more you automatically become fast in as little as a couple of months!

[@ryancarlisle7909]

I 100% agree with what you said about choosing a school. I wan't able to be picky with my undergrad school so I went somewhere close to home. I don't regret it, but I realized last year that you have to picky when choosing a music school if you want to get the most you can possibly get out of it.

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Same here, I had no choice! I guess you find that you make the most out of what you have regardless :) but yes if you have the choice in the future, go for what you want!

[@deekerr1613]

The white backdrop is a bit bright/harsh for people who watch in the dark or in bed. But I appreciated the insight into university and mallet hardness. You should do a video talking about those Duo-tonal mallets that you mentioned, maybe compare the duo vs. mono van-sices.

[@AdamTanPercussion]

I didn't think about that, that is a good point! I will expose it a bit less next time ;) YES I really want to try the duo tonal van sices, I am probably just going to buy them...

[@marinasimmons3553]

I am with Dayve Cares, I would love to see a video about duo vs mono mallets.

[@Jaysen6740]

Yeah. Think I agree.

[@philcataldo2255]

I can even begin to explain how funny I find it that you've literally turned Rob into a meme.

[@ErenYeager-zm9bt]

congratulations on 4K Adam. I'm hopefully going to be playing an arrangement of river flows in the spring so thanks for the inspiration.

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Eren Yeager That's awesome man! Can't wait to hear you play it 😄

[@ronisize15]

I like the Zelltsman's tobacco, gray, green, dark green for a lot of arrangements, and the malletech concerto series for standard lit, the Khakis are my favorite for all around the board. Great job

[@filibertolandaverde7003]

Good jod on 4k subscribers adam 🖒

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Thanks Philly ;)

[@Twinkieuddy]

As a percussionist in high school I can definitely relate to you not knowing about mallet hardnesses in high school. Over the years I've had two separate instructors actually tell us that is was absolute for us to use the same hardness on all four of our mallets. One of them was actually a "professional" (I put quotes because he taught really bad technique for keyboards. He actually told marimbas to play with Burton instead of Stevens) vibe player and physically took the mismatched mallets out of our hands to replace them with matched mallets. It kinda sucks that all my fellow percussionists have that rule imbedded in their mind now because you can definitely hear the awkward tones of the keys being played with wrong hardnesses.

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Exactly! While I'd agree that you want the 'same tone' across the instrument you aren't going to get it from using the same hardness across the instrument, bars don't react that way! It is possible to play marimbas with Burton actually, but I agree that not graduating is not a good idea...

[@Twinkieuddy]

Adam Tan Haha yea I can definitely say that it is possible to play marimba with Burton as I currently play with Burton comfortably (currently trying my hand at learning Stevens). I just see that we get a lot of crap from other percussionists when they see us playing Burton and I see comments on KZbin videos trashing some marimbists for playing Burton. :/

[@Mysticoli]

I got the round sound series about a month ago and I agree totally. they are such amazing mallets and they're so affordable

[@AdamTanPercussion]

They are great for the price! I kind of wish Marimba One made their mallets a bit cheaper, but I guess that's what the BOGO sales are for ;)

[@marhb99]

Hey Adam you should look at the Malletech Leigh Howard Stevens series?

[@racuchis]

Dear Adam. Your next giveaway should be the shirt u r using while playing marimba...

[@AdamTanPercussion]

HAHAHA I'm glad you like it, I got it for $10!

[@lctstudios0101]

Your videos have always had really awesome quality, but whatever you did for this video somehow made it even better!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Ahaha I'm not sure I did anything different this time apart from the backdrop but I appreciate it!

[@Sleed27]

can't wait to see and hear your piece!!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Baoying walao Thank you so much! I hope it's worth the wait...

[@Sleed27]

you have my support, Im definitely gonna try out your piece.!

[@ZeldaBrawler]

great video, as always Adam!! Can't wait to hear your new piece!!!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Zelda Brawler Thank you for watching and for your suggestion in this video! you're awesome 😀

[@marinasimmons3553]

Way to go on 4,000 Subscribers Adam!!! This was a fantastic Q&A and it made me think of a question for you. What are your thoughts on mallet hardness on paduk marimbas or even synthetic marimbas? SMMH would still be relevant but because of the different wood sounds, should one change it in anyway? Keep up the good work with the videos and I am so happy I found your channel!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Thank you so much Marina! Of course with Padauk and synthetics you get a much brighter tone, and hardness won't necessarily change that much but you might personally find that because the tone is noticeably brighter you want to go a step down, and conversely go up for a rosewood or something warmer. It shouldn't be that much of a marked difference but everyone's tastes are different and I encourage anyone to experiment so that they are happy with the end result :)

[@marinasimmons3553]

Thank you Adam!!

[@kendrickugalde1686]

Innovative percussion 3003, IP1002, IP240 (Marimba mallets) one word guys; MEDIUM

[@AdamTanPercussion]

MEDIUM LIFEEEEEE

[@dylanbutler2506]

Love it, Adam! Can't wait for your new piece!!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Thank you so much!

[@Paco-ek4bg]

so use four mallets of the same hardness is wrong?

[@remcamofficial3476]

11:57 The middle "end"?? 😅

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Remcam Official HAHA MY ENGLISH SUCKS

[@ClassyXxGamer]

I'm so ready for your piece!! I have a question though. I know you wrote it for a 5 octave marimba and sadly I only have access to a 4.3 octave marimba. Are you going to have a transposed version out to buy? Thanks! Love your videos! Keep up the good work!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

ClassyXxGamer Thank you so much! I am thinking of transposing it as well since you're not the only one who has this problem, it'd be the first piece to have two different versions for different marimbas ahaha 😅

[@ClassyXxGamer]

Adam Tan you're welcome! You totally should! Lol it would make my life much easier! 😂

[@AdamTanPercussion]

I should do the same then ;)

[@ClassyXxGamer]

Adam Tan Lol well played! 😂

[@cassidywallace5207]

Will you do a episode on how to re string a marimba? I've seen about two videos but they're not very in depth… thanks!

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Hmmm I've only really done it twice, once to a Yamaha 4.3 and once to a Musser 5.0 - it really is as simple as threading it through! To make it easier you can light up the ends of the rope with a lighter to make it thread faster - or if you're really lazy like me, use duct tape on the end to make a thin 'point' and pull the point through each bar first :) There's no super easy way of doing it, I think it's always going to be time consuming no matter what ahaha

[@matthewmcconnell3442]

Totally agreed with everything you said in this video :)

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Matthew Mcconnell I appreciate it, thank you for watching again 😅

[@matthewmcconnell3442]

Adam Tan you don't need to thank me, I'm just thankful you are producing these videos for me to watch. You really are my musical idol, don't know if you've realised that yet. :)

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Matthew Mcconnell ALWAYS TOO KIND 😱

[@Reuben.Hesser]

Hey man! Nice video and congrats by the way, only a small comment but there is a lot of white reflection on your hands when u move them. Maybe to do with the lighting u have?? I'm not sure but it kinda makes ur hands disappear😂

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Reuben Hesser YES hahaha I still haven't figured out how to work with the small amount of lighting I have so it's crazy overexposed, hence the ghost hands... I'll keep working on it ahaha 😅😅😅

[@corralesemilio1]

thank you for all these review videos. I'm currently looking for marimba mallets to play paul creston's concertino. right now I'm using a pair of makoto nakura medium mallets (salyers percussion) but I don't like the rattan handles, is there anything you recommend that is similar in style and sound to the makoto nakura mallets but in birch? maybe the zeltsman medium hard model?

[@EAHMusic]

Awesome video! Congrats on 4K subscribers Adam! :) Can't wait for the new piece!

[@sherlockholmes9194]

Are Planet Marimba practice marimbas good?

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Sherlock Holmes I can't say I've ever tried them! Maybe someone else here has... sorry about that 😥

[@juliananderson1522]

Hey again! On the subject of hardnesses, what would be good for something like "Parody" by Jesse Monkman? Would a prebuilt graduated set like the Nancy Zeltsmans be good, or a specific combination of other mallets (for example, Van Sices)?

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Julian Anderson Hey man thanks for the great question! Parody I believe is pretty standard in terms of hardnesses, I would go with something like S M M H or S M H H, the zeltsman setup should work although it might be a little on the soft side! If you go VS then 2 3 4 4 or similar ahaha, something like that 😁

[@ericqi5130]

Always a good video, keep it up Adam!

[@benrolfe8490]

Hey Adam! As always, quality content :) Would you ever review the Encore Nanae Mimuras? I have them and I like them but they're literally all I use and I'm definitely gonna get other ones soon (aiming towards the van sices and/or the Zivkovics).

[@thomassiufung8397]

What is the hilarious music of ‘you suck adam’ ?XD

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Hahaha it's literally a thing on youtube called 'fail sound effect', I've seen it in so many videos and it's just too funny to not use!

[@lawfulsurgeon974]

How do you find out what your University offers?

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Good question! Of course the most obvious thing would be to ask anyone you know who studies there/has studied there recently, but if you don't know anyone from there, get in touch with the faculty there and tell them you're interested! Usually you can get their email address from the university's website and they would be more than happy to tell you what they know! Or, if they have a campus tour coming up you can sneak in one of those and check out their facilities that way :)

[@lawfulsurgeon974]

Thanks man!

[@bsdcameront2016]

I just now noticed, but you never have anything or review anything from malletech🤔🤔

[@AdamTanPercussion]

I knowww it's because a) they promised to send me some things but it has never come so I'm not sure and b) I haven't really played much malletech stuff in general. Will try and get more on the show!

[@bsdcameront2016]

Adam Tan Yeah, that's how they usually work, but it's worth it sometimes. Try to start off with the Micheal burritt series!!!

[@Logaddi]

Before watching the video I saw the thumbnail, is that the Graduate set? Just curious. Edit: can you do a video on solo pieces that require accessory percussion?

[@remcamofficial3476]

Horrible Gamers Yes it is.

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Horrible Gamers Yes it is! and solo pieces with accessory... I don't know a lot but I can try!

[@Logaddi]

Adam Tan i know summer treehouse and that's about it 😅

[@remcamofficial3476]

Rain Dance can be played with wrist bells…

[@Logaddi]

Remcam Official both one study and one summary as well are played with a variety of cymbals

[@maheenkara24]

Hey Adam! What mallets do you recommend for fast 2 mallet playing in the upper octaves, preferably something with a small head?

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Maheen Kara Hey man! The harder van sices are pretty small, if you want rubbers I like the CCB1 from marimba one and the 4R from Vic Firth, I don't have many hard small headed mallets so that's the best I can give you so far ahaha sorry!

[@maheenkara24]

Do the marimba one round sounds have a small head?

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Depends what you mean by small head really - they're not that much smaller than standard marimba mallets :)

[@stephendungan141]

Hey Adam, I love your variations on themes haha, could I have a shoutout in the next upload please cus we both have surname starting with a consanant (;

[@AdamTanPercussion]

Hahahahaha that is the most obscure reason for a shout out ;) Ask a question and I'll stick it in if it gets featured!

[@stephendungan141]

Ok... you get to choose between playing 2 mallets for the rest of your life with the wave wraps, or 4 mallets for the rest of your life with SD1 general, what he picking?

[@kendallmoreland220]

Was anyone else when it zoomed in on his lips like " oooooh he needs some chapstick"

[@AdamTanPercussion]

HAHAHA THIS IS TRUE

[@ryanspercussion]

yo I know that this video is like 1.5 years old but marimba is better than piano for tone control, both have the same amount of velocity control but piano players can't change the hammers in their pianos unless they're on a cool keyboard

[@steampunkhulk5559]

Me: " when i grow up im gonna be ---" Parents : 1:54

[@koafujimoto6525]

WE NEED MORE ROB KNOPPER MEMES

[@AdamTanPercussion]

ALWAYS HERE TO DELIVER!

[@ek1708]

7:25

[@AnDevilmaycry]

KISS THE RAIN! PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS :D :D ;) ;)

[@jamescharles8764]

4;53 7:25