how to choose mallets for audition excerpts

here's every single mallet i used (or planned to use) for my MET audition: www.robknopper.com/stickbag
what mallets i use for porgy and bess, sorcerer's apprentice, and salome.
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ABOUT ME
i'm a percussionist in the metropolitan opera orchestra in new york city, and i create videos and blogs to help you stop sucking at drums and master your craft. there's so much more at www.robknopper.com.

[@scottvelardo700]

Great sound on Sorcerer’s Apprentice! I think a lot of people underestimate how hard it is to make Orchestra Bells sound good. Perhaps they are viewed as a toy because we start beginners on crappy little bell kits to begin with. But, like a clarinet, Bells can sound either really beautiful or really nasty, with relatively little middle ground.

[@paulmouradian8968]

great job Rob with the mallet choice Paul

[@cymcyms]

Fantastic video sir! I cannot wait to see what you tackle next. My recommendation? Dampening, both technique and physical dampening options (i.e. the old wallet on a snare). Keep up the amazing work :)

[@robknopperstudio]

thank you! that's a great idea - i'll try to get to that one soon.

[@lollol-pk4rc]

@@robknopperstudio please Make a video "How to make mallets" Cause my mallets are lost You can call it Mallets/Beater

[@robknopperstudio]

@@lollol-pk4rc ok! good idea

[@daltonpage240]

You should make a video of your entire mallet collection, I'd love that

[@robknopperstudio]

hmmm, good idea!

[@fdeleon720]

rob knopper I second this! Although I imagine that it would be a very... very long video

[@tryg9062]

This video came at the perfect time I am playing both of the excerpts in this video for an audition.

[@robknopperstudio]

excellent!

[@evenhembre1388]

This is great, really helpful tips here! Thanks :)

[@robknopperstudio]

thanks evan!!

[@angelo24111]

Just subscribed on your KZbin channel and got the list. Thank you for the hack

[@robknopperstudio]

cool, hope it helps!!

[@RamonHernandez1]

good stuff! kudos!

[@robknopperstudio]

thank you ramon!

[@dmperc]

Great video! A topic suggestion if you wouldn't mind... choosing the "perfect" triangle and beaters for any particular piece/excerpt. Would love to hear your thoughts!

[@robknopperstudio]

yes great idea! i'll work on this.

[@tmossperc2716]

This is a cool idea. To add on, perhaps think about having an auxiliary instrument series and talk about all the big ones (triangle, cymbals, bass drum, tambourine) in this way. Like a video, maybe a couple per instrument about choosing the right sound for the piece and/or basic technique? You could lead the video towards a particular excerpt for each instrument and demonstrate at the end?

[@robknopperstudio]

great idea here torrell - i've been working on doing little intro videos for how to warm up on each instrument. so far made a snare drum, a cymbal, and a tambourine one. coming out soon. will work on more.

[@callumwalton4382]

Have you got a copy of the repertoire I could have a look at?

[@robknopperstudio]

you mean all of the pieces on my mallet PDF? i can't publish most of that stuff but you can IMSLP the rest

[@Metalpazallteway]

I'm sure that was a difficult exam for them since most were plastic or bone mallets?..that sound very similar. Anyhow awesome video

[@fine1298]

Now.. I need to have that many mallets to worry over it

[@specialsauce.]

Do you have any suggestions for similar substitutes for the malletech OR39R mallets? Specifically if you're trying to audition with Porgy and Bess?

[@robknopperstudio]

any reason why you don't want to/can't use the OR39Rs? they would be my #1 recommendation. something very similar is the chris lamb CL-X5s. disclaimer: i am an innovative endorser but they actually are the ones closest to the OR39Rs and sound almost as good. www.innovativepercussion.com/products/christopher_lamb_xylophone_mallets

[@specialsauce.]

@@robknopperstudio omg thank you for replying! I would totally get the OR39Rs, but I can't seem to find them in any of my local stores (Canada) and I'm afraid that if I buy them online from US stores, they won't arrive in time. Also, would you happen to have brass mallet recommendations for the glockenspiel excerpt for "The Magic Flute"? Thank you.

[@tripledddsanimsandstuff9887]

Sadly, we use those glass ones with rubber wrappings on it.

[@kendrickugalde1686]

do you use innovative percussion mallets?

[@robknopperstudio]

yes i am an endorser of innovative's sticks although the snare sticks (CL-1L) that i have always used aren't available anymore.

[@GeorgeKazianis]

Always great stuff in your videos Rob. How about a video about the excerpt like the salome you performed, or even the bluebeards castle? They were written in another era's xylophone which made them quite easier to play.

[@robknopperstudio]

good idea! that stuff is hard

[@celestedean6985]

when did you start playing percussion instruments?

[@celestedean6985]

you're really good!

[@robknopperstudio]

hey celeste - thanks for the kind words! i started playing drumset when i was 8 and percussion seriously in high school.

[@celestedean6985]

rob knopper that's awesome! Thanks for making these videos, I learned to much from watching them. One day I hope ill be as good as you are. Have a nice day and keep making great videos!

[@robknopperstudio]

Celeste Dean aw thank you that's so nice! my goal with the videos is to show you how to get there too. what should i make a video about next?

[@celestedean6985]

Well my biggest problem is sight reading a piece. If you could make a video about the steps you go through when sight reading, that would help me so much😊. I would really like to hear your advice.

[@gclem96]

Are you gonna do mallet reviews like Freer percussion stuff?

[@robknopperstudio]

gclem96 sure, i could do that. i might have to get some new freer mallets for that video, but that could be fun! thanks for the idea.

[@gclem96]

Anything Freer you have is fine but probably the suspended cymbal mallet because I heard you could use that on marimba. For xylo mallets, I guess K5, KH1, and Ellipse KES. Maybe, the main question would be what Freer mallets would you recommend to practice and perform on a rosewood xylo and marimba?

[@derpykitty2738]

Out of all the percussion instruments I have.. the bells have to be the worst! They are so high pitched! guh!!! ;c

[@robknopperstudio]

oh godddddd the bells probably hate you too...just kidding!!!!! make sure you're wearing ear plugs.

[@derpykitty2738]

[@ahuman4013]

ikr. You hear them in a lot of Christmas songs, though.

[@c_farther5208]

I bet you don't have to mow grass or do laundry or go to work all day and come home and do a home repair. Love the passion and time you put into this but at the same token...

[@robknopperstudio]

it’s true, we don’t have lawns in new york! i know this level of obsession about these details seems overkill, but at least now you have a window into how a professional approaches sounding their best.

[@crimsun7186]

The only problem with doing the test like this is that the human auditory memory is too short for you to easily memorize the sound of 10-20 pairs of mallets. By the time you get to the 6th or 7th pair, you've already forgotten what the first 3 sounded like.

[@robknopperstudio]

the whole point of this process is that you're only ever comparing two pairs to each other... you never have to keep more than two different sounds in your head. the only time you MIGHT have to is at the very end when you have 3 pairs and you're trying to decide your winner and runner-up.