Ep. 12 Interval Changing With Stevens Grip

[@ercussio]

This really helped clear up some issues I had getting larger intervals! Method of Movement only has so many photographs, but this made it make sense.

[@Marimbalogy]

+ercussio Thanks! They say is picture is worth a thousand words. I say a video is worth a thousand pictures. (and at 30 frames per second, this video literally has has 23,460 pictures) :)

[@ercussio]

It was the large intervals - my inner mallet stuck to the center of my palm, so I moved my thumb in between for large intervals. I never had a teacher that studied Stevens, so I had no idea how wrong I had been doing it all along. Now that I'm trying to fix my old habits, I can see the major advantages of doing so! ....and, the counterarguments to all the traditional cross-grip/burton guys make a lot more sense now.

[@Marimbalogy]

+ercussio I did the same thing in college. I had been doing it wrong and had to break the habit. What I ended up doing was practicing my interval spreading while riding around in the car and stuff. Any time helps build the habit!

[@Marimbalogy]

Playing on much smaller instruments will def. mess with your muscle memory! A good trick I learned from Steve Ballard is if you're overshooting the octave and getting a 9th, then aim for the 7th and you should hit the octave! Another good exercise to do would be the octave crawler I played in this episode. You'll play so many octaves by the time you're done, you'll be ready to tackle the piece!

[@ryderb.845]

I just found this video because I needed work on technique, but Steve Ballard is my current teacher. Small world for a percussionist!

[@peterclarke5129]

Super video. Been struggling with stick iin centre of palm!

[@alenkajezernik]

Nebojša really is an expert... and his techniqe is so amazing

[@benzackry]

Hey there. This is really awesome. Coz we don't get much of a pit instructors in Malaysia, and you're a lot of help. Really. thanks man!

[@vgfan100]

I can't believe I haven't found this resource yet! I'm a college percussion student learning one of the Three Chorales for Marimba by Ellen Glennie, and I discovered so much about how I can improve my large interval shifts in the LH through this video. I have a HUGE interval shift from octave Es on a Malletech 5.0 to E and G above an octave in the LH! (YIKES!) Hopefully, your tips will help me strengthen my technique considerably. Thank you so much, and please continue making more videos! =)

[@JDD_Music_Press]

I like this very much. You present the info in a great way and you seem like a pretty cool dude. Haha. This is a great source for young and old players! Keep the videos coming :) I bet you have tons of info to share. I'm defiantly spreading this around.

[@salmazzotta4247]

Thanks! I'll work on with that. I just want to make sure I don't learn it incorrectly and then have to unlearn/relearn again. The swift reply is much appreciated btw! Looking forward to more marimbalogy in the future!

[@Marimbalogy]

@allstar550 I was wondering if someone was going to catch that :) Ok so normally you would want your left and right mallet heads to be in a straight line left to right, (i prefer just above the middle of the bar) however as you play the interval of a second further away from your body, your arm has to shoot waaaay out for that to happen so when I play a second that far away from my body, i put one mallet above the center, and one under the center. Same sound, elbow can stay in!

[@Marimbalogy]

@rasenqan The middle finger tip doesn't really touch it. In the home base position the pad is touching (where your finger print is) and in the wide interval the side of your middle finger is touching it!

[@Marimbalogy]

Well I follow the Stevens technique outlined in "Method of Movement". There are some groups that don't follow this, but it's what I've found to be the best in the long run. There are a ton of pictures in that book and in Giff's book "Simply Four" check it out!

[@Marimbalogy]

@3clipse1326 Thanks! I feel like I have a lot of ideas and so little time :) Good thing summer is coming! If you have an suggestions please let me know!

[@ARandomGuitarist]

This helped me a great deal with the uber large intervals. Thanks, once again. :D

[@rasenqan]

Does the tip pad of the middlefinger touch the shaft of the inner mallet? And does it have little pressure on it while changing the interval with straightening the index finger?

[@Marimbalogy]

@ARandomGuitarist Sweet glad to help!

[@Shuster4221]

A couple of questions: What if you have smaller hands? I have used the Stevens/Musser grip almost exclusively for years, and I have never gotten the top mallet (or inside mallet) to be at the base of my middle finger (like you show at 1:32). Usually the base is still somewhere around the middle of my palm and my index finger is pointing directly to the other side of my body. Also to get the larger intervals I sometimes have to collapse my thumb and 'lock' the interval in place. Is this wrong?

[@snamot]

I have read a couple technique packets that tell you to not put your outside mallet in the webbing between your middle and third finger of your hand. So I tried putting it between my middle and third finger so there was air on both side of the mallet but it was very awkward to play with. Which technique is correct?

[@rasenqan]

One Question! What if my thumb is too long? Because if i try to "prop it up" and pull with the middle finger, the shaft hits my ring finger.. but if im in normal position and i take the inner mallet too short, the shaft is in the 1st joint of my thumb, instead of being at the base of the thumb..

[@rasenqan]

@rasenqan now ive got a problem with pulling the shaft with my middlefinger... :/ damn thing xD

[@Marimbalogy]

@benzackry Glad to help! Enjoy!

[@allstar550]

This will help me tremendously with my larger intervals. I have a question about the first exercise. How do you know what your hand position needs to be? As in the angle your arm/wrist is at? I noticed at the end on the 2nd you had it turned a little different. Could you maybe explain a little on what your arm and hand does with the interval changes?

[@connormaxwell4995]

Hi, I am playing the marimba solo Gitano by Alice Gomez, and I’m having trouble transitioning from the A&E to the A&A quickly like the song demands. Any advice? It would be greatly appreciated. That’s the only part in the song that I can’t play and it’s frustrating

[@Metzok]

Thanks for the video! So, at which intervall do you start to move the mallet towards the middle finger? Do you use the two tecniques for the right hand as well as you talk about your left hand?

[@charlienesmith9998]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by moving towards the middle finger. The middle finger is always pressed against the end of the mallet shaft.

[@salmazzotta4247]

Been watching the show since I was in high school! Awesome stuff! Quick Question. I tend to overshoot the octave when doing the larger interval technique. I'm learning Ilijas, and this is the biggest problem. I've had the method of movement for months and I still can't really figure it out. I can kind of do it easier with shorter mallets. The keyboard I practice on at home is a smaller practice marimba. I feel like that contributes, but I've had this problem with 4.3 marimba also. Thanks!

[@gasparroantonio98]

ehi marimbalogy ,can you tell me what do you do for the intermediate intervals ( the sixth and the seventh?).I'm having trouble with them.

[@domenico.grasso]

you are great! I have just started studying stevens and thanks to you I have understood many things, but I have problems in changing intervals, in fact after a short time I can no longer manage wands, what do you recommend?

[@Marimbalogy]

Send me a video and I can help!

[@DaikonDo]

For large intervals, does having a hitch hiker's thumb give an advantage/disadvantage to switching intervals?

[@Marimbalogy]

+Joey Do I don't think so. It just looks different.

[@Marimbalogy]

Malletech's have pretty brutal spacing! (but they sound nice!) good luck!

[@Marimbalogy]

@rasenqan Hello! The only advice I can give without seeing you're hands is to just keep working on it :) Also, make sure you're rotating the mallet while all this is going on. It takes some time to find just the right spot on the palm to do the interval changing without hitting the ring finger!

[@tristanseow2970]

So, if I don’t have the upper joint on my thumb like you have, how do I push the inner mallet down? Do I just curl my thumb and use the tip to push down the mallet?

[@Marimbalogy]

Could you send a picture?

[@amberbrown611]

Do you think playing smaller octaves with your finger point out instead of curling in is a problem? I just started a drum core and the instructor insists on pointing out to avoid tension. Thoughts?

[@Marimbalogy]

Do you mean keep the shaft in the palm instead of under the finger? That's ok for the top of the marimba, but not the bottom. It's too wide to be stable.

[@amberbrown611]

@@Marimbalogy I guess you could phrase it like that. The index finger is still support, just more out of the way.

[@captainkiwi77]

I have more trouble getting my mallets close together in second. Any tips on that

[@Marimbalogy]

The inner mallet may be too low in the palm. If your shaft are close to touching, it's too low.

[@captainkiwi77]

Marimbalogy thank you, as a snare drummer switching over the new technique gives me trouble so I constantly have a pair of mallets in my bags to practice with

[@metalmilitia137]

When you're doing the octave crawler exercise, are you keeping the inner mallet in the same spot the whole time (which I'm assuming would be the octave position)? Or are you switching positions (say, for like the small intervals, as those are hard to get with the octave position)?

[@metalmilitia137]

Also, what do you think of the idea where there's not just 2 distinct positions (big interval and small interval), but specific spots for each interval? I remember watching a video where the professor said that. That is pretty hard though, and I feel like it would get really cumbersome with the Stevens exercises. I like the idea of just staying on one interval position as much as possible

[@Marimbalogy]

The inner mallet is the one that's moving. The outer mallet doesn't really move unless you're doing 9th and 10ths, or octaves in a really low register of a 5 octave marimba. So I'm not really sure what you mean :)

[@Marimbalogy]

Well there is no set positions for intervals because all intervals are not even across the keyboard. Like a 5th in the low register is the same distance as an octave in the high register. So it's more of a sliding scale. Your inner mallet will trace an arc on your palm and it could be anywhere on that arc depending on what you're doing. At some point you need it get over the "skin hump" of your palm to get the inner mallet under the middle finger joint. Some intervals can be played in this position or in the regular position depending on what you're doing (like 6ths and 7ths)

[@metalmilitia137]

Marimbalogy Yeah I know the inner mallet is the one that moves. I'm just wondering if during the octave crawler you are constantly switching the inner mallet's position in the palm, or just keeping it in one position

[@RioboCabotD]

Hey Charlie? how are you? I'm having a lot of trouble with interval changes when I'm going upwards say from fourths to sixths,sevenths and then octave. The passage between the small interval grip and the octave grip is not smooth. It takes too much time and my thumb ends up like in figure 13, from page 14 of Method of Movement. Then, I can't seem get back to the small interval grip from that possition. Same thing happens when going downwards in intervals. // On top of everything, this change from one grip to the other is putting a lot of stress in my hands, so I must deffinitely be doing something wrong. // Examples where this is happening: PM Excercise from your website: Second measure, second half of the bar. And then again on the next bar the first four eight notes. // Gitano by Alice Gomez: Bars 23 through 26, then again on bars 30-31 and 34-35. // My guess is that the movement I'm doing to switch between the two grips is not the correct one PLUS I'm holding the inner mallet too far back in the hand. But I'm not sure. // Maybe you have some tips? to sheld some light into this matter. thank you so much!!

[@Marimbalogy]

Hey there! Sorry I didn't see this earlier! I had the same issue. Stevens refers to this as the "speed bump". What really helped me was keeping a set of mallets with me at all times (especially on long car/bus rides) and constantly practicing pushing the mallet down and around with the thumb joint. It took like a year to get it comfy.

[@RioboCabotD]

Thanks! Your videos + your answers are such a great help. Keep up the good work and congrats!!

[@raneyboy9937]

Should you still have your thumb on top when doing octaves?

[@Marimbalogy]

Well, it depends on how long you're doing octaves for. If you're just doing one, usually the thumb will be on the side because that it how it rolls out. But if you're doing them for awhile, you can move the thumb to a more "on top" position!

[@raneyboy9937]

Thank you so much! This really helps

[@metalmilitia137]

Wow, I had no idea about moving the mallet to the base of the middle finger for big intervals. I have a few questions: On my left hand, when I return from a big interval to small, that speed bump makes it really hard. It's weird because going from small to big intervals, it doesn't seem too bad going over the speed bump. Also, when I'm in the big interval position, it just feels like there's not much control on the inner mallet...is that because my thumb seems to stick way far up the stick? Thanks so much for the videos

[@Marimbalogy]

+Eric Zabala The best thing to do is to keep some mallets with you at all times and practice every time you're in the car going somewhere. I had the same issue but with practice your fingers figure out how to optimize it. Hope this helps!

[@metalmilitia137]

+Marimbalogy Great, thanks for the reply. By any chance could you also explain to me the difference between the IP275 and IP240 mallets? Would you say the 275's are harder? Right now I have the 200's and I need to get harder mallets for a more articulate solo, and I'm not sure if the 240's would be enough. Unfortunately I can't go out and test them myself

[@Marimbalogy]

+Eric Zabala 240's are actually a little harder than 275's. If you need some nice articulation and you're not playing at drum corps heights, the ip300's are a nice light articulate mallet.

[@metalmilitia137]

Marimbalogy Awesome, I'll probably get the 300's then. The solo has a repeating figure that goes down to the low A in a section; they shouldn't be too harsh down there, right?

[@Marimbalogy]

+Eric Zabala Should be ok! Just don't hit it too hard :)

[@nbdprophet9971]

Nice harmonic C scale

[@nunyabiz334]

Can these grip positions work for glockenspiel also?

[@Marimbalogy]

I like to use burton for xylo and glock, but you can use stevens. I just find it easier to hit all the mallets at the exact same time on really articulate instruments when I'm using a palm down position.

[@Marimbalogy]

Ahh yes these can be tricky. Most of them can either be done like a 5th (the mallet shaft is still touching the palm) OR like an ocatave (middle finger is touching the base of the middle finger). So I do whatever matches the interval that comes next. You should really practice them both ways.

[@AntonyCube98]

ok thanks :)

[@Shuster4221]

Ha...maybe I should watch the whole video before I start asking questions...