Marimba instruction can vary widely from school to school and nation to nation due to different teachers and their backgrounds. Most teachers agree on the beginning stages of four-mallet marimba instruction with basic theory, grip and stroke exercises. They also have a keen awareness of higher musical goals for the advanced student. However, the connecting link or the intermediate level can often be elusive. While the Percussive Arts Society has assisted with sharing information on marimba performance, pedagogy and literature, there is more that can be done to help the intermediate marimbist stay focused on music while developing technique.

So why would a beginning four-mallet marimbist go from learning exercises and easy solos and immediately move to advanced works by such composers as Eric Sammut, Michael Burritt and Christopher Deane?

• Is it because there is a lack of sophisticated intermediate level marimba music? Clearly there are no parallels with other instrumental pedagogies for such a musical and technical leap.

• Is it because the student wishes to raise their marimba performance to the level of their snare drum (and other percussion instruments) proficiency? Most students in the US come to the marimba with established skills in snare drum, timpani and accessories.

• Is it because the teachers have a stronger musical connection to advanced marimba literature? Younger teachers especially are likely to challenge their students with advanced solos before they are musically or technically ready (I know, I did).

The answers to these questions are multi-faceted. However, there is a common ground that can help both intermediate marimbists and their teachers: a vision of a path to musical development with varied musical experiences combined with patience and persistence.

Literature
I believe that students develop stronger musical skills at the intermediate level when they are challenged with short musical selections in assorted styles. This approach is similar to piano pedagogy. Instead of having a student dive into a ten-minute composition that may take weeks (or sometimes the entire semester) to learn, the teacher can offer several short movements or etudes for the student to learn. These shorter selections will give the student a stronger sense of accomplishment and more performing opportunities. This experience will also offer more chances for the teacher to discuss and demonstrate musical issues such as phrase development, tone, dynamic contrast, rubato, etc. Then, as the student’s skills gradually increase, more advanced literature can be attempted.

Technique
For the student, it would be best if the selected musical selections focused on a specific technique. Often the student spends time “warming up” with skills that are not fully utilized in the music he/she is preparing. Technique should always be focused on delivering the music, so “warm ups” should be designed to support the musical selection to be played. With a little imagination, warm up exercises can be extracted from the student’s solo to help them enhance their technique and also learn the music. This approach keeps the student focused as they explore technical and musical concepts.

Below are issues that every student and teacher must address in order to have strong technique on the marimba.
1. Shoulders, hips and feet should remain square to the keyboard when playing the marimba. Give equal weight to both feet.

2. The student should strive to create the best tone possible at all times. Play slightly off center of the bars for a full rich tone. The edges of the accidental bars are acceptable when necessary.

3. Utilize the wrist for a fluid stroke. Avoid excessive motion in the elbow.

4. Stroke height and stroke velocity should be consistent when practicing exercises.

5. Keep the hands low to the keyboard. In general, the hands should be lower than the mallets after striking the bars

6. Always practice and perform with the marimba at the same height.

Another necessary technical issue is to identify and develop the four main marimba strokes. Regardless of which grip is used, these strokes are the rudiments of marimba performance:
Single Independent Stroke - Single Independent Strokes are used when only one mallet in each hand is playing.

Single Alternating Stroke - Single Alternating Strokes are similar to Single Independent Strokes. Mallets in each hand alternate independently.

Double Lateral Stroke - Double Lateral Strokes are single wrist rotation motions that produce two (or more) sounds.

Double Vertical Stroke - Double Vertical Strokes play two notes at the same time with the same hand. The two notes are struck exactly at the same time.


Putting it All Together
Once the above technical aspects are familiar to the student, a selected etude or movement should be used to apply each technique through music. On the following pages is an etude entitled Kain from my new marimba method book, Marimba: Technique Through Music, A Collection of Etudes Designed to Develop Technique for the Intermediate Four-Mallet Marimbist (used by permission of Innovative Percussion Publishing). This particular selection is designed for the student to focus on “Double Vertical Strokes.” Primarily, the interval of a fifth is used in Kain so that the player can focus on preparing the stroke and not changing the interval. The goal is to give the student the opportunity to address musical issues through a certain marimba technique (double vertical strokes in this case). Some of the performance notes for Kain include:

• Select a playing height for the double vertical strokes. After playing, the wrist "snaps" back up to the original playing height.

• The player should balance the double vertical strokes in order to hear the moving lines.

• Slow practice will allow the player the opportunity to preset the double vertical strokes above the notes to be played.

By using a series of graduated etudes that focus on specific marimba techniques, the teacher can guide the intermediate marimbist to expressive playing with confident technical control.

Mark Ford is the author of Marimba: Technique Through Music, and he is also the coordinator of percussion at the University of North Texas. Dynasty, Innovative Percussion, Zildjian, Evans and Latin Percussion are sponsors of Ford’s PASIC master class. Mark currently serves on the PAS Executive Board as Immediate-Past President.