PERCUSSION
ESSENTIAL IMPLEMENTS | Mark Shelton
BRUSHES TRIANGLE BEATERS
What a cool sound! Although nylon bristles The tone of a triangle is acutely influenced by
It was an innocent question coming from my are available, make your first investment in a the choice of striker. I recommend owning
non-musician father as he surveyed my modest set of old-school wire brushes. Get a pair with two at the very least. Your primary implement
collection of sticks and mallets. Over the an adjustable brush width and a metal ring in should be fairly heavy with your second being a
decades my arsenal of percussion implements the back end so you can toss in some cymbal medium weight.
has expanded considerably (along with my dings and scrapes. •
array of instruments). •
“DO YOU NEED THAT MANY?”
Grover Pro Percussion #SV-TB
Vic Firth Heritage Brushes (HB)
COWBELL STRIKER
A serious percussionist should own a stockpile
of sticks and mallets that will adequately BUNDLED DOWELS Although a drumstick will work in a pinch, you’ll
cover the requirements of a variety of musical Several wooden or synthetic dowels are have to swing some extra lumber when playing
situations. bound together in the handle area to form a brisk one-handed cascara rhythm. Get a
this implement. When struck on a percussion striker with enough size and weight to produce
Check out my suggestions for assembling instrument, bundled dowels produce a tone a full tone from your cowbell but short enough
a supply of strikers that will cover a broad with characteristics of a wire brush but with a to maneuver quickly when the salsa groove is
assortment of percussion. An example of each more pointed attack. muy rápido.
recommended implement is included. • •
Vic Firth Rutes
A 5/8” diameter dowel cut to a length of
approximately 8.5 inches will work just fine
DRUM STICKS
or just purchase the LP268 Pro Cowbell
Concert drum sticks are designed for playing TIMBALE STICKS in orchestra, symphonic band, and chamber Instead of the normal taper and bead found on ensembles. Usually possessing more weight a standard drum stick, the traditional implement than drum set sticks, a concert model will pull a for timbales is simply rounded on both ends. TIMPANI MALLETS
considerable amount of fundamental tone from • Marc Quinones SalsaTimbale Sticks by No substitutions allowed! If the gig calls for
Zildjian timpani, make sure you’re using real timpani
an instrument.
•
Beater by Latin Percussion.
Vic Firth SD 1 General
mallets. Invest wisely. A poor-quality mallet can
decrease the potential of a great set of timpani.
With a smaller diameter and less weight than YARN-WOUND MARIMBA MALLETS If the budget is limited, buy a pair of ‘general’
their concert cousins, drum set sticks are These implements obviously work for playing sticks, but you eventually want to acquire both
created for easy maneuvering around the kit. the marimba, but you want to keep a pair of ‘staccato’ and ‘soft’ timpani mallets.
Even if I’m not scheduled to play drum set, I these mallets in your case as an option for •
keep a pair of ‘dance sticks’ handy for other striking other percussion such as wood blocks, percussion duties. cowbells, tom-toms, and temple blocks. This • type of mallet is my go-to for most of my
Vator Fusion
suspended cymbal work.
•
148
Musser M9
May 2019
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Grover Pro Percussion General Mallets
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