A percussion mallet or beater is an object used to strike or beat a
percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
to produce its sound.
The term beater is slightly more general. A mallet is normally held in the hand while a beater may be a foot or mechanically operated, for example in a
bass drum pedal. The term drum stick is less general still but still applied to a wide range of beaters. Some mallets, such as a
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
beater, are normally used only with a specific instrument, while others are used on many different instruments. Often, mallets of differing material and hardness are used to create different
timbres on the same types of instrument (e.g. using either wooden or yarn mallets on a
xylophone).
Some mallets, such as
vibraphone mallets, are normally just called mallets, others have more specialized names including:
*
Drum sticks, of many types, some used with a wide variety of instruments,.
*
Rutes, used with many instruments.
* Brushes, used particularly with
snare drum but also with many other instruments.
*
Tippers used to strike a
bodhrán.
*
Bachi, used with Japanese
taiko
are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...
drums.
* Hammers, used to strike
tubular bells
Types
Drum sticks
Drum sticks are beaters normally used in pairs, with each held in one hand, and are similar to or derived from the
snare drum sticks that were subsequently adopted for
kit drumming.
They are the most general-purpose beaters, and the term covers a wide variety of beaters, but they are mainly used for untuned percussion.

Mallets

As well as being a general term for a hand-held beater, mallet is also used specifically to refer to a hand-held beater comprising a head connected to a thin shaft, and used in pairs. There is a wide selection of mallets to choose from to create a desired sound, articulation, character, and dynamic for the pieces being played. Professional percussionists typically have a good selection of mallets on hand to be prepared for each piece.
There are three main types:
* Unwrapped mallets, used on
glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
,
xylophone, and other instruments with keys made of durable material, have heads made of
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
,
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
,
nylon,
acrylic,
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
, or other hard materials.

* Wrapped mallets, mostly used on
marimba,
vibraphone, and other instruments with softer keys (though they can be used on more durable instruments as well), have heads of
kelon, rubber, nylon, acrylic, or other medium-hard materials wrapped in softer materials like yarn, cord or latex. Wrapped mallets are also the mallets of choice to play
suspended cymbal, though drum set players will typically use drum sticks instead.
*
Felt
Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...
mallets or cartwheel mallets have heads composed of layers of felt, held between two steel washers. They are mainly used on untuned percussion as well as on
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
.
Mallet shafts are commonly made of
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
,
birch, or synthetic materials such as
fibreglass. Birch is stiff and typically longer, while rattan is a more flexible shaft and gives a more open sound. Fiberglass is ideal for playing lightly on an instrument because it is easy to control.
Different mallets are used primarily to alter the
timbre of the mallet instrument being played. Generally, mallets composed of softer materials will stick to the instrument for longer as they bounce off of it, which gives a deeper sound made up of lower frequencies. Harder materials tend to bounce off quicker, and as they stick to the instrument for a shorter amount of time, they tend to be able to excite more of the higher frequencies, giving the sound a higher pitch with more overtones. Mallet's choice is typically left up to the performer, though some compositions specify if a certain sound is desired by the composer.
Players frequently employ two mallets in a matched grip or four mallets in a four-mallet grip; however, the use of up to six mallets is not uncommon. More than two mallets may be used even when no
chords are called for by the composer so that the performer has a wider range of timbres from which to select or to facilitate the performance of music that moves rapidly between high and low, and if hit properly can switch between the two
pitches.
If the mallet is too hard, the instrument may be damaged. For example, on
rosewood marimbas, certain mallets may be too hard, increasing the risk of a cracked bar.
Brushes
Brushes are a set of bristles connected to a handle so that the bristles make a rounded fan shape. Brushes can produce a sound that is softer and more subdued than drum sticks or other mallets, and can be rubbed against a drum head to produce a continuous "swishing" sound.
[https://www.drumradar.com/drum-brushes/]
The bristles can be made of metal or plastic; the handles are commonly made of wood or aluminum and are often coated with rubber. Some brushes are telescoping so that the bristles can be pulled inside a hollow handle and the fan made by the bristles can be of variable length, width, and density. Retracting the bristles also protects the brush when it is not being used. The non-bristled end of the brush may end in a loop or a ball.
Brushes are often used in
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
or
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
music, but also occasionally found in other genres such as
rock,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, and
pop.
Rutes
A route or multi-rod consists of several thin sticks that are bound together to form one stick. Its sound is midway between a stick and a brush.
Long used in orchestral music, in the mid-20th century routes also became popular for many other purposes including
kit drumming and
bodhrán.
By dissipating much of the energy of the stroke within the stick, a rute allows a drummer to achieve both a tone and a playing action that would normally be associated with a quite loud playing, but at a moderate or even low volume. The tone produced by many can be adjusted by adjusting the position of one of the bands holding the bundle together.
Major percussion mallet companies
*
Vic Firth
*
Vater
*
Regal Tip
*
Pro-Mark
*
Ayotte Drums
*
Innovative Percussion
See also
*
Grip (percussion).
References
External links
Accessory FetishA Complete List of Drumstick Manufacturers
Traditional letter/number schemefor snare drum stick model names
{{Authority control
Drum kit components
Drumming
Percussion instrument beaters