Four Mallets Method

Theodor Milkov

General Info

Year: 2021
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Edition SVITZER
Cost: Book Cost - $73.99   |   Supplemental Books - $0.00

Chapters

Chapter I:
Chapter II:
Chapter III:
Chapter IV:
Chapter V:
Chapter VI:

Reviews

Student Reviews

Organization: A few paragraphs about the author and a preface precede the table of contents which is divided into three chapters: Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Traditional Grip, Chapter 2 – Mechanics of the Pianistic Approach, and Chapter 3 - Introduction to the Moeller Technique. The last page contains other publications by the publisher, Edition SVITZER.

Content: Chapter 1 is just a few pages covering a modified version of traditional four mallet grip with photographs included. Chapter 2 starts off with a lengthy explanation of the author’s ‘pianistic approach’ and how the ‘Moeller Technique’ fits into his approach. The rest of the chapter consists of etudes which help develop this method, as well as sticking. Chapter 3 is an extension of the previous chapter, mainly covering the ‘Moeller Technique.’

Uses: I can only see this book being used by other professional percussionists who are looking for a method which goes into the topic of playing piano arrangements transcribed to marimba and how to adjust their technique to play piano pieces on marimba with more mobility, relaxation and intonation. No high schooler will gain much from this book that they will fully understand, with college students possibly being able to make use of this book especially at a graduate level. It is hard to imagine this book being utilized in a secondary school setting.

Rating: Despite the author introducing a grip which is used in this book, he encourages the use of all grips as they all have uses and are viewed as tools instead of limited, narrow mindsets. I liked how the mallet numbers, or stickings, were written in on every note in the book, emphasizing the importance of proper sticking in this method. The upward and downward strokes are also included in several of the etudes and paves way to the Moeller strokes introduced in the later pages which is common for snare drumming but not for marimba playing. This book does seem very thought-through and detailed, but it is hard to justify its $74 price tag. Its methodology seems founded and there are plenty of well-notated etudes to play with, but with the amount of content provided, it seems unreasonable to list this book at that high of a price. 1/5. User:Hondogracias

Works for Percussion by this Author

Milkov, Theodor. Four Mallets Method. Edition SVITZER, 2021.