Mallet Wrapping: Thoughts and Ideas

I'm not going to explain how to wrap marimba or vibe mallets, there are a number of videos on YouTube for that. They range from just OK to excellent. These are just my ideas, concepts and opinions that I've developed over the years of wrapping and teaching my students to wrap (No, not RAP!).

Yarn

Brown Sheep®, I Love This Yarn®, Patons® Kroy Socks

1.  Acrylic #3 weight (commonly called Sport weight): This is the first yarn that I have my students use. It's inexpensive, durable and easy to handle.
2.  Wool or wool blend #1 (also called Baby or Fingering yarn): It's more expensive, doesn't last as long as acrylic but produces a better sound and shape for my purposes. 
3.  Cotton: I don't like cotton nor do I recommend it to my students. It produces a harsh ictus on the bars.

Mallet head

1.  The hardness of the finished mallet is mainly determined by the hardness of the core (soft/medium/hard rubber, nylon/poly/etc.).
2.  Mole skin or latex (surgical) tubing will affect the core sound.
3.  Using bees wax on hard (slippery) mallet heads helps keep the yarn in place for the first 10 or so wraps.
4.  Core shape (round, mushroom, disc) can affect finished shape and also the contact point of the mallet on the bar.
5.  Core size will determine the finished size given the same number of wraps and tension of the yarn.
6.  Core weight: Within reason a heavier core weight will bring out the fundamental on the bar. Weight choice should also be considered for the player. I've found that some of my younger students can't control a heavier mallet especially when playing 4 mallets.

Wrapping tension

1.  Tension is a relative term, but merely guiding the yarn over the core is too loose. It causes a lot of slipping of the yarn during the wrap.
2.  Medium: Lay the yarn on a ruler and grab a 2 inch length. Pull it to stretch it to 2 1/4 inches. Get a 'feel' for the tension. This is the tension that I have my students start with.
3.  Tight: Stretch the 2 inch section to 2 3/8 - 2 1/2 inches. Given the same number of wraps, this gives a smaller head size and a more articulate attack.
4.  Very tight: The tension that is just below the breaking point of the yarn. This is the tension that I mostly use and what the more advanced student wrappers use.
5. Different yarns will stretch with different amounts of tension but this is as objective as I can be without actually demonstrating it in person.

Wrapping direction

1. Vertical: Think of the face of a clock (Right handers). Start at 5 o'clock at the bottom bringing it towards you and then 11 o'clock over the top. Never directly over the top, eventually this will create a small hole at the top which should appear after the first 20-40 wraps. This hole is also important for stabilizing the top.
2. Lateral: Same movement as the 'Vertical' but the points are at 4 o'clock and 10 o'clock respectively.
3. Bottom Lateral: 4 o'clock bottom and 11 o'clock top.
4. Top Lateral: 5 o'clock bottom and 10 o'clock top.

Vertical is the main wrap and should always start and end the wrapping process. The different Lateral wraps are used to 'shape' the head. These Lateral wraps should be limited to about 10-15 each between at least 20-30 vertical wraps.

Using only Vertical will produce a long head with wasted yarn not actually covering the beating spot. The different Lateral wraps place more yarn at the contact point.

Left: Vertical only, Right: Vertical & Lateral

(same number of wraps and tension)

Stabilizing

This is the part that keeps all of the wraps from looking like a 'bad hair day' after playing. It can be the same yarn as the main wrap or a different color if 'color coding' is desired. Stabilizing the top is straight forward, but precautions should be taken for the bottom. The needle should be inserted from the handle upwards toward the body of the head. This assures that the needle doesn't accidentally take off some of the wood on the handle. This isn't a problem if it happens once or twice but after many re-wraps the handle could lose so much wood that it could weaken and break when playing.

Left: Stabilizing the bottom, Center: contrasting top

Right: adding some bling