When I first started playing percussion one could always easily find snare drum sticks and maybe a small assortment of keyboard mallets. But in my small town finding anything other than a Ludwig timpani mallet was next to impossible and they were only available by special order. At the time Ludwig mallets were made with a hard felt center core covered by soft felt, sort of a quasi general mallet. I used these mallets during my high school years.
It wasn't until I got to college that I had access to professional timpani mallets and fortunately my instructor Stanley Leonard had us use Street mallets. William Street was his instructor at Eastman at that time. These were a set of three pairs of mallets: General (wood core with German felt), Recorder or staccato (same as the General with a thinner covering of German felt), and Scherzo (cork core with the same thickness of German felt as the Recorder). All of them had rattan handles. I later added Roll model (soft) mallets.
When I began teaching timpani I would have my students purchase general, staccato, and roll model mallets, usually Vic Firth brand since they were commonly available and could be recovered. The one model missing was the Scherzo model. The Scherzo was the go to mallet for the third movement of many Classical era symphonies and any other light but pointed timpani parts. Commercial brands didn't make this type of mallet and custom manufacturers charged more than most students could afford.
When I decided to make this type of mallet I started to collect parts. A local woodcraft shop sold 1/2" dowel rods in various types of wood, I started with oak, cherry and walnut. I did have a sheet of American felt from an online percussion source. Finally I found a source for the cork-12" squares by 1/2" thick. I glued 2 squares together giving me a 1" thick square. From this sheet I cut 2" squares, drilled 1/2" holes in the center and sanded them down to 5/8" thick and 1 1/2" diameter.
It wasn't until I got to college that I had access to professional timpani mallets and fortunately my instructor Stanley Leonard had us use Street mallets. William Street was his instructor at Eastman at that time. These were a set of three pairs of mallets: General (wood core with German felt), Recorder or staccato (same as the General with a thinner covering of German felt), and Scherzo (cork core with the same thickness of German felt as the Recorder). All of them had rattan handles. I later added Roll model (soft) mallets.
When I began teaching timpani I would have my students purchase general, staccato, and roll model mallets, usually Vic Firth brand since they were commonly available and could be recovered. The one model missing was the Scherzo model. The Scherzo was the go to mallet for the third movement of many Classical era symphonies and any other light but pointed timpani parts. Commercial brands didn't make this type of mallet and custom manufacturers charged more than most students could afford.
When I decided to make this type of mallet I started to collect parts. A local woodcraft shop sold 1/2" dowel rods in various types of wood, I started with oak, cherry and walnut. I did have a sheet of American felt from an online percussion source. Finally I found a source for the cork-12" squares by 1/2" thick. I glued 2 squares together giving me a 1" thick square. From this sheet I cut 2" squares, drilled 1/2" holes in the center and sanded them down to 5/8" thick and 1 1/2" diameter.
I cut the handles to 15", sanded and sealed them and glued them into the cork cores. The felt was split to a thickness of 1/4" and cut into lengths to do a 'cartwheel' wrap.
Success, I was now able to have my students complete their collection. Since then I have tried different size cores, different shapes, 'parachute' wrap and different wood for the handles.
These are mallets that produce a very articulate but light sound.
You are an inventor for sure! Hope you are well and staying safe!
ReplyDeleteJerry, Why were they used during the third movement? And what wood handles were the best - cherry? (I like cherry - :) )
ReplyDeleteAnd what are parachute wraps? We can discuss this Sunday when we talk; no need to answer now.