Formation of performing grips by four mallets, when playing on the pitch keyboards percussion instruments

The article explores various approaches grip, when playing four mallets, which appeared in the XX century. "Traditional grip" is one of the early ways to control two mallets held in one hand. It was very popular and it was immediately applied by most of the first vibraphonists. Clair Musser will significantly affect the development of solo performance on the marimba. He introduces in his performing and pedagogical practice his original grip for playing four mallets, which opened new possibilities in the performance of polyphonic pieces. One of the important moments on the way to the formation and development of four-mallets technologies on the marimba is the emergence unique technique of Gordon Stout, which is based on the author's approach to holding two mallets in one hand and manipulating them in the process of performance on pitch keyboard percussion instruments. Gary Burton introduces his own grip for playing four mallets in the performing and pedagogical practice, which has gained great popularity and it is used not only many vibraphonists, but also ma-rimbists such as David Friedman, Rostislav Sharaevsky and others. The original method by Leigh Howard Stevens of simultaneously holding four mallets, when playing the pitch keyed percussion instruments was adopted and taken on by many leading american and european marimbists such as Kevin Bobo, Michael Burritt, Conrado Moya and others. Ney Rosauro description of his original grip gives in the video school "Ney Rosauro extended cross grip lesson series", which presents one of the types of four-mallets holding in which the mallets are independent of each other in the process of sound extraction, when playing on pitch keyboard percussion instruments. In the modern performing practice, the main position is occupied by three grips: "traditional grip", "Burton grip" and "Stevens grip". But along with them, there are a number of other retention of four mallets, such as "Stout grip" and "Rosauro grip". It should be noted that none of the above-mentioned grips affect the quality of performance. Today in the world, the method of teaching, in particular, playing with four mallets on vibraphone and marimba does not rely on unified approaches to the formation and development of this type of technique. As a consequence, "raditional grip" has become widespread in Japan, Korea and Germany, and "Stevens grip" has mainly found its way into the performing practice by marimbists of America, Britain and the Netherlands. "Burton grip" is more preferred to use vibraphonists both on the American and European continents. All this can be indicative not only of a certain territoriality of the existence of one or another retention of four mallets, when playing on pitch keyboard percussion instruments, but also about the process of separation into grips of vibraphone and marimba.

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