Burton grip
Encyclopedia
The Burton grip is a method of holding two mallets in each hand in order to play a mallet percussion instrument, such as a marimba
or a vibraphone
, using four mallets at once. It was developed by jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton
.
It is formed as a variant of the cross grip, with the mallets held as follows:
Seen with the palm facing upwards, the inside mallet is placed and crossed over the outside mallet. The end of the inside mallet is held with little finger, and outside mallet is held between index and middle finger. The thumb is generally placed inside the inside mallet, but it sometimes is placed between the mallets to widen the interval. The inner mallet can be separately articulated (the inner mallets are generally used for melodies) by gripping it with the index finger and the thumb and pivoting it over the outer mallet. When necessary, the outer mallet can be separately articulated by widening the interval so the mallets come as close to a right angle as possible and giving a swift downward flick with the wrist and middle and index fingers.
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
or a vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, using four mallets at once. It was developed by jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton
Gary Burton
Gary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
.
It is formed as a variant of the cross grip, with the mallets held as follows:
Seen with the palm facing upwards, the inside mallet is placed and crossed over the outside mallet. The end of the inside mallet is held with little finger, and outside mallet is held between index and middle finger. The thumb is generally placed inside the inside mallet, but it sometimes is placed between the mallets to widen the interval. The inner mallet can be separately articulated (the inner mallets are generally used for melodies) by gripping it with the index finger and the thumb and pivoting it over the outer mallet. When necessary, the outer mallet can be separately articulated by widening the interval so the mallets come as close to a right angle as possible and giving a swift downward flick with the wrist and middle and index fingers.
See also
- Four Hammer Dulcimer
- Stevens techniqueStevens techniqueThe Stevens technique is a method of playing keyboard percussion instruments with four mallets – two in each hand. It was developed by marimba player Leigh Howard Stevens during his studies at the Eastman School of Music in the 1970s, and codified in his 1979 book Method of Movement for...
- MarimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
- VibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
- Gary BurtonGary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...