- 1). Stand up straight, with your chin pointed slightly upward. Remember to keep your body relaxed as you play, even for difficult parts. Tensing up will look bad and will actually make it more difficult to play.
- 2). Hold your mallets in “set” position. In this position, you hold the mallets using matched grip, but the mallets are held pressed together a couple of inches in front of your stomach, with the right mallet in front of the left. The mallets should also be alternating directions, with the tip of the left mallet pointing to the right, while the tip of the right mallet points to the left.
- 3). Flick your mallets out into playing position. Your mallets should make a V. Your forearm should be about 90 degrees to your upper arm. Hover the mallets an inch above the drum that you are about to play.
- 4). Strike the drum, using the mallet, at a spot a couple of inches inside of the rim. Don’t hit the drum in the center of the drum head. For most hits, use a 3-inch mallet height. For accents, use a 9-inch mallet height. Rely on the wrists for most of the power. Your arms should generally not move, except for slight movements as you move from drum to drum. Don’t flail your arms, unless it is a very loud hit or a visual.
- 5). Play sweeps, moving your arm slightly as you go from drum to drum. Sweeps are diddles (two bounces played with one stroke, thus two hits) played on two drums. As the name implies, sweep the mallet from one drum to the other, remembering to keep appropriate stick heights.
- 6). Play rim shifts, which are when you strike the drum head and the rim at the same time. For tenors, hit the drum in the same position you normally would, while simultaneously hitting the rim at a couple of inches from the top of the mallet.
- 7). Return your mallets to set position when the piece or your part is over.
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