Bars need help sustaining

A marimba, xylophone, or vibraphone bar begins fading after it is struck. When the music asks for a longer sound, a percussionist may use a roll: repeated strokes close enough to be heard as one continuing note.

The goal is not to display fast hands. The goal is a sustained musical tone.

Begin with one good stroke

Use the instrument, mallets, grip, and playing area assigned by the teacher.

Play one note with the right hand, then the left. Listen for matching:

  • tone color;
  • volume;
  • contact point;
  • rebound;
  • height.

If the two hands produce different sounds slowly, speeding them up will create a pulsing roll.

Close the spaces gradually

Alternate:

R L R L

Begin slowly. Increase the stroke rate until the attacks blend.

Stop before the hands tighten or the sound becomes harsh. Let each mallet rebound instead of pressing it into the bar.

A relaxed roll can still be energetic. Relaxed means the body uses only the motion the sound requires.

Let the instrument choose the speed

There is no single correct roll speed.

Listen for how long each bar rings. Lower marimba notes often sustain differently from high xylophone notes. A soft dynamic, hard mallet, different register, or dry room may need a different stroke rate.

Ask:

  • Can I hear gaps?
  • Can I hear individual attacks?
  • Does the roll pulse between hands?
  • Is the tone becoming brittle?

Adjust from the sound rather than from a favorite hand speed.

Shape the whole note

Practice an eight-count roll:

  1. begin cleanly on count one;
  2. sustain evenly for six counts;
  3. shape the written dynamic;
  4. release exactly on count nine.

Try crescendo, decrescendo, and steady versions.

Change stroke height gradually for dynamics. Do not create a crescendo by suddenly tensing or racing at the end.

Roll more than one note carefully

For a two-note interval or moving line, follow the sticking and motion given by the teacher.

First block the notes as slow, separate attacks. Confirm the correct bars and body position. Then build the roll.

Move from the feet when the music travels across the keyboard. Leaning farther and farther eventually changes tone and accuracy.

Know when not to roll

Not every long printed note automatically requires a roll. The composer, instrument, tempo, style, and ensemble may call for natural decay.

Look for notation and follow the director’s instruction. Vibraphone pedaling can also change how a note sustains; rolling and pedaling are different decisions.

Listen beyond the hands

Stand several feet away while another player rolls, or ask a listener for feedback. The player hears attacks close to the bars that may blend in the room.

A successful mallet roll makes many strokes disappear into one line. The hands keep moving, but the audience hears a note that breathes, grows, and releases with the music.