Editing Vibraphone (section)

===Four-mallet style===
[[Image:Gary-burton-and-julian-lage.jpg|thumb|[[Gary Burton]], using his namesake grip, with guitarist [[Julian Lage]].]]The four-mallet vibraphone style is multi-linear, like a piano. In jazz groups, four-mallet vibraphonists are often considered part of the [[rhythm section]], typically substituting for piano or guitar and providing accompaniment for other soloists in addition to soloing themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mallows |first=Frank A. |date=2004 |title=An Historical Survey of the Development of the Vibraphone as an Alternative Accompanying Instrument in Jazz |url=https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/8138/thesis_hum_2004_mallows_fa.pdf?sequence=1 |publisher=[[University of Cape Town]] |page=22}}</ref> Furthermore, the four-mallet style has led to a significant body of unaccompanied solo vibes playing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Saindon |first=Ed |date=October 2006 |title=Sound Development and Four-Mallet Usage for Vibes |url=http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/saindon/saindon_article.pdf |journal=Percussive Notes |publisher=[[Percussive Arts Society]] |volume=44 |issue=5 |pages=48 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927212856/http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/saindon/saindon_article.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2007 |via=[[Vic Firth]]}}</ref> One notable example is [[Gary Burton]]’s performance of "[[Chega de Saudade|Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)]]" from his [[Grammy Award|Grammy-winning]] 1971 album, ''[[Alone at Last]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Santella |first=Jim |date=1 July 1999 |title=Gary Burton: Alone At Last |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/alone-at-last-gary-burton-32-records-review-by-jim-santella |access-date=15 March 2022 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}</ref>

The most popular four-mallet grip for vibraphone is the [[Burton grip]], named for Gary Burton. One mallet is held between the thumb and index finger and the other is held between the index and middle fingers. The shafts cross in the middle of the palm and extend past the heel of the hand. For wide intervals, the thumb often moves in between the two mallets, and the inside mallet is held in the crook of the fingers. Unlike many other grips, the outer right mallet is the leading mallet rather than the inside two. Although some early vibes players made use of four mallets, notably [[Red Norvo]], [[Adrian Rollini]], and sometimes [[Lionel Hampton]], the fully pianistic four-mallet approach to jazz on the vibraphone is almost entirely the creation of Burton.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Companion to Percussion |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-107-09345-4 |editor-last=Hartenberger |editor-first=Russell |location=Cambridge |pages=46 |oclc=920816078}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Berkowitz |first=Adam Eric |date=2011 |title=A Comparative Analysis of the Mechanics of Musser Grip, Stevens Grip, Cross Grip, and Burton Grip |url=http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000537 |publisher=[[Florida Atlantic University]] |page=46 |via=}}</ref>

Practitioners of Burton grip tend to make more use of double strokes as compared to two-mallet players. This is done not only to avoid crossing the hands, but also to help minimize the motions between the two bar rows. For example, an ascending [[E-flat major|E{{Flat}} major]] scale could be played by keeping the left hand on the upper bars and the right hand on the lower. For linear passages with leaps, all four mallets are often used sequentially.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morales |first=Andrew |date=2020 |title=Sticking Categories: A Practical Application in Contemporary Literature for Four-Mallet Marimba |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2435175212 |publisher=[[The University of Arizona]] |page=21 |language=en |via=[[ProQuest]] |oclc=1194935009 |id={{ProQuest|2435175212}}}}</ref>

Also popular is the [[Stevens grip]], named for marimbist [[Leigh Howard Stevens]]. Many other grips are in use, some variations on the Burton or Stevens, others idiosyncratic creations of individual vibes players.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glassock |first=Lynn |date=1971 |title=A Study of Four Mallet Grips Used in Playing Keyboard Percussion Instruments |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc663379/m2/1/high_res_d/1002773987-Glassock.pdf |publisher=[[University of North Texas]] |page=72 |oclc=849690331}}</ref>

==== Damping ====
{{Listen
| type         = music
| filename     = Vibraphone mallet dampening.ogg<!-- "Dampening" means "to make wet". -->
| title        = Vibraphone mallet damping
| description  = A C major [[Triad (music)|triad]] is held using the pedal, while an ascending [[C major|C major scale]] is played. The notes of the scale are muted by a mallet while the chord continues to ring. The vibraphone is played with the motors off.}}

Pedaling techniques are at least as important for the four-mallet vibraphonist as for two-mallet players, but the all-or-nothing damping system of the sustain pedal presents many obstacles to multi-linear playing, since each line normally has its own damping requirements independent of the other lines. To overcome this, four-mallet players also use "mallet damping" and "hand damping".<ref>{{Cite web |last=[[United States Army]] |date=2018 |title=Percussion Techniques |url=https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/tc1-19-30.pdf |publisher= |page=40}}</ref> There are many benefits of being proficient in these techniques, as it allows the player to transition between chords much more smoothly and play new notes without having them affect the [[Chord notation#Chord quality|quality]] of the chord when the pedal is down.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kuzmich |first1=John |title=Complete Guide to Instrumental Jazz Instruction: Techniques for Developing a Successful School Jazz Program |last2=Bash |first2=Lee |publisher=Parker Pub. Co |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-13-160565-7 |location=West Nyack, NY |pages=195 |oclc=10023386}}</ref>

The most common form of mallet damping occurs when the vibraphonist plays a note with one mallet before pressing another mallet into the ringing bar to stop it from sounding. Usually the damping mallet and the original striking mallet are held in different hands, but advanced players can, in some circumstances, use the same hand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheesman |first=Brian Scott |date=2012 |title=An Introductory Guide to Vibraphone: Four Idiomatic Practices and a Survey of Pedagogical Material and Solo Literature |url=https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1563&context=dissertations |website= |publisher=[[The University of Southern Mississippi]] |page=26 |oclc=815679716}}</ref> Mallet damping also includes "dead strokes", where a player strikes a bar and then, instead of drawing the mallet back, directly presses the head of the mallet onto the bar, causing the ringing to stop immediately. This produces a fairly distinctive "choked" sound, and dead strokes are often used just for that particular sound in addition to the damping aspects.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sevsay |first=Ertuğrul |title=The Cambridge Guide to Orchestration |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |others=para. 10 |year=2013 |isbn=978-1107067486 |chapter=Vibraphone}}</ref>

Hand damping (also known as "finger damping") can be used to damp a note on the lower bars while striking a nearby upper bar. As the player strikes the upper bar with a mallet, they simultaneously press the heel of their hand or the side of their finger into the ringing lower bar, using the same hand to strike the upper bar and damp the lower one. Using both hands, it's possible to damp and strike two bars at once.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipner |first=Arthur |title=The Vibes Real Book |publisher=MalletWorks Music |year=1996 |oclc=837860299}}</ref>