When I first started teaching at my school I used whatever mallets were available. Later, as my instrumentarium grew, I began to cut down on the number of different styles of mallets I use. Yes, I realize that you get a different sound with a hard mallet as opposed to using a softer one, but at the level most of my classes play, I didn't find it necessary. I chose one style of mallet for my alto and soprano xylophones, a different style for my bass xylophones, another for my bass metalophones...
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