People have been emailing me asking about my 'general approach' to playing the vibraphone! So I decided to make a video about it.

I explain my general technical approach on the following subjects:

1. Tone
2. Chordal playing (edge or center?)
3. Sticking
4. Comping
5. Technical approach to soloing
6. Pedaling
7. Mallet Grip
8. Practice workout using 'Donna Lee'

I am sure that I've forgotten something - so PLEASE leave your questions and thoughts in the comments :)

My approach to playing the vibraphone is heavily influenced by my early childhood study of piano and drums - I didn't start playing the vibes until I was in college, so I already had basics of pedaling (piano) and sticking (drums).

There are many schools of thought on how one should approach sticking (for example: using double strokes on sharps in scales). I explain my thoughts on the subject here.

I also had a great suggestion from a viewer (Thanks Pekka!) to demonstrate how I practice 'Donna Lee' - so I did that in this video as well, using alternate sticking (mostly). It's a great exercise that I recommend you try ;).

As always, thank you for watching - if you enjoy these videos, please subscribe! New videos every week!

Feel free to check out my jazz vibraphone sheet music store as well:

https://www.timcollinsmusic.com


-Tim