A percussion mallet is an object used to strike a percussion instrument to produce its sound. A mallet is normally held in the hand while a may be manually operated, as in the striker for a triangle, or mechanically, such a bass drum pedal. The term drum stick is applied to a wide range of beaters. Some mallets or beaters are normally used only with a specific instrument, while others are used on many different instruments. Often, mallets of differing material and hardness are used to create different timbres on the same types of instrument (e.g. using either wooden or yarn mallets on a xylophone).
Some mallets, such as vibraphone mallets, are normally just called mallets, others have more specialized names including:
Drum sticks are beaters normally used in pairs, with each held in one hand, and are similar to or derived from the snare drum sticks that were subsequently adopted for kit drumming.
They are the most general-purpose beaters, and the term covers a wide variety of beaters, but they are mainly used for untuned percussion.
As well as being a general term for a hand-held beater, mallet is also used specifically to refer to a hand-held beater comprising a head connected to a thin shaft, and used in pairs. These are available in a variety of configurations needed to create a desired sound, articulation, character, and dynamic for a piece being played.
There are three main types:
Mallet shafts are commonly made of rattan, birch, or synthetic materials such as fibreglass. Birch is stiff and typically longer, while rattan is a more flexible shaft and gives a more open sound. Fiberglass is ideal for playing lightly on an instrument because it is easy to control.
Different mallets are used primarily to alter the timbre of the mallet instrument being played. Generally, mallets composed of softer materials will stick to the instrument for longer before they bounce off of it, which gives a deeper sound made up of lower frequencies. Harder materials tend to stick less and rebound faster, and tend to be able to excite more of the higher frequencies, giving the sound a higher pitch with more overtones. The choice of a mallet is typically left up to the performer, though some compositions specify if a certain sound is desired by the composer.
Players frequently employ two mallets in a matched grip or four mallets in a four-mallet grip; however, the use of up to six mallets is not uncommon. More than two mallets may be used even when no chords are called for by the composer so that the performer has a wider range of timbres from which to select or to facilitate the performance of music that moves rapidly between high and low, and if hit properly can switch between the two pitches.
If the mallet is too hard, the instrument may be damaged. For example, on rosewood marimbas, certain mallets may be too hard, increasing the risk of a cracked bar.
Brushes are a set of bristles connected to a handle so that the bristles make a rounded fan shape. Brushes can produce a sound that is softer and more subdued than drum sticks or other mallets, and can be rubbed against a drum head to produce a continuous "swishing" sound.