Reflections on my 1st professional gig playing the malletkat

🎶 How I Got Paid to Play MalletsBy David
This is my account of how I brought my mallet abilities to a professional level—where I could actually get paid to play. The big question behind it all: Do the practice techniques and curriculum I teach actually work? Let’s find out.
🛠️ Starting PointBefore I ever touched the MalletKAT, I had already taught myself elementary xylophone. You can hear those early efforts here on my YouTube Channel: Early Jazz. Also worth noting—I wasn’t starting from scratch. I’ve played and taught the music I was hired to perform for decades on the piano. That foundation made a huge difference.
🎯 The Process I Followed

• Lessons with Rick Dior I took a few mallet lessons with Rick, who showed me a proper grip, rootless voicings, and recommended graded repertoire—both jazz and classical. I shedded it until I knew it inside and out. In other words, I did the work. He also encouraged me to expand my harmonic and solo vocabulary (more on that in a future post).
• Listening & Research I studied jazz mallet players like David Pike, Gary Burton, Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, and others. I paid close attention to their phrasing, pedaling, and overall approach.
• Jazz Mechanics I worked through the jazz warm-up I outlined in my 1-page PDF (you can download it here).
  • 12 major scales + selected bebop scales
  • 60 jazz chords: solid for comping, broken for soloing
  • 24 rootless ii–V–I progressions in major and minor
  • Minor blues scales in A, D, C, F, Bb, Eb
  • Guide tones (3rds and 7ths) through various progressions
• Technical Work I played a ton of exercises to develop hand-eye coordination. It wasn’t a chore—it was a thrill to hear my expressive abilities grow and begin to mask my technical limitations.
• Visual Learning I watched YouTube videos of vibraphone performances. (You’ll find links to my favorites in earlier blog posts.)
• Tune Practice: The Bill McBirnie Method I practiced tunes by playing along with professional recordings. Bill’s method is simple: pick a tune, load up several YouTube versions, and spend the afternoon playing along—transposing as needed. I also used software to drill chord progression patterns from Step 4.
• Expressive Playing I focused on phrasing and musicality, even within the limits of my technique. I credit this—and knowing the tunes cold—as the key to the success of the gig.

🔭 What’s Next

• Building and retaining repertoire
• Expanding my harmonic vocabulary

If you’re working on your own musical journey and want help organizing your practice, feel free to reach out.
Best, David 🎵