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Your two options really are shaving them down (assuming they aren't dirty with excess mass to begin with) or adding weight--probably with some kind of heavy gum or resin either near the center or edge of the crotale. I would first recommend analyzing the actual pitch of each crotale using a tuner, or if possible a musical spectrum analyzer so you can see ...

Yes, drilling the end of each crack will stop it from spreading. As far as bent cymbals go, simply hammering it back will cause additional tonal change (an possibly cause a crack, or section to chip off). It is possible to repair the shape, but the sound will never be the same. If you have access to vice-grip or a table vice, I would recommend the ...

Based on what you've given us to go on, the instrument with the resonant frequency of this cave you visit would be an identical cave. :-) Before you start thinking about instruments, materials, or tuning, you need some ballpark as to what this resonant frequency actually is. The most reliable way to determine this would be to bring a tone generator (like a ...

I've done this repair several times to the pieces in my maraca collection. I collect the gourd maracas, but gig with synthetic or rawhide. You have two dissimilar surfaces. Close, but not the same. Regular white glue has a lot of water, and the gourd surface of the maraca will want to soak up the water in the glue. I like the yellow carpenters glue. Here ...

There are many differences, both in pitch and timbre. I've seen triangles used with a 10" side length down to 4", and you can purchase them made out of a variety of different materials and construction methods. Some pieces even call for three different triangles of different pitch. So no, there's no defined standard pitch. A percussionist just chooses the ...

If you're just looking for more rudiment-type patterns to practice, the 40 standard rudiments are only the beginning. There are literally thousands of potential new licks and patterns, many of which elaborate on the original 40. These are often referred to as 'Hybrid Rudiments', to emphasize that they combine and extend the traditional 40. This list of 128 ...

The primary reason for this difference is in the mechanics of the drums themselves. Snare drums have both top and bottom heads that are usually tuned to a relatively high tension compared with the timpani. Hence, all the notes are extremely staccato and have virtually no sustain to them at all, so it is very difficult to play a note on the drum in the 50 or ...

In short, yes, the skills you develop on one of the standard western mallet pitched idiophones (marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, and glockenspiel) will transfer to the others. All use the common pitch layout similar to a piano keyboard, and read the same music (although marimba and vibraphone do much more in the bass clef than the others). Most young ...

The thing you haven't really taken into account is that all instruments (including metal bars) have a range of frequencies, not just one, and you may have a range of resonant frequencies in the cave itself, so you will need to think about what tone you are intending to get. For example you may use an instrument that happens to have a harmonic at a resonant ...

My answer will largely contain excerpts from Robert Breithaupt's book "The Complete Percussionist." The Cross Grip is derived by crossing a second mallet over a single mallet, held in a traditional style. This grip creates stability within the grip, but does not provide for the independent control of the mallets needed for much advanced marimba literature. ...

Neither grip should be painful, although Stevens requires a little more muscle development on the weak side of the hand which could cause some overuse strain when just starting out. The Burton grip is the 'jazz' grip. It was developed by jazz vibist Gary Burton. I've found that the Stevens grip is better if you need to play lines that jump around a lot ...

I started off using the Stevens Technique, because that was the grip of choice by the person teaching me at the time. It seemed easy enough, so I used it for a few years. That being said, there's one that most call "traditional grip." That's the one to use, in my opinion. It's much easier for playing fast passages with the inner two, easier to open and close ...

A dented or bashed cybal is repairable - just get it hammered out. Cracks are permanent, though, altering the sound. If you want your original sound back you will need to buy new ones. Cracks can give you an interesting sound though, so don't throw them away - your idea to prevent the cracks spreading is good though, remove the point of stress by drilling ...

In addition to NReilingh's answer: the space requirements for the marimba are also a good reason not to buy one. These beasts are huge! But the sound is awesome. the layouts for the various western "struck idiophones" is similar, but not identical: xylophone and marimba have a raised "black notes" keyboards, while the vibraphone is flat. This matters a ...

I discussed this topic with my teacher a few weeks ago because I also had problems with dampening the timpani. I never managed to do it without adding any noise from touching the head. He gave me three tips that solved most of my problems: Although it is desirable to have the muting as silent and perfect as possible, not everything you hear is heard by the ...

Dampening timpani is not a complete art in itself, but it does take some practice to do well. The easiest technique is to use the pads of your fingers and palm to stop the vibration as you said, but things get slightly more complex than that. I find small quick circles with the hand on the drum head can make for a faster dampening and usually doesn't make ...

Here's what I would do. I think any decent wood glue would be fine. Either traditional "hide" or modern synthetic like Titebond. However, it's your gluing surface that's going to be the problem. The hole in the gourd is very rough. I would smooth that hole so you had a nice, smooth, round gluing surface. If your tapered handle will still fit, you're ...