Miles
Sticks, Mallets and Beaters are used to start vibrations. Often, very different tones can be made from one item simply by striking it with different things. Here are some pearls from our friend Bart Hopkin:
Beaters with small striking surfaces excite high frequency vibrations; large surfaces muffle the high and bring out the lower frequencies.
Hard striking surfaces bring out high frequencies; softer striking surfaces muffle the high and bring out the lower frequencies.
Heavier mallets favor low frequencies. More generally, mallet weight should be appropriate to the mass of the vibrating body; heavy mallets will overdrive and possibly damage light or fragile vibrating bodies.
Mallets with fuzzy frequencies damp high frequencies.
Below are my first gathered sticks, mallets and beaters sorted by increasing silliness. After the flaccid Rainbow Trout and the Arabic pompom, I realised I was getting a bit carried away and had gone far enough for today...
There are more sticks, mallets and beaters on the way, perhaps even some purpose built ones!!
