KinderMallets

KinderMallets, made for Orff and classroom percussion.

KinderMallets sizes its range by instrument and by player rather than selling one general-purpose pair. That matters more than it sounds, because a mallet too light will not make a bass bar speak at all, and one too heavy turns a soprano glockenspiel into pure impact with no tone in it.

The range covers cord xylophone mallets in three sizes, metallophone mallets in three, rubber mallets in three, bass xylophone and bass metallophone mallets in two each, glockenspiel mallets, felt mallets for xylophone and metallophone, contra-bass mallets in three sizes and a triangle beater.

Head material is the other half of the decision. Cord and yarn give a soft attack and suit wooden bars. Rubber comes in grades and is the usual answer for metallophones, where a hard head produces a harsh clang. Felt is softer again. The handles are sized for children's hands rather than cut down from adult stock.