Four Mallet Jazz Vibraphone Riffs (that really rock)
This book contains 15 wide-ranging jazz vibraphone riffs that make use of all many different elements of jazz harmony, including bebop, blues, and modern “out” sounding phrases. There is a lot of information packed into these phrases!
Each melody is 8 measures long and fits over the chord progression from the first 8 measures to “Autumn Leaves” – I chose this chord progression because it uses the main types of 7th chords.
The exercises make use of the four mallets similar to how a jazz pianist would – interjecting chords in the middle of complicated harmonic lines. Practicing these riffs really forced me to get creative with sticking and movement around the instrument, and that’s why I think it can help you too!
I wrote the riffs in the key of F, but this PDF includes all of the riffs written in all 12 keys. Depending on the key, there were changes that needed to be made due to the range of the instrument. Those changes have been indicated in the book.
Remember, jazz is a language – and the best way to learn a language is to learn some phrases! So that’s what I’ve written here. I hope you find it challenging and fun!
-Tim
Skill level: intermediate/advanced
PDF Book (60 Pages) “15 Killer Four Mallet Jazz Vibraphone Riffs”
