TRADITIONAL CROSS-GRIP With this grip the inner mallets are held as with the normal two-mallet gtip, and the outside mallets are added between the index and middle finger, Place the inner mallet between the index finger and thumb as with the two-mallet grip, then place the outer mallet between the index finger and the middle finger, with the back part of the mallet crossing over the other mal- let. Wrap, or curl, the last three fingers around the crossed shafts of the mal- lets, griping the mallets firmly with the last two fingers. (See photo I.) To spread the mallets, insert the thumb toward the inside of the first mallet, and spread the thumb and index finger apart, thus causing the mallets to spread apart. (See photo J.) To close the mallets, move the thumb back to the outside of the first mallet, and in conjunction with the three back fin- gers, squeeze the shafts together. To ‘obtain the close interval of a second, it is necessary to point the index finger straight forward between the shafts. (See photo K,) This grip was the original four-mallet grip, and is probably the easiest to learn, but it has the least technical potential and the most problems of the four-mallet grips, and is therefore not recommended. Playing Position for Traditional Cross-Grip 1 2 3 4 IDENTIFICATION OF MALLETS For the purpose of indicating stickings, the mallets are numbered from 1 to 4, from the player's left to his or her right. (Some composers and per- formers reverse the numbering procedure. LeftHand Right Hand‘ bering procedure.)