Learning the marimba in college actually made me a better drummer in two different ways, and I think these are relevant lessons to share with you guys even if you’ve never been into classical percussion.

I imagine some of you guys saw that title, though, and were like - “what in the world is a marimba??” In case you’ve never been involved in the percussion world of timpani, xylophone, chimes, marimba, and all the crazy stuff that makes up the percussion section in an orchestra… Here’s what a marimba is (the marimba is on the right, and a xylophone is on the left):

This was the "backstage" additional practice space in our music building. I spent a lot of time back there!

Most folks recognize a xylophone when they see one. Think of the marimba as a “bass xylophone” - basically a xylophone that goes much lower and therefore has much larger wooden bars. These bars are usually made of rosewood, and they’re not cheap....