Musser was I think the first grip out there. It all comes from Musser himself. If you are trying to find new grips out there, there is a book that only talks about Steven's and Bourton's but it has the other grips there too. I believe you can find it at tapspace. It's called "Simply Four" if you want to get serious into 4 mallets then that is a book you must have along with "Up Front" but that one is a maybe.

I suggest that people should : Find a private instructor. It's good that you're reading about these grips, but the books alone can't help. You could be forming bad habits that you're not aware of and will take some time to unlearn and reteach.

Second, from my knowlegde... The Stout Grip was developed because Stout's hands were alil too small for traditonal grip (Musser), so he and his instructor came up with some strange hybrid. When he got older he never changed his grip (since his hands were now fully develop in size) thus the "Stout" grip was found.

Traditional Grip = Musser ....http://www.nancyzeltsman.com/about.htm

Their are 2 primary grips used today and learning the other's is like learning hybrid rudiments. It doesn't hurt to learn them, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter how many grips you know...what matters is can you play. Grips don't make the player, their talent, dedidcation, determentation, Motivation, and Education does.

Also remember the instruments that the modifiers play. For example Steven's wanted something with more of a extended reach..hense Stevens Grip. That's why the grips have that natural feel when you play on those instruments. There's no general rule that you have to use Steven's on marimba and Burton on Vibes, but to be a total percussionist you should learn both then chose which is nesseary to get the job done...like finding the right mallet. This is an age-less battle like Traditional vs. Matchgrip..IMO. Take care.

Great post Darkquad!

i couldnt agree with you more

Alright, I hate to keep harping on this, but I want to make sure everybody is getting the terminology correct.

The link Darkquad supplied says Nancy plays traditional grip. An article on her website describes traditional grip: http://www.nancyzeltsman.com/pdfs/4malletgrip.pdf
What she describes there is definitely cross grip. Not Musser.

Traditional Grip does not equal Musser grip.
Traditional grip is another name for Cross grip.
Stevens is a variation on Musser.
Burton is a variation on Cross grip.

I've always been under the impression that traditional is Musser since it was traditional the first established 4-mallet grip BUT Beat_Master_V IS CORRECT . The terms are usually thrown around. Check out the real article I was looking for yesterday.
http://www.nancyzeltsman.com/pdfs/4malletgrip.pdf

So, I think this should help clear everything up...thanks Beat_Master_V

I'm playing in a quartet tomorrow at an annual banquet. We're playing "Metric Lips" which totally AWESOME! hehe anywho, it requires two marimbas (one playing 2 mallets, the other playing 3), one xylo (playing 3 mallets) and I'm on vibes (playing 4 mallets.) Getting to the point of this thread, i found it most effective for ME to use the burton grip. Mainly because of the vibes and volume needed. And yes, i have noticed many more people moving to Stevens. From what i've learned, traditional and burton are easiest to start out with, while Stevens is more preferred once it is mastered (it is harder, though, to gain speed and volume) Pretty much, just try to master all the grips, then pick one that fits you, the instrument, and the piece, and modify the grip if needed (without sacrificing technique).

i really dont know the names of the different grips all i know is what my bd,who is a drummer, told me............he told me to have my hands not all the way verical and not all the way flat......then he told me to put the first and last mallets between the middle and ring wear the bottom is about 1/2 inch from wrist.....and the 2 and 3 mallets you hold them with ur index and thumb with the end a little bit below that............can anybody tell me what grip that is..............