As the year races to an end I thought I’d indulge in a bit of sentimentality and reflect on how much Fulcrum has grown since 2024. When stuck in the weeds of the day-to-day, it can be hard sometimes to see just how much progress you’ve made. Looking back though, I’m really proud of what I’ve learnt this year and where the business will be going in 2026.

Following on from last month’s post about timpani, a colleague asked me to do a deep dive into tuned percussion. All too frequently school teachers are asked to run curriculum units on percussion with it being assumed they know the ins and outs of these instruments. Which is a bit unfair given that I’ve spent 18 years specialising in the subject and am still figuring things out!

So today I’d like to provide an introduction to all things tuned percussion – enjoy!

Mallets are expensive and even as a seasoned percussionist it can be difficult to know which ones to buy. For this reason, most percussionists I know tended to start from the same general selection of mallets before branching out.

This month I thought it would be useful to explore popular recommendations. Whether you’re looking to boost your school collection or a student has asked for advice, I hope this list helps you on your way!

While at university I learnt the basic theory of how percussion instruments are constructed and how the parts work together. However, no one ever really taught me how to repair my instruments when they broke. The vast majority of what I know now is self-taught, gained through trial and error and repetition. And it’s that repetition I’d like to focus on today. While there are certainly skills I still want to learn, there are some tuned instrument repair jobs I’ve completed so often that I could do them in my sleep!

So, here’s to some of the most common mallet percussion fixes!

One of the main reasons I started Fulcrum was because I kept seeing the same instrument care mistakes over and over again. It’s easy to forget as a percussionist that not everyone knows the best way to care for these instruments. So, to help remedy that, here are five easy thing you can do to care for your percussion instruments, prolonging their lives and reducing the need for expensive maintenance!