A vibe player named Ray K. sent me this. This is how he saves the felt on his vibes. he attaches this wooden piece he made and it keeps the felt off the bars and his felt stays useful and new for a long time.

Here's a note Ray sent me
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Hi Tony,

This guy has been around for a while with this approach to holding mallets. And now he has a student it seems. That's great, who knows where it will wind up!

"Blackbird" by Paul McCartney. One of my favorite songs recorded today at home while we have a blizzard outside. Hope you like it.

This video might be a little similar to Tony's "marking the tune" video, in that it is another way to outline the changes, and make the "pretty notes" flow together. Anyway, it was inspired by a banjo player: Danny Barnes who I first heard of from this sight a long time ago when Tony posted a link from his blog.

I love playing ballads!
Here's a version of "My Foolish Heart" that I was happy with from a recent trio gig with the great Drew Gress on bass and drummer Johnathan Blake.

Questions, ask away...
Thanks for listening.
-Tyler