Two-mallet players use several different grips, the most common being a matched grip called German grip, in which the mallets are played palms down, with the thumbs facing each other. In this grip, the mallets are held between the thumb and index finger of each hand, with the remaining three fingers of each hand supporting the shafts. This grip uses a combination of wrist movement and fingertip control to manipulate the mallet. Another popular grip is French grip, a grip also commonly used on timpani. The mallets are again held between the thumb and index fingers and controlled with the remaining three fingers, but the palms are held vertically, with the thumbs pointed upward. Most of the stroke action comes from the fingertip control of the shafts, with the wrists contributing slightly less than they do with the German grip.right|thumb|upright=1|Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens playing in the early 1940s. Reg Kehoe (center) switches to the vibraphone part way through for a solo using two mallets.Passages are usually played with alternating sticking, but double strokes (playing two notes in a row with the same hand) are used when convenient to minimize crossing the hands.
Two-mallet players use several different grips, the most common being a matched grip called German grip, in which the mallets are played palms down, with the thumbs facing each other. In this grip, the mallets are held between the thumb and index finger of each hand, with the remaining three fingers of each hand supporting the shafts. This grip uses a combination of wrist movement and fingertip control to manipulate the mallet. Another popular grip is French grip, a grip also commonly used on timpani. The mallets are again held between the thumb and index fingers and controlled with the remaining three fingers, but the palms are held vertically, with the thumbs pointed upward. Most of the stroke action comes from the fingertip control o!f the shafts, with the wrists contributing slightly less than they do with ?the German grip.right|thumb|upright=1|Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens playing in the early 1940s. Reg Kehoe (center) switches to the vibraphone part way through for a solo using two mallets.Passages are usually played with alternating sticking, but double strokes (playing two notes in a row with the same hand) are used when convenient to minimize crossing the hands.