What is a Xylophone
What is a Xylophone
What is a Xylophone?
The xylophone is a component of the percussion section of an orchestra and many instrumental groups. Its unique sound, relative rarity, and appearance make it fascinating to the listener. The xylophone has a close cousin called the marimba. Both instruments consist of wooden keys mounted on a wooden frame over a series of metal tubes called resonators. Hammering on the wooden keys causes the impact to resonate through the tubes. The xylophone has a brittle, metallic sound, while the marimba is somewhat more mellow or wooden to the listener.
The xylophone and marimba differ in range. Depending on the model, a xylophone encompasses two to four octaves. Its highest note is the same as C-88 on the piano. The marimba covers two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half octaves with C-76 the highest note. This means that the marimba is one octave lower than the xylophone in range. Music is written for the xylophone as an effects instrument. It rarely is used to play solos with an orchestra or ensemble. The marimba's large resonators make it sound more like an organ. Composers write more music for the marimba as a solo instrument, and its sound range is so wide that it can make music like a full orchestra.
The sound produced from the xylophone depends heavily on the skill of the player. The player stands to play the xylophone and faces the center of the instrument. He or she must stand erect, hold the mallets (hammers or beaters) between the thumb and first joint of the first finger with one mallet per hand. The wrists are used to move the mallets smoothly up and down; the palms face out. The arms are held down near the keyboard and do not move. The xylophonist plays the lower register by taking one step to the left and the upper register by making one step to the right. The player always returns to center. Notes are struck in the centers of the bars or keys. Flats and sharps are struck along the edges of the bars but not the part of the bar that rests directly on the frame. The lowest end of the xylophone is the widest, and the highest notes are at the narrow end.
The bars on the keyboard of the xylophone look much like the black and white keys of a piano. The best sound comes from striking the middle of each bar, although very fast passages are played at the ends of the bars. The place where the bar passes over the chord or frame of the xylophone produces a dead sound, so this is avoided. The xylophone is not pounded with the mallets; instead, the correct rebound of the mallets pulls more rounded tones out of the bars. Beginning players learn to strike the centers of the bars to develop their feel for the reach from bar to bar. With increasing skill in getting the right tones from the bars, students can expand the parts of the bars they use to vary the sound and volume.