Percussion “Keyboards”: Tuned Percussion Instruments
In my last post, I discussed whether the piano should be classed as a percussion instrument. As we saw there, it is a percussion instrument which is played using a keyboard. Or, we could also see the piano as a keyboard instrument whose means of sound production is percussive.
Just for variety’s sake, let’s talk about some other tuned percussion instruments – and I’m not talking about tympani. Let’s consider several instruments which provide at least an octave or two of tuned notes. As such, they can play melodies, even chords and harmonies, and in this way they approach their piano cousin much more closely than does, say, the snare drum. Moreover, the tuned elements are arranged in a way that resembles the piano keyboard, only on a much larger scale.
Xylophone: The xylophone gets its name from the Greek word for “wood” combined with the word for “sound.” Xylophones consist of a series of tuned wooden bars arranged horizontally on a stand.
Modern xylophones have short resonating tubes below the bars, which help the tone carry out to the audience. The xylophone sounds one octave higher than written, and in standard xylophones, the top note corresponds to the top note on a piano. The instrument has a bright, high tone. A concert xylophone can be as small as 2-1/2 octaves, but most concert xylophones provide 3-1/2 to 4 octaves.
The xylophone can be struck with a variety of mallets, whose heads may be hard rubber or plastic. Each of these types of mallets produces a slightly different quality of sound in the xylophone.
Marimba: The marimba is similar to a xylophone, and like its smaller brother is made of a series of tuned wooden bars, arranged horizontally on a stand and struck with mallets.
However, marimba bars are shaped differently from those of the xylophone. Marimbas always have long resonating tubes, which can extend almost to the floor. As a result of these two differences in construction, the marimba’s tone is much warmer than that of the xylophone, and its notes sound where written, rather than being transposed up an octave or two.
This difference in tonal quality is accentuated by the softer mallets used on the marimba. The heads of marimba mallets are almost always covered with yarn or cord, resulting in a softer, warmer tone.
Concert marimbas are generally at least 3-1/2 octaves in size, and often as much as 4-1/2 or even 5 octaves.
Vibraphone: A vibraphone is like a marimba with bars made out of metal, rather than wood. It is generally used in jazz or rock ensembles, rather than concert ensembles. Because its bars are cut like those of the marimba, combined with the use of yarn or cord mallets, the sound quality of the vibraphone is more similar to the warm tones of the marimba rather than the bright tones of the xylophone.
The vibraphone also has a pedal, which works exactly like the sustain (right) pedal of the piano; and a series of motor-driven fans, which can be used to create a vibrato effect. This is where the vibraphone gets its name.
Glockenspiel: The glockenspiel resembles a small xylophone with metal bars instead of wooden ones. Like the xylophone, the glockenspiel is a transposing instrument. In the case of the glockenspiel, the notes sound 2 octaves above where they are written. The glockenspiel is a small instrument, generally no larger than 2-1/2 to 3 octaves.
Glockenspiels do not generally use resonating tubes and are struck with hard mallets. They produce a very clear, sweet, bell-like tone.
Chimes: Chimes are outstanding instruments – literally. They are usually positioned out near the front of an ensemble, and are highly visible since they stand upright. They also have a clear, strong tone that rises distinctly above the rest of the ensemble. Chimes are often used to mimic church bells in ensemble pieces.
Chimes consist of a series of tuned metal pipes (called bars) arranged so as to stand upright in a rack. They are struck by a small hard rubber mallet (called a striker), and can produce a surprisingly loud, pure tone.
Chimes come in various sizes, but typically the smallest set has 12 bars, or a single octave. Larger sets can have 33, 36, or even as many as 66 bars, providing a terrific range for this instrument.
Each of these percussion instruments differs from their keyboard brethren, in that they are struck directly with sticks or mallets. Yet, like the piano, they are capable of producing lyrical melodic lines, and multi-tone harmonies. Percussion is not “just” drums!
Tags: chimes, glockenspiel, instrument, keyboards, learning piano, marimba, music, musical instruments, percussion, percussion instrument, percussion keyboards, piano, piano lessons, piano students, studying piano, vibraphone, xylophone
