Xylophone
The xylophone is a percussion instrument characterized by bars of tuned wood that are struck with mallets to produce musical notes. Its name derives from the Greek words meaning "wood" and "sound," reflecting its construction and function. This instrument is part of a broader family of similar instruments, including the marimba, glockenspiel, and vibraphone, all of which utilize a striking mechanism to create sound. Xylophones typically have a range of three to four octaves and are often used in music education due to their simple layout resembling a piano. Historically, the xylophone has roots tracing back to ancient Asia and Africa, where various forms have been documented, indicating its rich cultural significance across different regions.
The instrument has evolved from a folk tool for traveling musicians to a staple in orchestras, particularly since the 19th century, when composers began to write specific pieces for it. Modern xylophones are often made from hardwood or synthetic materials and may include resonator tubes to enhance sound projection. They are used in diverse music settings today, from orchestral performances to educational environments, including innovative virtual xylophones that integrate technology into music learning. As a versatile and widely recognized instrument, the xylophone continues to play an important role in both classical and contemporary music.
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Xylophone
The xylophone is a percussion instrument in which the player strikes keys tuned to various pitches with a mallet to form notes. The name xylophone comes from the Greek words xylon (meaning "wood") and phoné (meaning "sound"). The xylophone is part of a broader family of related instruments in which a musician hits long bars for sound. These may include the marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, balafon, laggutu, sematron, and xylomarimba.
Modern xylophones generally have a range between three and three and a half octaves, although most orchestras will have at least one four-octave xylophone. A children's version of the xylophone can have as little as a two-octave capacity. The xylophone is a popular instrument for teaching music to children because of its ease of use and layout of keys in a musical scale similar to that found on a piano.
Brief History
The first known instruments similar in form to the modern xylophone have been traced back to Southeastern Asia in the ninth century. However, a form of hanging Chinese wood-harmonicon dated to 2000 BCE and an ancient bowed Hindu instrument called the ranat ek have been suggested as potential ancestors to all modern xylophones. Regardless of its origins, images of xylophone-like instruments have been documented in cave reliefs in various temples in the region. Incarnations of the xylophone may be found throughout Southeast Asia, including the Javanese gambang, the Filipino patatag, the Malay bakagong, and the Vietnamese dan go.
Some musicologists instead point to an alternate African origin for the instrument. Versions of the xylophone are found in such diverse regions of Africa as Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Uganda, and Zambia. A particularly high concentration of xylophone-type instruments may be found on the western and eastern coasts of Africa in Mozambique and Angola, respectively. However, there has been speculation that the xylophone was introduced to the continent via Madagascar by immigrants from the islands of Malaysia or Indonesia in approximately 500 CE. As proof of this origin, they point to other cultural artifacts of Malay-Indonesian, including Malagasy, the national language of Madagascar, which is also of Austronesian origin.
The first European mention of a xylophone-type instrument was in German composer Arnolt Schlick's Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten (1511). Schlick called this instrument the hültze glechter (wooden clatter or wooden laughter in English) in reference to its wooden keys. Another early European name for the instrument was the "straw fiddle" as musicians would place straw underneath its bars to help create resonance. In 1523, Hans Holbein the Younger provided an illustration of a xylophone in a series of woodcuts called the Dance of Death. In one image, a skeleton is shown playing the xylophone as it leads a victim toward death. Holbein's work indicates that even in this era, the quick-fire beats of the wooden keys of the xylophone had associations with bones and skeletons—links maintained into the present era.
It remained principally a folk instrument used by traveling minstrels until its adoption by orchestras in the nineteenth century. During this period, the perception of the xylophone was elevated from that of a folk instrument to a key piece of orchestral arrangements. Several influential composers such as Ignaz Schweigl and Ferdinand Kauer wrote specific compositions for the xylophone. By the mid-nineteenth century, it officially became known as the xylophone in European music circles. In 1875, composer Camille Saint-Saëns featured the xylophone as an integral instrument in his composition Danse Macabre.
In the twentieth century, the xylophone proved to be among the most easily discernable instruments in early orchestral recordings. This added to its popularity as an orchestral instrument, and it became a key component of percussion sections in theaters and symphonies. The unique tone of the xylophone similarly lent itself well to vaudeville performances and was often used as accompaniment. In the twenty-first century, the xylophone remains a key component of both orchestras and folk music performances.
Overview
The xylophone is an idiophone instrument, meaning that it produces sound through vibrations. The bars of the xylophone are arranged in a pair of rows similar to that found on a piano, with each row simulating the piano's white or black keys. Each bar is hung independently on a piece of string so that it does not touch any other part, thereby allowing it to vibrate freely. The pitch of each bar can be changed by altering the base materials, size, density, or thickness. The tone can further be shifted by alternating between different types of mallets. Traditionally, the bars were composed of various kinds of hardwoods, like rosewood or Japanese birch; however, many modern instruments are built from such synthetic materials as fiberglass, kelon, or klyperion. Modern xylophones also have resonator tubes placed under each bar that serve to amplify the sound. Most orchestral xylophones typically vary in pitch between three and four octaves.
As it is a very old instrument, historically, xylophones have taken many forms over the course of their development. The first Asian xylophones were trough xylophones. These instruments resemble the Western incarnation of the instrument except for a bow in the middle of the frame. The bars of the keys are placed over a hollow section that gives these instruments their resonance.
In Africa, the earliest forms of the xylophone were the leg xylophone and pit xylophone. The leg xylophone consisted of a series of bars placed across the musician's lap, with the area beneath the legs intended to serve as the resonating device. A pit xylophone, on the other hand, was fashioned using wooden shafts placed on banana leaves and then laid over an open pit. Over time, they evolved into the many variations seen throughout the continent.
Unlike xylophones, the bars of glockenspiels are made from metal and only have a 2.5-octave range. Marimbas, on the other hand, are a type of bass-octave xylophone that can play up to four octaves. Marimbas also have longer resonators and make use of harder woods that give them a deeper timbre.
Several forms of xylophones, marimbas, glockenspiels and other idiophone instruments are key facets of the Orff method of music education. The increased use of computer technology into school programs has led to the incorporation of virtual xylophones that have color-coded tone bars and interactive capabilities. Virtual xylophones are less expensive than wooden instruments and have the dual function of teaching computer literacy and music education.
Bibliography
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