Keyboard percussion instruments come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The term is most commonly used to describe the mallet percussion instruments used in western orchestras. The marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, and glockenspiel are all members of this family.
The tone bar on a keyboard percussion instrument is struck with a mallet. The tone bar is usually made of wood or metal, while the mallet tip is usually made of wood, metal, rubber, or yarn. A long, cylindrical tube runs beneath the tone bar, allowing the sound to project. Resonator pipes are what they’re called.
In the resonator pipes of the vibraphone, there is also a small fan mechanism. When it’s turned on, it creates a vibrato effect, which is when the pitch of the sound changes very slightly to produce a warm, rich tone.
There are no resonator pipes on the glockenspiel. It’s made of metal, and it’s usually played with metal mallets. It has a sharp, piercing sound. It can be heard without any additional amplification throughout an entire orchestra.
The marimba is the largest of the keyboard percussion instruments. In both solo and orchestral settings, it is usually made of rosewood and played with soft mallets. To make playing chords and complicated musical passages easier, both hands use multiple mallets.
The xylophone is the second largest of these instruments, followed the vibraphone. The xylophone is frequently heard in orchestral and band arrangements, but it is rarely heard in popular music or as a solo instrument. In fact, the vibraphone is a very popular solo instrument, particularly in jazz music. In jazz bands, Lionel Hampton, who began performing in the 1920s, was known for his use of the vibraphone.
The glockelspiel is the smallest member of the family. It is also known as “orchestra bells” or simply “bells” and is German for “playing the bells.” The bells and the vibraphone, unlike the marimba and xylophone, are made of metal.
The number of octaves that an instrument can play usually determines its size. Marimbas have up to five octaves, whereas xylophones have three and a half and vibraphones have three. The glockenspiel usually has only two notes, both of which are in the upper register.
The size of the tone bar changes depending on the note’s register and pitch. Because it reaches very low notes, a marimba usually has longer and wider tone bars than other keyboard percussion instruments. The tone bars on the glockenspiel, on the other hand, are small and short.