Since the invention of the first xylophones, a plethora of xylophone variations have emerged. Xylophones come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including amadindas, akadindas, embaires, luntangs, and balafons. These xylophones come in a variety of materials, can be played a different number of people, are built to different lengths, and have a different number of keys. The majority of these instruments have horizontally oriented keys, similar to a piano keyboard. The majority of the various types of xylophones have a fairly wide range of pitches.
One of the many types of percussion instruments is the xylophone. When a mallet or stick is struck against steel or wooden bars, sounds are produced. Plastics, fiberglass, and other synthetic materials are used to make many modern bars and keys. Many of the different types of these instruments have gourds or tubes underneath the bars. When the keys are struck, the volume produced these gourds and tubes can be greatly increased.
Amadindas are usually accompanied drums. These xylophones have 15 keys and are traditionally played in groups. Between 10 and 20 keys are used in Akadindas. The ten-key akadinda models can be played two people, while the 20-key models can be played four people. The akadinda xylophone’s keys are traditionally a little smaller than the amadinda xylophone’s keys.
The embaire xylophone can be played six players using wooden sticks. Unlike many of the other types of xylophones available, these are unique. They can be up to 12 feet long and have a total of 21 keys. Balafons have 18 to 21 keys, which are traditionally made of rosewood. The majority of the time, these keys are mounted on bamboo frames.
The eight keys on the kulintang a kayo xylophone are made of a variety of soft woods. The gandingan a kayo xylophone has four rather than eight keys. These xylophones are designed to sound like a gandingan, a Chinese instrument made up of a series of hanging gongs.
A luntang xylophone is made up of five logs hung from a rock in ascending pitch. They can be played one or two people at a time. Three rows of pipes are suspended from a series of slanted racks in a T’rung xylophone. The lowest keys on T’rungs are found on the rack systems’ tops. Timbelas are designed to be struck with wooden sticks while propped on the ground.