Xylophones

The xylophone is a percussive instrument made of wooden bars. Each bar produces a single note when musicians strike them with a mallet. Melodies are created by hitting different bars, since each bar plays a different note. Similar to glockenspiels, the xylophone is part of the idiophone family which means sounds are produced from the vibration of the instrument itself.

The biggest difference is that both instruments are made from a different material, and therefore make very different sounds.
Xylophones have wooden bars that produce a mellow tone, whereas the bars on the glockenspiel are metal giving off a more bell-like tone. There is a clue to this difference in their names; ‘glocken’ means ‘bells’ in German, while ‘xylon’ is ‘wood’ in Greek.

Depending on the size of the xylophone, a diatonic model would consist of the C-major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. A chromatic xylophone has the same notes as the black keys on a keyboard: C#, D#, F#, G#, A#, C#, D#. A lot of models have the notes etched onto the corresponding bar to help aid learning and beginners.

A xylophone is one of the easiest instruments to master and can be a great first step to learning the keyboard or piano. The xylophone is generally seen as a good beginner instrument because it’s easy to play and very simple to set up. Children find playing the xylophone fun because of its fun nature and pleasing tone.