Xylophone (redirected from xylophonist)

xylophone (zī`ləfōn) [Gr.,=wood sound], musical instrument having graduated wooden slabs that are struck by the player with small, hard mallets. The slabs are usually arranged like a keyboard, and the range varies from two to four octaves. Since the 1920s the xylophone has been equipped with tubular resonators and thus is essentially identical with the marimba. The latter, however, is deeper and larger, is often played by two or more players, and is struck with soft mallets.

---

xylophone

African log amadinda xylophone; property of the Uganda Museum, Kampala

(credit: Hillegeist/Kubik)

Percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned wooden bars that are struck with mallets. Primitive xylophones may consist of logs of graded length laid across two supporting logs; a pit may be dug underneath to serve as a resonator. The xylophone has long been one of the principal instruments of African music; it is also important in the Indonesian gamelan. The marimba is a Latin American xylophone. In the modern orchestral xylophone, the bars are laid out on a stand in keyboard arrangement, with vertical resonating tubes suspended under each bar. See also glockenspiel; vibraphone.

---

Xylophone 

a percussion instrument. It has been known in Europe since the 15th century; from the 19th century it was used in musical ensembles and opera and symphony orchestras, as well as for solo performances.

A xylophone consists of a set of chromatically tuned small wooden bars (41) that are arranged in four vertical columns. The two middle columns form the C major scale, and the two outer ones contain all remaining steps of the chromatic sequence. The player produces sound by striking the bars with small wooden hammers. Xylophones are made in several dimensions, ranging from 1½ to 3½ octaves. The marimba and tubaphone are varieties of the instrument.