Percussion · Mallets · pitched
Xylophone
Wooden bars with tube resonators, played with hard mallets. Dry, bright and very articulate.
- Family
- Percussion · Mallets
- Classification
- Idiophone · struck bars
- Transposition
- Written an octave lower
- Clefs
- Treble
- Sounding range
- F4 – C8
Range
C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8
Written F3 to C7 on a 3½-octave instrument, sounding an octave higher. Playback uses a neutral tone, not the instrument's own sound.
Writing for the xylophone
- Written in treble clef an octave below the sounding pitch.
- The sound is short, so sustained notes are played as rolls (tremolo).
- Excellent for fast runs, repeated notes and glissandi.
- Doubling woodwind or string passages gives them a sharp, clear attack.
History
Xylophones have a long history in Africa and Southeast Asia. In Europe Saint-Saëns used one to depict rattling skeletons in Danse macabre (1874). The modern instrument with a piano-style layout and resonators was developed in the early 20th century.
Listen
Key works featuring the xylophone. Each link opens a YouTube search, so you can pick the recording you like.
- Saint-Saëns – Danse macabre
- Saint-Saëns – Carnival of the Animals, Fossils
- Britten – The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
Useful tools
Relatives
Pages coming:MarimbaVibraphone