It is quite obvious that the first musical instruments of the baby should be as simple and accessible as possible. Take at least a drum, maracas or pipes, the process of playing which even a two-year-old toddler will master. However, with their help, it is hardly possible to introduce the child to the world of art. Another thing is xylophones and metallophones, where each plate corresponds to a certain note. Both of these tools have characteristic features, which will be discussed in our article.

Definitions

Xylophone

Xylophone- a self-sounding musical instrument of the percussion group. It consists of arranged in a row chromatically tuned wooden blocks with different lengths. The plates are fixed on a stand and tuned to certain notes. The xylophone is distributed throughout the world, but has gained the greatest popularity in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. To extract sound from the bars, it is necessary to hit them with special wooden hammers or sticks with spherical tips that are attached to the instrument. The first mention of the xylophone dates back to the 16th century. At that time, the tool was a rather primitive device, consisting of two dozen wooden plates connected to each other. To extract sound, they had to be laid out on a flat surface. Due to the ease of transportation, the instrument was actively used by itinerant musicians. The improvement of the xylophone took place in the 1830s.

Glockenspiel

Glockenspiel- Percussion instrument. It consists of a series of plates fixed in a horizontal order along the perimeter of a wooden case. To extract sound, you need to hit them with special sticks or hammers. The tool got its name due to the material from which the plates are made. Obviously, we are talking about metal, in most cases - brass or bronze. The progenitor of the modern musical attribute was the glockenspiel that came from Asia, which was based on bells. In the 19th century they were replaced by metal plates.

Comparison

As can be seen from the above definitions, the main difference between musical instruments lies in the material used to make the plates. The xylophone is made up of blocks of wood arranged in a row. The plates of the second tool are made exclusively of metal. This explains their louder and more sonorous sound. The xylophone plays much quieter and more interesting. As a result of hitting the plates with a wooden hammer, one can hear dull, but at the same time quite pleasant sounds that do not cut the ear. If we talk about a professional instrument, then in the forte its timbre is sharp and clicking, and in the piano it is soft and gurgling. This sound gives the xylophone a special charm.

Both considered tools are divided into two main types. Diatonic xylophones and metallophones consist of a single row of plates, repeating the arrangement of the white keys on the piano. Such simple tools are often used as toys for children and are made in the appropriate design. Musical attributes of the chromatic type have a more complex structure and deep sound. The plates in them are arranged in two rows, by analogy with white and black piano keys. The possibilities of such tools are much wider, however, it will be much more difficult to master them. Another difference between the xylophone and the metallophone is that the former is often used in a symphony orchestra. His parts are included in the works of famous composers. The metallophone is considered mainly an amateur and even a children's instrument. While related bells are often present in the orchestra.

To summarize, what is the difference between a xylophone and a metallophone.

The xylophone is the oldest percussion instrument, the history of which goes back to the deep past. But even today, the simplest instruments of this type are found among the peoples of Africa, Latin America, and also Southeast Asia.

For many years, the xylophone was a rather primitive instrument that was very easy to build on your own: blocks of wood were tied into a chain and placed on a flat surface. Sound was produced by striking the sticks. Such an instrument was especially convenient for traveling musicians.

Sticks for playing the xylophone can be with spherical tips (malets) or special hammers that look like small spoons (musicians call these hammers "goat legs").

Various variants of the xylophone have existed for for long years in many cultures.

It's a big homemade xylophone.

Cheerful xylophonist - this is our time

And here is the xylophone of the Bwa people (Mali)

Instrument name

The name of the instrument in different languages sounds almost the same and translated from Greek means: xulon - "wood, wood" + ponn - "sound". On Italian – Xilofono, in French - Xylophone.

History of the instrument

As we have already said, the xylophone is the simplest ancient musical instrument. But if we talk about its modern version, then approximately in this form it became known in Europe from the 15th-16th centuries, although it remained a simple instrument until the musician M. Guzikov paid attention to it. Here it should be told in more detail.

Mikhoel Iosef Guzikov (1806-1837)

Mikhoel Yosef Guzikov- Belarusian and Jewish xylophonist-virtuoso. He created a classic model of this instrument and was one of the first to become a solo performer on it.

The future musician was born in a family of poor musicians. As a child, he was taught to play the flute and dulcimer (an instrument of the genus cymbals). He often performed as a street musician, but suffered serious illness, which gave a complication to the lungs - wind instruments became inaccessible to him. The young musician first played the Belarusian folk instrument, which was like a xylophone, and then began to improve this instrument. In essence, he created a modern model of a four-row xylophone with a volume of two and a half octaves of the chromatic range.

Xylophone improved by M. Guzikov

He achieved such mastery of performance on this instrument that he began to give solo concerts. Guzikov's performances in Kiev, Moscow, and Odessa in 1834 were so popular that the following year, the Polish violinist Karol Lipinski and the poet Alphonse Lamartine helped him organize tours in Paris, Prague, Frankfurt, Vienna, and other European cities.

Usually M. Guzikov performed in a traditional Jewish costume, the ensemble of his relatives accompanied the game, and these concerts were a huge success. They performed folk Jewish melodies, their own arrangements of works by Weber, Paganini and other famous composers.

But, unfortunately, poor health did not allow the talented musician to continue performing - he died of tuberculosis at the age of 31.

The xylophone model created by Guzikov was used for several decades practically without changes. Thanks to him, the xylophone was able to become a full-fledged instrument of classical music.

Contemporary xylophone

Percussion self-sounding musical instrument xylophone began to be included in the orchestra from the 19th century. It consists of a set of about 40 chromatically tuned wooden blocks made of maple, walnut, fir, rosewood or spruce, arranged in 4 vertical columns on bundles of straw, matting or rubber, which do not dampen their sonority.

During the game, the xylophone is placed on a special table, which is sometimes equipped with resonators - copper sleeves of various sizes, brought under the bars - the sound of the xylophone becomes more melodious.

Currently, keyboard-like instruments with bars arranged in 2 rows, like piano keys, are more often used. The sound is extracted by two sticks carved from wood with thickenings at the ends ("goat's legs"). The timbre of the xylophone is sonorous and piercing, clicking, and in the upper register it is rather dry.

Xylophones come in a variety of sizes and range from 1.5 to 3.5 octaves. The range of a keyboard-like xylophone is f-c4 or c1-c4.

Using a xylophone

The xylophone is used as an orchestral and solo instrument. It is notated in the treble clef, in the score its part is located under the part of the bells and above the part of the celesta.

Currently, symphonic, pop, folk, wind, big band and other orchestras include a xylophone in their composition. There are even orchestras consisting only of percussion instruments, including xylophones. For example, ensemble Marimba Mix from St. Petersburg.

Various musical genres also cannot do without this instrument - folk, Latin American, classical music, ragtime, musical, jazz, even rock, etc.

Many composers used the xylophone in their compositions: D. Shostakovich in the ballet suite "The Golden Age", A. Khachaturian in the ballet "Gayane" (the famous saber dance), I. Stravinsky in the ballet "Petrushka", V. Oransky in the ballet "Three fat man”, D. Klebanov in the ballet “Stork”, etc.

The xylophone, although a fairly simple instrument, boldly declares itself as a soloist, in its performance the works of great composers written for other instruments sound great. And especially for the xylophone, P. Creston, M. de Falla, A. Hovaness, D. Corigliano, S. Slonimsky, A. Aslamas, V. Blok, J. Delescluse, A. Jacques, B. Moshkov, D. Paliev, O. Chishko, E. Khandzhiev and many others.

Xylophone performers

The first virtuoso xylophonist was its creator, Mikhoel Guzikov. Famous xylophone performers are K. Mikheev, I. Troyanov, M. Eichhorn, M. Raskatov, M. Maslovsky, V. Shteiman, O. Khvedkevich, A. Emelyanov, N. Kurganova, V. Snegirev, A. Ogorodnikov, K Fishkin, T. Egorova, E. Galoyan, H. Breuer, B. Becker, E. Glennie, I. Finkel, A. Poddubny, A. Reshetova and many others.

Alexandra Makarova

One of the most famous compositions in which the xylophone is used is Camille Saint-Saens's symphonic poem Dance of Death (1872).

Varieties of the xylophone

There are a lot of ethnic varieties of the xylophone. Almost every nation has its own xylophone.

Balafon popular in Angola, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, Cameroon, Congo, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast.

Timbilais the national instrument of Mozambique.

Mokkin- A xylophone from Japan.

Vibraphone and bells(metallophones) - varieties of the xylophone, the sound plates of which are made not of wood, but of metal, all these instruments are united by the same structure.

Marimba- a xylophone with metal resonator tubes suspended under the bars. The marimba differs from the xylophone in range and timbre, respectively, and in the size of the keys and resonators. Like the xylophone, the resonator is a metal or wooden tube suspended vertically below the key. In the traditional form of the instrument, this function is performed by a dried gourd.

The marimba originated in southern Mexico, then became a common instrument in Africa, Central and North America. It is used mainly in academic music, most often as a solo instrument or for playing in an ensemble.

The tips of the marimba sticks are wrapped with woolen or cotton threads. The choice of sticks allows the musician to get a whole range of different timbres.

Tubaphone- This is a xylophone in which the bars are replaced by pipes.

Glockenspiel … Spelling Dictionary

GLOCKENSPIEL- (Greek metallon metal, and phone sound). Xylophone, in which wooden plates are replaced by metal ones. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. metallophone (see metal + ... background) the general name of a group of music ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

glockenspiel- bell, vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, gong Dictionary of Russian synonyms. metallophone n., number of synonyms: 6 vibraphone (2) ... Synonym dictionary

GLOCKENSPIEL- [alo], glockenspiel, husband. (from Greek metallon metal and phone sound) (music). Percussion musical instrument consisting of a series of steel plates different lengths fastened with laces. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

GLOCKENSPIEL- In our time, there are quite a few instruments, the sound of which arises from the vibration of an elastic metal body. These are triangles, gong, bells, cymbals and others. percussion instruments. All of them are united by a common name ... ... Music dictionary

Glockenspiel- a musical instrument sometimes used in an orchestra (Carillon, Glockenspiel). It consists of a series of steel plates of various lengths, supported at their nodal points by cords or straw cords. Pitch, i.e., the number of vibrations in ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Glockenspiel- m. Percussion musical instrument, consisting of a number of specially selected metal plates, which are struck with wooden mallets. Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language Efremova

glockenspiel- he is a metallof, but ... Russian spelling dictionary

glockenspiel- (2 m); pl. metallophones, R. metallophones / new ... Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language

glockenspiel- Metal platelarny bilgele ber tärtiptә tezep eshlәngәn һәm agach chүkechcheklәr belәn sugyp uyny torgan coral music … Tatar telenen anlatmaly suzlege

Books

• Developing set "Little musician" according to the method of M. Lazarev,. Educational set "Little musician" for children from 1 to 5 years old, aimed at developing creativity baby and teaching him to play musical instruments. Includes: 15 cards...

(from Greek xylo - tree + background - sound)- with a certain pitch. It is a series of wooden blocks of different sizes, tuned to certain notes.

The bars are struck with sticks with spherical tips or special hammers that look like small ones (in the jargon of musicians, these hammers are called " goat legs»).

Xylophone tone sharp, clicking in the forte and soft, gurgling in the piano.

Origin, history

It has ancient origin- the simplest instruments of this type have been and are still found among different peoples of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

In Europe, the first mention of the xylophone dates back to the beginning of the 16th century: Arnolt Schlick, in a treatise on musical instruments, mentions a similar instrument called hueltze glechter. Until the 19th century, the European xylophone was a rather primitive instrument, consisting of about two dozen wooden bars, tied into a chain and laid out on a flat surface for playing. The convenience of carrying such an instrument attracted the attention of itinerant musicians.

The improvement of the xylophone dates back to the 1830s. The Polish musician Mikhoel Guzikov expanded its range to two and a half octaves, and also changed the design, arranging the bars in a special way in four rows. This model of the xylophone was used for more than a hundred years.

On a modern xylophone, the bars are arranged in two rows like piano keys, equipped with resonators in the form of tin tubes and placed on a special table-stand for ease of movement.

The role of the xylophone in music

First known case use of the xylophone in the orchestra - Ferdinand Cauer's Seven Variations, written in 1810, in the middle of the 19th century. The French composer Kastner included his parts in his works.

One of the most famous writings that involve the xylophone - a symphonic poem by Camille Saint-Saens " Dance of death» (1872).

Currently the xylophone is used in a symphony orchestra, on the stage, extremely rarely - as a solo instrument.

Video: Xylophone on video + audio

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Musical Instrument: Xylophone

French composer C. Saint-Saens , inspired by the engravings of the 15th-century German artist Hans Holbein, wrote a symphonic poem with the chilling title " Dance of Death ". During the premiere performance of this work, some of the listeners were numb with fear, as if a really terrible skeleton with hollow eye sockets in the skull and with a rusty scythe was dancing a terrible dance, rattling its bones. How did the composer manage to create such an artistic image of a terrible image and achieve such an effect? A musical instrument, whose name is a xylophone, helped the author to portray such a character so frighteningly.

Read the history and many interesting facts about this musical instrument on our page.

Sound

To figuratively describe the sound of the xylophone, one must certainly recall the works of the great Russian composer A. Lyadov, his symphonic pictures "Kikimora" and "Baba Yaga" , where both the ominous clattering of the teeth of a terrible kikimora and the swiftly rushing witch, breaking dried branches in her path, are very expressively depicted. The inclusion of the xylophone in the musical palette is usually associated with the peculiarity of the plot or peculiar experiences. Due to the dryish, clicking, somewhat boney coloring, the sound of this instrument is wonderfully used in pictorial designs. For example, the song of a squirrel gnawing nuts, in " Tale of Tsar Saltan " ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov commissioned the xylophone.

Sometimes the timbre color of the instrument's sound evokes a gloomy mood, and sometimes it gives rise to intricate, ugly comic images, or sounds melancholy in Symphony No. 7 by D. Shostakovich , in the episode "Invasion".

The sound of the xylophone, which largely depends on the skill of the musician, can be very diverse: ominous, terrifying and piercing, or it can be light, affectionate and soulful. On "forte" the xylophone sounds sharp and loud, on "piano" - warm and velvety.

Range The sound of the xylophone is quite wide - these are four octaves of musical sounds.

Photo:

Interesting Facts:

• The xylophone was very popular in the ragtime genre at the beginning of the twentieth century, and also in the 70s of the last century, when the revival of the genre began.
• Until the 40s of the last century, the xylophone was very actively used in jazz bands, until it was replaced by the vibraphone, and the xylophone also appeared regularly and was very popular in American musicals in the first half of the 20th century.
• In the African state of Senegal, the xylophone is used in the rite of initiation for boys and girls.
• The xylophone is very often used in film production for scoring horror films.

• On the African continent, in many countries, the xylophone is recognized as a national instrument, it is played in groups, sometimes up to six instruments, both at holidays and at funerals.
• The xylophone is actively used in scoring animated films, an example is the popular animated series The Flintstones.
• The peoples of Africa have a lot of varieties of xylophone, for example, there are giant xylophones, which are played by 4 people at the same time.
• Famed xylophonist Green George Hamilton was assigned to voice the moving carriage on his instrument in the first three Walt Disney cartoons.
• The largest of the playing xylophones is 8 m long, 2.5 m high and 2 m wide, it was made by B. Mamoto from Indonesia in 2009. His weight was 3168 kg.
• In many African countries, the xylophone is used for practical purposes: to scare away monkeys, birds and other garden pests.

• The largest ensemble of xylophonists consisted of 1223 members and performed at the Maesa Tondano stadium in Indonesia at the festival of culture and art on October 31, 2009.
• Red Norvo was not only a popular actor, but also a renowned xylophonist who was one of the first to introduce the xylophone to jazz.
• The American rock band Violent Femmes recorded a video in 1982 in which the xylophone was the main instrument.
• In Asia, empty gourds are used as resonators for the xylophone.
• At the opera house, the xylophone was first used in opera "Hansel and Gretel" E. Humperdinck in 1893.
• The hammers played by xylophonists are affectionately known as "goat's feet".
• For orchestras or individual instrumentalists, xylophone manufacturers make instruments of various sizes, from small piccolos to large bass models.

Works for xylophone

A. Hovaness - Fantasy on the themes of Japanese prints for xylophone and orchestra (listen)

E. Glennie - Concertino for xylophone and orchestra

Xylophone construction

The modern xylophone is an instrument with a fairly simple design, consisting of a frame on which two rows of wooden bars are fixed, laid like piano keys and having a certain pitch. The shorter the bar, the higher the sound and vice versa. Each key (bar) lies on a special soft pad, which is made of foam rubber.

Xylophone keys are carved from rosewood, alder, rosewood, maple, walnut, which is aged for two years, then carefully processed. The keys have a standard size - 3.8 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick, the length depends on the desired pitch. Then they are laid out at a certain distance and fastened with cords. Special metal tubes are placed under the keys, the role of which is to increase the sound volume. These are tubes - resonators that give the sound volume and make it brighter and more saturated. They are very carefully processed and tuned to match the tone of the plate.

When playing, the performer usually uses thin wooden sticks, similar to small spoons, with plastic, rubber or wooden tips. There are usually two sticks, but depending on the professionalism of the musician, there may be 3 or 4. The xylophonist chooses sticks and tips that are most suitable for the nature of the music, in order to reproduce a certain sound mood.

An instrument for professional performers, as a rule, is located on a special stand, the level of which changes depending on the position of the performer - sitting or standing.

Varieties of the xylophone

The xylophone family is very large and diverse - it is one of the most famous ethnic musical instruments. Every nation has its own xylophone. In the African, Asian and American continents, xylophones exist in many different forms and with many names. Here are some of them:

• Balafon popular in Angola, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, Cameroon, Congo, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast.
• Timbila is the national instrument of Mozambique.
• Mokkin- A xylophone from Japan.
• Marimba- very common in Mexico and Central America.
• vibraphone and bells (metallophones) - varieties of the xylophone, the sound plates of which are made not of wood, but of metal - all these instruments are united by the same structure.

Application

For a very long time, the xylophone was used only in folk music, but after significant transformations, the range of its use has grown significantly. Many orchestras - symphonic, pop, folk, brass, big band - include in their repertoire works that the xylophone adorns with its sound. There are also ensembles, which include only percussion instruments and xylophones, including. Today, these self-sufficient high-pitched percussion instruments, their extraordinary sound, encourages musicians to form groups in which performers play only such a group of instruments, among which the Marimba Mix ensemble from St. Petersburg should be noted.

Currently, the xylophone is used in various musical genres - this is folk, Latin American, classical music , ragtime, musical, jazz , sometimes even rock, etc.

The fine sound of the xylophone was used by many composers in their compositions: D. Shostakovich in the ballet suite "Golden Age", A. Khachaturyan in the ballet Gayane ( famous sword dance ), I. Stravinsky in the ballet "Petrushka", V. Oransky in the ballet "Three Fat Men", D. Klebanov in the ballet "Stork" and others.

The xylophone can often be heard on stage as a solo instrument, and here the performers are very lucky, as the masterpieces of great composers written for violin, flute, and piano sound great on it. However, the xylophone did not go unnoticed. P. Creston, M. de Falla, A. Hovaness, D. Corigliano, S. Slonimsky, A. Aslamas, V. Blok, J. Delescluze, A. Jacques, B. Moshkov, D. Paliev, O. Chishko, E Khanjiev and many others composed their works for him.

Notable artists

The performance of virtuoso works on the xylophone is available only to truly talented performers. The first virtuoso musician who fully revealed the technical and expressive capabilities of the instrument, and also seriously influenced the next generation of performers, was its creator, M. Guzkov

The successful development of xylophone performance was favored by the emergence of a whole galaxy of virtuoso musicians, among them: K. Mikheev, I. Troyanov, M. Eichhorn, M. Raskatov, M. Maslovsky, V. Shteiman, O. Khvedkevich, A. Emelyanov, N. Kurganova, V. Snegirev, A. Ogorodnikov, K. Fishkin, T. Egorova, E. Galoyan, Red Norvo, Zeleny D. Hamilton, H. Breuer, B. Becker, E. Glennie, I. Finkel, A. Poddubny, A. Reshetova and many others.

Story

The history of the xylophone began a very long time ago, about two thousand years before our era. On the walls of ancient temples there are images of people playing music on instruments resembling a xylophone in appearance. Art historians are hotly debating where the homeland of this instrument is located: some consider Africa, others Asia, and others intend to prove that Latin America - an impressive number of the simplest xylophones were found on these continents.

There is still no definite information - it is only known that this instrument appeared in ancient times, and the first xylophone was simple wooden bars, which, when struck, made a sound pleasant to human hearing. Then the bars were tied in a certain way and they began to play music on them.

Variations of the xylophone have existed for many years in many cultures.

Ancient frescoes testify that the instrument came to the European continent in the 15th century, but widespread did not receive, remaining mainly an instrument of itinerant musicians. The design of the xylophone of that time was quite simple and consisted of blocks of different lengths connected to each other, which were quickly laid out on a flat surface. It was played with sticks made of willow wood in the form of small spoons. The sonic capabilities of the xylophone were quite limited.

Only in the first half of the 19th century did the design of the instrument undergo fundamental changes. The xylophone owes a significant transformation to the Belarusian cymbalist M. Guzikov, who increased the range of the instrument to two and a half octaves of the chromatic scale, adding the number of plates and arranging them in a certain order in 4 rows. The appearance of the instrument has changed, the sound has become the most saturated and pleasant, since the sound plates were placed on straw tubes, which acted as a sound resonator. This design became the basis of the current xylophone and was used in the future for a hundred years.

After significant changes in the design, composers and professional musicians paid special attention to the instrument. The xylophone became part of the symphony orchestra, and later entered the concert stage, becoming a solo instrument. Problems with the repertoire for solo performances by xylophonists were solved in a certain way: various arrangements and transcriptions of popular works were made.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the design of the xylophone underwent a number of significant changes, from a four-row one to a two-row one. The bars were arranged like piano keys, the range increased by half an octave, which increased the possibilities of the instrument and made almost the entire violin repertoire available for performance.

Xylophone is a very significant and beloved instrument all over the world. Music enthusiasts hope that the popularity of the xylophone will grow from year to year, and it will undoubtedly be a valuable member of the orchestra due to its unique sound. It is a world cultural heritage and walks with a person through time, bringing joy and peace to his life.

Xylophone