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The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of wooden bars of various lengths that are struck by a plastic-, wooden-, or rubber-headed mallet. Each bar is tuned to a specific pitch of the chromatic scale. The arrangement of the bars is similar to the layout of the piano keyboard. The xylophone makes use of both snare technique and advanced mallet techniques.
The xylophone has a brighter tone than its cousin the marimba, and the notes have less sustain. Modern xylophones include short resonating tubes below the bars. A xylophone with a range extending downwards into the marimba range is called a xylorimba.
The xylophone features in a number of classical pieces, with the Danse macabre (1874) by Camille Saint-Saëns, and "Fossils" from the same composer's Carnival of the Animals (1886) being two of the better known. An early use of the xylophone in a symphony is found in Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler ( July 7 1860 May 18, 1911) was best known in his own time as one of the leading Austrian conductors of his day, but is now remembered as an important composer linking the late 19th century with the Modern musical period, particularly for hi's Symphony No. 6The Symphony No. 6 in A minor by Gustav Mahler, known as the Tragic was composed between 1903 and 1905. The piece is unique among Mahler's symphonies in ending in an unambiguously tragic manner. All the other symphonies end happily or contentedly apart fr.
See also: Marimba, GlockenspielThe glockenspiel German "play of bells", also known as orchestra bells and, in its portable form, lyra is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It is similar to the xylophone, in that it has tuned bars laid out in a fashion resembling a piano key, VibraphoneThe vibraphone sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It is similar in appearance to the xylophone, although the vibraphone uses metal bars instead of the wooden bars on the xylophone. The stan
Keyboard percussion
Idiophones
Orchestral percussion
