Music for Children by Becky Rumens-Syratt

Author:Becky Rumens-Syratt
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849943987
Publisher: Pavilion Books
Published: 2016-05-10T04:00:00+00:00

Pitched percussion

Pitched percussion instruments are those that have lots of little keys, all set to a different note pitch, so it is possible to play tunes. The keys are made of large wooden or metal bars. Here are some common examples:

Xylophone The xylophone is a big instrument made up of different wooden bars tuned to notes. It is played with mallets, usually with one in each hand, so the percussionist can move between notes quickly. Good players may use two in each hand to make chords in the music.

Glockenspiel The glockenspiel is smaller than a xylophone, with metal bars that sound quite high when tunes are played on them. When it is used in marching and military bands, the percussionist straps it to his chest and plays sideways! The metal bars are played with little beaters.

Vibraphone A vibraphone looks a bit like a xylophone or glockenspiel, but each metal bar is paired with a tube beneath it. Inside the tubes are little wafting paddles to create a vibrato sound: this is where the name of the instrument comes from! The paddles are run by a motor and controlled by a foot pedal. This means the vibraphone has to be plugged into mains electricity to work.

Marimbas The marimba is very much like the xylophone but it is bigger and generally has more wooden bars to create notes, especially deep notes. Marimba players often play piano music, using mallets to hit the bars rather than using their fingers on the keys of a piano. Marimbas also sound quite unique – woody and echoing – thanks to the giant resonator tubes underneath the bars, which make the sound louder and more booming.

Tubular bells These big ‘bells’ are actually long metal tubes! They are lined up in order of size, to make the pitch of different notes. The player hits them with big wooden hammers and they can be heard over the whole orchestra or band, pealing out a tune.

Timpani These are sometimes called kettledrums. They are huge, metal-bottomed drums, which come in sets. Each drum can only play one note, but you can play tunes across a set of three, four or sometimes five different-sized drums. The modern ones are also fitted with foot pedals that allow the percussionist or timpanist to change the note of that drum in the middle of a piece. They are hit with beaters and most players have a selection of hard and soft beaters to make different sounds. They can be very loud and one drum can be heard across the entire orchestra or band!

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