![]() ![]() Thus the term could stand for a metal bar Vibraharp type instrument (without the vibration), or it could stand for a wood bar Marimba type instrument. It appears that a Harp plays at the same pitch as the written music. According to the “Encyclopedia of Organ Stops”, Harp bars can be wood or metal (distinctly different sounds!). The Harp terminology – Didn’t you all think a harp was a stringed orchestral instrument, (generally looking like the guts of a grand piano turned on end), which is played usually by a charming lady in a flowing dress who plucks the strings? So did I, and so do virtually all on-line dictionaries! It appears that somewhere along the way the theatre organ industry adopted the name to mean a struck tuned percussion which tries to imitate a stringed Harp. Some organs offer a reiteration option on their xylophones. This all results in the familiar “boinking” type sound when the bars are struck. ![]() ![]() The tone has a dominant 5th that distinguishes it from the other tuned percussions. The metal tube resonators beneath the bars are generally fairly short. Xylophones produce sound one octave higher than the written music. The note compass is usually 3 ½ octaves, set higher on the piano keyboard than the vibraphone, but lower than the glock. Deagan’s experiments proved that rosewood from Honduras produces the best sound. Now on to the wood instruments- “Xylophones” are wood bar instruments, John C. What makes the vibraphone sound unique, is a series of rotating discs which open and close the tops of the resonators, thus creating the vibrating sound for which the instrument is named. In an orchestral vibraphone, felt dampers and a pedal are utilized to dampen the sound, similar to a piano pedal. The combination of metal bars being struck by mallets with metal resonators beneath can result in the sound echoing too long. The instrument sounds exactly at the point of the written music, not octaves higher or lower. Made with metal bars and metal resonators it generally has a 3 octave compass located in the middle of the piano keyboard range (lower than Glock / Orch Bells). Just be careful to note which are set up to reiterate, and which aren’t!Ī “vibraphone” or “vibraharp”, is a unique tuned percussion. So, if you sit down at an unfamiliar console and want a bell-like tinkling sound, Glockenspiel, Orchestra Bells, Chrysoglott, or Celesta should do the trick. ![]()
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