photo: Björn

What is a vibraphone?

The vibraphone is a mallet percussion instrument related to the xylophone and the marimba. The Vibraphone consists of 36 thin bars tuned in different pitches. The vibraphonist hits the bars with yarn wrapped rubber mallets. In contrast to the xylophone and the marimba (whose bars are made of wood) the vibraphone has metal bars. The metal bars give a sustained tone. A fan compresses and releases the air inside the resonators. This gives the vibraphone its characteristic vibrating sound.

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