Xylophone

INCLUDES
Charm and necklace chain in a black velvet jewelry bag. You can also choose just the charm alone to use on your own cord or chain, or have me make a pair of earrings for you by selecting that option.

SIZE
The charm is about .669" tall x .354" across x .098" thick (17mm x 9mm x 2.5mm)
The necklace chain is offered in your choice of length from 16" to 36" (40cm to 91cm)
The optional earring hooks are standard 21 gauge earring wire (not too thick, not too thin

MATERIALS
The charm is a lead-free pewter casting with antiqued silver finish. The chain optional earring hooks are made of pure 304 Stainless steel. Stainless steel is non-tarnishing, non-allergenic, shiny, strong and durable.

ABOUT

MARIMBAS
The marimba is a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars struck with yarn or rubber mallets to produce musical tones. Resonators or pipes suspended underneath the bars amplify their sound. The bars of a chromatic marimba are arranged like the keys of a piano, with the groups of two and three accidentals raised vertically, overlapping the natural bars to aid the performer both visually and physically. This instrument is a type of idiophone, but with a more resonant and lower-pitched tessitura than the xylophone. A person who plays the marimba is called a marimbist or a marimba player.

Modern
In 1850, Mexican marimbist Manuel Bol n Cruz (1810-1863), modified the old bow marimba, by the wooden straight one, lengthening the legs so that the musicians could play in a standing mode, expanded the keyboard and replaced the gourd resonators by wooden boxes.

In 1892, Mexican musician Coraz n de Jes s Borras Moreno (es) expanded marimba to include the chromatic scale by adding another row of sound bars, akin to black keys on the piano.

The name marimba was later applied to the orchestra instrument inspired by the Latin American model. In the United States, companies like Deagan and Leedy company adapted the Latin American instruments for use in western music. Metal tubes were used as resonators, fine-tuned by rotating metal discs at the bottom; lowest note tubes were U-shaped. The marimbas were first used for light music and dance, such as Vaudeville theater and comedy shows. Clair Omar Musser was a chief proponent of marimba in the United States at the time.

French composer Darius Milhaud made the ground-breaking introduction of marimbas into Western classical music in his 1947 Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone. Four-mallet grip was employed to play chords, enhancing interest for the instrument. In the late 20th century, modernist and contemporary composers found new ways to use marimba: notable examples include Leo Jan cek (Jenufa), Carl Orff (Antigonae), Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Hans Werner Henze (Elegy for Young Lovers), Pierre Boulez (Le marteau sans ma tre) and Steve Reich.

XYLOPHONES
The xylophone (from the Greek words xylon, "wood" + f phone, "sound, voice", meaning "wooden sound") is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African and Asian instruments, diatonic in many western children's instruments, or chromatic for orchestral use.

The term xylophone may be used generally, to include all such instruments such as the marimba, balafon and even the semantron. However, in the orchestra, the term xylophone refers specifically to a chromatic instrument of somewhat higher pitch range and drier timbre than the marimba, and these two instruments should not be confused.

The term is also popularly used to refer to similar instruments of the lithophone and metallophone types. For example, the Pixiphone and many similar toys described by the makers as xylophones have bars of metal rather than of wood, and so are in organology regarded as glockenspiels rather than as xylophones. The bars of metal sound more high-pitched than the wooden ones.

History
The instrument has obscure ancient origins. According to Nettl, it originated in southeast Asia and came to Africa c. AD 500 when a group of Malayo-Polynesian speaking peoples migrated to Africa. One piece of evidence for this is the similarity between East African xylophone orchestras and Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestras. This, however has been questioned by ethnomusicologist and linguist Roger Blench who posits an independent origin in Africa.

XYLOPHONE VS MARIMBA
If you did not pay close attention to your music teacher back when you re still a student, it will be very hard for you to distinguish the difference between a xylophone and a marimba. Non-musicians will find it hard to tell even by just looking or listening to the instruments being played. However, if you are very watchful and keen enough, there are really a lot of obvious disparities between these two mallet musical instruments.

n terms of range, the xylophone and marimba differ to some extent. The xylophone has a range of 2-1/2 to 4 octaves. On the contrary, the marimba has a 3 to 5 octave range or greater for the newer ones. And because the 5th octave key is now commonly used in musical concerts, the newer marimbas have found its place in the music scene.

The material used to make both instruments are relatively the same. These mallet instruments make use of either the Honduras rosewood or other synthetic components. However, the marimba can sometimes use a Paduk a type of wood that is seen to be cheaper than rosewood.

In terms of where or when the mallet instrument is used, the xylophone and the marimba also differ accordingly. Xylophones are commonly used during a band concert or a symphony orchestra. The latter is played often as a stand alone instrument or along with other percussions in a simple ensemble.

Firm rubber or plastic is used as a coating to the xylophone s mallets, which along with its uniquely cut bars give the instrument a very sharp tone. Although the marimba can use the same wooden material as the xylophone, its bars are sliced in a different way. Along with a cord or yarn padded mallets, this instrument gives off a more mellow tone. The xylophone s resonators are shorter, which extends about half of the entire frame. Conversely, the marimbas resonators are extending up to the frame s base at the bottommost point.

Summary :
1. The xylophone has an octave range of 2-1/2 to 4 while the marimba usually has a 3 to 5 range.
2. Both the xylophone and marimba can be made of either rosewood or other synthetic materials while the marimba can be made of a Paduk wood.
3. The xylophone has shorter resonators and has a mallet coated or entirely made of rubber or plastic. The marimba has longer resonators with its mallet usually coated with a yarn or cord.
4. The xylophone is often used in concert bands and symphonies whereas the marimba is either used alone or in a small ensemble.
5. The xylophone emits a sharper tone whereas the marimba emits a mellow tone.