Family: Percussion instruments
Photo: Kuba Bożanowski from Warsaw, Poland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The vibraphone is a melodic percussion instrument – similar to a xylophone, but with aluminium bars instead of wooden ones. Under each bar hangs a resonator tube, and inside the tubes small discs driven by a motor rotate. As they spin, the sound pulses rhythmically – that is the vibrato the instrument is named after.
A short history
The vibraphone was born in the United States in the 1920s. It has a damper pedal like a piano: pressed, it lets the notes ring; released, it silences them.
Fun facts
- It is played with soft-headed mallets. Masters such as Gary Burton play with four mallets at once – two in each hand – so they can play full chords.
- In the 1930s Lionel Hampton played in Benny Goodman’s quartet – one of the first bands in which Black and white musicians performed side by side.
In rock and jazz
Jazz: Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson (Modern Jazz Quartet), Gary Burton, Bobby Hutcherson. In rock the vibraphone is rare – you can hear it, for example, in Frank Zappa’s bands.
Do you play this instrument? Share your experience in the comments below – tell others what is worth knowing.