This is because the xylophone is tuned on the fundamental pitch and odd-numbered third harmonic while the marimba's tuned on even harmonics, the fundamental pitch, the fourth harmonic, and the 10th harmonic.Īs you can tell, the marimba tuning more closely resemble that of woodwind and string instruments, which means that the sound more easily blends with those instruments in an orchestral setting. While the marimba is known for softer, more mellow and hollow tones, the xylophone is known for producing distinct, sharply defined sounds. Xylophones are very similar to marimbas, but differ in a few major ways-most notably, in sound. Orchestras will feature chromatic xylophones, a pentatonic or heptatonic xylophone is common to see for African or Asian music, and a diatonic is scale is often used for xylophones in children's music. What is a Xylophone?Įach of a xylophone's idiophones is tuned to a pitch of a musical scale that can vary based on what genre you're of music you're playing. Here on Reverb, you can find xylophones in all sizes and at a wide variety of price points. A xylophone is a type of mallet percussion instrument made up of tuned wooden bars, or idiophones, that are struck with a mallet to create sound.

Mi xylophone ringtone