rowanlim
Administrator
Joined: 02 Mar 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: Malaysia
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 Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: Xylophone |
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Well I don't think many people know alot about the xylophone so here's some information I've gathered for us to share 
| Quote: | The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλο (wood) and φωνή (voice), meaning 'wooden sound') is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. It consists of wooden bars of various lengths that are struck by plastic, wooden, or rubber mallets. Each bar is tuned to a specific pitch of the musical scale. Xylophone can refer to western style concert xylophones or to one of the many wooden mallet percussion instruments found around the world. Xylophones are tuned to different scale systems depending on their origin, including pentatonic, heptatonic, diatonic, or chromatic. The arrangement of the bars is generally from low (longer bars) to high (shorter bars).
History
Gusikow's 'wood and straw instrument', from Lewald's 'Europa'
Gusikow's 'wood and straw instrument', from Lewald's 'Europa'
The xylophone is believed to have originated in southeastern Asia. Models were developed in western and eastern Africa. Many western historians believe xylophones began in Eastern Asia, spreading to Africa. This is still debated today, depending o�n how the instrument is defined.[citation needed]
Java and Bali use xylophones (called gambang) in gamelan ensembles. Still have traditional significance in Africa, Malaysia, Melanasia, Indonesia, and regions of the Americas.
It is likely that the xylophone reached Europe during the Crusades and the earliest historical reference in Europe is in 16th Century Germany in organist Arnold Schlick's Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten. [2] The earliest known model was from the 9th Century in southeast Asia (However, a model of a hanging wood instrument exists, dated to ca. 2000 BC in China.)
The xylophone, which had been known in Europe since the Middle Ages, was by the 19th Century associated largely with the folk music of Eastern Europe, notably Poland and Eastern Germany. By 1830, the xylophone had been popularized to some extent by a Russian virtuoso named Michael Josef Gusikov, who through extensive tours had made the instrument known. His instrument was the five-row �continental style� xylophone made of 28 crude wooden bars, arranged in semi-tones in the form of a trapezoid, and resting on straw supports. It was sometimes called the �strohfiedel� or �straw fiddle�. There were no resonators and it was played with spoon shaped sticks. According to musicologist, Curt Sachs, Gusikov performed in garden concerts, variety shows, and as a novelty at symphony concerts. Certainly in the 1830�s a xylophone solo was a novelty. Noted musicians, including Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, and Franz Liszt spoke very highly of Gusikov�s performances. Perhaps due to his great influence, xylophonists continued to be featured in theater shows and concert halls until well into the 20th century
The xylophone is a precursor to the vibraphone, which was developed in the 1920s.
Other forms of "xylophone" include xylophonist, and xylophoning. |
Source
You can also learn how to BUILD a xylophone here
Click here for more about xylophone, you can also hear simple recordings
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~music pours on mortals her magnificent disdain~ |
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