| Xylophones and glockenspiels are ideal instruments | | | | they do encourage exploration and creativity and |
| for a young child's early music making and | | | | an awareness of differing pitches. The Voila |
| exploration. | | | | Smiley Xylophone is an example of this type. It is |
| What are percussion instruments? | | | | a good quality wooden instrument but it is not |
| Xylophones and glockenspiels belong to the | | | | tuned to concert pitch. Then there are those |
| percussion family. Percussion instruments are | | | | instruments of lesser quality that simply have |
| those musical instruments that are shaken or | | | | poor tuning and a poor quality of sound. There are |
| played with the hands, or tapped or scraped with | | | | many examples of this type that can be found in |
| a mallet or beater to produce a sound. Percussion | | | | toys stores usually for less than $20. An example |
| instruments can be non-tuned with random | | | | of a good quality glockenspiel that is tuned to |
| pitches like maracas or tambourines, or tuned so | | | | concert pitch is the Sonor Kindermusik |
| a melody can be played. | | | | glockenspiel. The Halilit Baby Xylophone is also a |
| Xylophones and glockenspiels are tuned percussion | | | | reliably tuned instrument suitable for little ones |
| instruments consisting of a collection of bars of | | | | although it is a misnomer as the bars are made of |
| differing lengths, each producing a different pitch. | | | | metal. The Tatiri glockenspiel is also a good |
| The piano is also classified as a percussion | | | | colorful instrument with lots of appeal to children. |
| instrument. | | | | What is the difference between a xylophone and |
| Tuning of xylophones and glockenspiels | | | | a glockenspiel? |
| Xylophones and glockenspiels are generally tuned | | | | The important thing about the difference between |
| to a scale similar to the keys on a piano. Some | | | | these instruments is that xylophones have bars |
| ethnic instruments are tuned to other | | | | that are made of wood and glockenspiels have |
| non-western scale systems. Xylophones and | | | | bars made of metal. The word glockenspiel |
| glockenspiels can have the entire range of | | | | comes from the German and means to play the |
| chromatic bars, just like the white and black keys | | | | bells. The word xylophone comes from the Greek |
| on the piano or some just have the bars | | | | and means wooden sound. Individual bars are also |
| equivalent to the white keys on the piano. A good | | | | available. These are called chime bars or tone bars |
| range for early childhood is one and a half | | | | and sometimes they are available in sets of bars. |
| octaves. The inclusion of an F sharp and B flat bar | | | | Xylophones and glockenspiels are ideal starting |
| allows a wider range of melodies to be played. | | | | instruments |
| Some instruments do not have scale tuning at all | | | | Learning to play simple tunes on a xylophone or |
| such as the stir xylophone with bars of differing | | | | glockenspiel is a good forerunner to learning to |
| lengths forming a circle shape like a little tub. A | | | | play a musical instrument, particularly the piano. |
| wooden mallet or spoon is stirred around the | | | | They encourage spatial awareness and eye - |
| inside of the bowl to produce the sound (hence | | | | hand coordination. Xylophones and glockenspiels |
| the name stir xylophone). There are also a | | | | are widely used in early childhood and primary |
| number of children's xylophones that are not | | | | school classrooms for ensemble playing and |
| tuned to concert pitch but have a random set of | | | | creative musical activities. They are the foundation |
| pitches so a variety of sounds can be made. | | | | instruments in the Orff Schulwerk approach to |
| Recognizable tunes cannot be played on them but | | | | music education. |