Music To Your Ears

Marimba

 

General info:

 

The marimba is a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars struck with mallets to produce musical tones. Resonators attached to the bars amplify their sound. The bars are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural bars to aid the performer both visually and physically. 

 

History:

 

Diatonic xylophones were introduced to Central America in the 16th or 17th century. First historical record of Mayan musicians using gourd resonator marimbas in Guatemala was made in 1680, by the historian Domingo Juarros. It became more widespread during the 18th and 19th centuries, as Mayan and Ladino ensembles started using it on festivals. In 1821, marimba was proclaimed the national instrument of Guatemala on its independence proclamation.

 

The gourd resonators were later replaced by harmonic wooden boxes, and the keyboard was expanded to about five diatonic octaves. Variants with slats made of steel, glass or bamboo instead of wood appeared during the 19th century. In 1892, Corazón de Jesús Borras Moreno, a musician from Chiapas, expanded marimba to include the chromatic scale by adding an additional row of sound bars, akin to black keys on the piano.

 

French composer Darius Milhaud made the ground-breaking introduction of marimbas into Western classical music in his 1947 Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone. Newly invented four-mallet grip enabled playing chords, and the innovation enhanced the interest for the instrument. In the late 20th century, modernist and contemporary composers found new ways to use marimba.

 

Range:

 

The average range of modern marimbas varies between four and five octaves. Marimbas with 3 ½ octaves (C3 – F6) are extremely rare.

 

Marimba with 4 octaves: C3 – C7 
Marimba with 4 1/3 octaves: A2 – C7 
Marimba with 4 ½ octaves: F2 – C7 
Marimba with 5 octaves: C2 – C7

 

Occasionally instruments can be found that begin at A1.

 

Role:

 

N.A.

 

Foreign names:

 

Marimbaphon ----- German

Marimba ----- French

Marimba ----- Italian

 

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