Xylophone

General info:

The xylophone is a percussion musical instrument that comprises wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale.

History:

It was not until the 19th century that the xylophone was discovered as an orchestra instrument. The first compositions for the xylophone were probably presented in 1803 by Ignaz Schweigl and in 1810 by Ferdinand Kauer (Sei Variazioni). The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the first to use the xylophone in orchestral pieces, in his programmatic works La Danse Macabre (1875) and Le Carnaval des Animaux (1886). The instrument used was still the four-rowed version.

In 1886 Albert Roth published a xylophone tutor for the four-rowed instrument in which he also introduced a two-row chromatic arrangement of the bars following the pattern of piano keys. This led to the development of the modern orchestra xylophone with its two-row chromatic bar arrangement and resonators. From 1903, the American John Calhoun Deagan became one of the first major manufacturers of the modern orchestra xylophone, which soon established itself as the standard instrument in theater and symphony orchestras as well as in dance bands. The fact that the xylophone sounded particularly good on early records may also have contributed to its popularity. The parts entrusted to the xylophone and the growing percussion section by composers during the 20th century became ever larger and more important.

Range:

The average range of modern orchestra xylophones varies between three and four octaves.

Xylophone with three octaves: C5–C8
Xylophone with three and a half octaves: F4–C8
Xylophone with four octaves: C4–C8

Role:

N.A.

Foreign names:

Xylophon ----- German

Xylophone ----- French

Xilofono ----- Italian

Famous pieces: