Xylophone+

Xylophone and Mallet Construction
The xylophone is a percussion instrument, meaning it has to be hit by something in order to make a sound. It has wooden bars arranged in order from long to short, low to high, that are attached to a frame and set on a stand high enough for a player to play while standing up.

The xylophone is hit with wooden sticks called mallets that are tipped with rubber or plastic ranging from hard to soft. The xylophone does not use the mallets tipped with yarn that some other percussion instruments use. The harder the mallet, the more distinct the sound, and the xylophone is known for its sharp tone, which is brittle, like the sound of skeleton bones on Halloween.

Mallets
Mallets
The bars of the xylophone are traditionally made of rosewood, but they can also be made from a synthetic material. The xylophone has resonators below the keys to help project the sound, but unlike other similar percussion instruments, the xylophone's resonators are short.

Typically, a xylophone player will play with one mallet in each hand, but it is common for players to hold two mallets in each hand to make chords. Xylophone players can use a single strike, or make a roll by quickly alternating left and right mallets. Another common sound heard on the xylophone is the glissando, which is made by quickly dragging the mallet head across the bars to make a slur of notes going up or down.

roll and glissando
The wooden bars of the xylophone are arranged like a piano, and are tuned like one. Xylophones come in varying lengths ranging from 3 to 4 octaves of 12