Pitched Wood

Here are two of the orchestras pitched wood instruments.  In the film you will see how they are played and written for.

Marimba

The marimba is a series of tuned wooden bars suspended over tubular resonators.
Beaters: Use soft beaters on the marimba. Do NOT use xylophone beaters. Other tips include, the range of the marimba, character - low register, middle and upper registers and more...

Xylophone

The xylophone is a soprano marimba, with harder wooden bars suspended over resonator tubes. The higher notes may not have resonators. Beaters: various beaters are used - often hard wooden or rubber. Listen to this famnous xylophone moment from Saint-Saëns Le Carnival des Animaux ('Fossiles'). Xylophone history, charcter, range and beaters are all included in this film.