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.
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The range of the marimba.
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Marimba character - low register...
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Middle and upper registers...
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Marimba beaters...
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Rolls...
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Using multiple sticks...
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Using different sticks in different registers.
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The size of the instrument.
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Marimba notation...
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Good marimba writing...
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.
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Listen to this famnous xylophone moment from Saint-Saëns Le Carnival des Animaux ('Fossiles')...
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Xylophone history...
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The character of the xylophone.
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The range of the xylophone.
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Various beaters are used...
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Xylophone notation...