The Marimba

Within the group, Percussion, there are many diverse musical instruments. Some of these are tuned to specific scales or notes, while others are not. The Marimba, a pitched instrument, is an invention of the early twentieth century. While the marimba’s shape resembles that of the African xylophone, the marimba possesses resonating tubes which hang below the keys and generate a soft sonority. 

Marimba

In Musical Instruments Through the Ages (page 31, 1961, London, Penguin Books), Baines describes the Marimba as the Central American “offspring” of the xylophone, “brought across the Atlantic by the slave trade”.    The tuning of the marimba an octave deeper than the xylophone assists in providing the mellow tone. The marimba is played using soft-headed beaters.

          It is interesting to note that when the wooden blocks of the xylophone were substituted with metal ones, the xylophone became a metallophone. “Xylon” in Greek means “wood”.

An Indonesian Metallophone

Later, the introduction of tuned metal blocks produced the celesta.

In Week 1, I had purchased items necessary for building a Marimba, including dowel for the beaters.

In Week 2, I measured my ply wood for the requirements of the floor, sides and cradle-like supporting structure. Then I measured and cut the dowel for the beaters before fixing soft heads to the tops.

In Week 3, I carefully cut out the pieces with a brand new saw! Here are the photos showing my cut pieces.

In Week 4, I nailed the pieces together and measured, cut and tuned the tone bars.

In Week 5, I placed the tone bars in position and marked the sites where nails would be situated for keeping the bars in place. I used rubber beneath the bars to encourage better richness of sound. Then, removing the bars, I painted the nails and the structure.

Once the paint was dry, the bars were replaced and the Marimba was ready for action.

Here is an Arch marimba from Africa and some young Zimbabwe performers having fun in their talented Marimba Band :