What is Vibrafone?

vibrafone, also called vibration or vibraharp, is a percussion tool, one of the idiohones. Idiofone are tools that produce the vibrations of the whole body of the tool. Other examples of idiohone are triangles and cymbals. Other Mallet tools include Xylophone, Marimba, Glockspiel, Bells or Tubular Bells, Trets or Antique Ambulas and Steel Drums. It distinguishes it from marimba and xylophone that has wooden bars. The vibraphone is also characterized by the fact that vibrato or tremolo is made by a number of electric fans at the top of its resonator pipes. The engine speed controls the vibrato speed. As you may have gathered, this vibrato feature is a source of vibraphone.

Typical vibraphone has either three octave range starting at F below medium C, a range of two and a half octaves starting at medium C, or three and a half octave ranging at F below the middle C.

Vibraphone usually plays with different sticks. Hard and medium cable drumsticks and rubber drumsticks are used. For soft passages, yarn can be used and glissandos on vibraphone can be effectively rendered by wire brushes.

Two vibraphone techniques that are less common are as follows: dead stroking or dead gluing refers to the vibraphone rod and leaving the stick there, ie they did not lift it again so that the bar could vibrate. The result is a muted staccato. Another technique is to play End vibraphone rods with cello or counter -trapped meadows.

The vibraphone is included in jazz, bands and orchestral files and is used for both backup and solo playing. The famous Vibraphone players included Roy Ayers, Milt Jackson, Gary Burton, Red Norvo, Cal Tjader and Lionel Hampton.