Welcome! In this post of the Student Blogging Challenge, I am going to teach you about the instruments I play, give you some music I’ve made, and learn what you enjoy from a survey!
I play four different percussion instruments: vibraphone, marimba, bells and xylophone (and hopefully soon the chimes).
1. Vibraphone
2. Marimba
The marimba is a slightly larger than the vibraphone, and has no peddle. It is played the same way as the vibraphone. It has a softer sound, and is usually used in concert bands.
3. Bells
The bells are commonly mistaken for little jingle bells that play different notes. This is not the case. The bells are much smaller than the marimba and vibraphone, but have a bell like sound. It is used in concert and jazz bands. It is usually played with two hard tipped mallets rather than four like the marimba and vibraphone.
4. Xylophone
The xylophone is the most well know mallet percussion instrument. It is played with two hard rubber tipped mallets. It makes a sound a little like hitting two sticks together. It is used in both concert and jazz bands.
I think my favourite out of all of these is the marimba. I like it’s sound, and since I’m still very new to mallet percussion, so it is the best for learning because it is quiet so you can practice or make a mistake without messing up the rest of the band.
Now you know a bit about mallet percussion! The other part of this post is to make some music. So hear is a recording I made of a song called The Hanging Tree from The Hunger Games, played on the bells. Just click this link to open the recording: TheHangingTree.MOV. If you would like to hear what the other mallet percussion instruments sound like I would recommend this video.
Here are some of my favourite songs from the Seycove Music Holiday Hits 2020 album. Listen and see if you can hear any mallet percussion! ⬇️
That’s all! I hope you learned something new and I can’t wait to see what you like to listen to!