Orff instruments for home: what to buy first and how to use them

Orff instruments are the xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, and small percussion used in Orff music classes. They are built for children: the bars lift off, the mallets are light, and a child can make a good sound on the first try. For home, start with a hand drum and a few small percussion pieces. Then add one barred instrument with removable bars. You do not need a classroom set.

The three kinds of barred instruments

Carl Orff had the first of these instruments built in the 1920s for his teaching.

Instrument	Bars	Sound
Xylophone	Wood	Warm and short
Metallophone	Metal	Mellow, with a long ring
Glockenspiel	Small metal	High and bright

Xylophones and metallophones come in three sizes: soprano, alto, and bass. Glockenspiels come in soprano and alto. The larger the instrument, the lower its notes.

Each bar sits loose on pins over a wooden box. The box makes the sound fuller.

Why the bars come off

A teacher or parent can lift off the bars a piece does not need. With only the right notes left, a child cannot hit a wrong one.

The most useful setup leaves five notes: C, D, E, G, and A. Take off every F and every B. These five notes are called a pentatonic scale. Any of them sounds good with any other, in any order. A child can make up tunes, and two children can play at once, with no clashes.

The small percussion

Orff classes also use instruments with no set note.

• Hand drum
• Tambourine
• Rhythm sticks or claves
• Wood block
• Triangle
• Shakers and maracas
• Jingle bells
• Finger cymbals

Teachers sort them by sound: skins, woods, metals, and shakers. A home needs one or two from each group.

What to buy first

Step 1: the body. Clapping, patting the knees, snapping, and stamping are the first Orff instruments. They cost nothing.

Step 2: a hand drum and three small pieces. Choose one drum, one wood sound, one metal sound, and one shaker.

Step 3: one barred instrument. For a child under six, a soprano glockenspiel is the smallest of the three kinds. For a child of six and up, an alto xylophone has a fuller sound and bars wide enough to hit with ease.

Step 4: a second barred instrument. A low xylophone or metallophone lets one player hold a steady pattern while another plays a tune.

What to look for in a barred instrument

• Bars that lift off
• Bars tuned to true pitch, so they match a piano and a recording
• Note names stamped on the bars
• Extra bars for F sharp and B flat, which open up more keys
• Two mallets suited to the instrument
• A sturdy box that will not tip

Toy xylophones with fixed, painted bars are often out of tune. A child’s ear learns from what it hears, so tuning matters. Makers that supply schools include Sonor and Studio 49. Used school instruments can be a good buy.

Mallets

• Soft yarn or felt heads for xylophones and metallophones
• Hard wood or plastic heads for glockenspiels
• Hold the mallet like a bicycle handle, with the thumb along the side
• Let the mallet bounce off the bar, so the bar can ring
• Use two mallets and take turns with the hands

Seven things to do at home

Echo. Play four beats on the drum. Your child plays them back.

Question and answer. Play a short tune that ends on any note but C. Your child plays an answer that ends on C.

A steady pattern. One player repeats C and G together on the low instrument, over and over. Musicians call a repeating pattern an ostinato. The other player makes up a tune on top.

Say it, then play it. Say a rhyme. Clap the rhythm of the words. Then play that rhythm on one bar, and then on any bars.

Sound story. Read a picture book aloud. Give each character or event a sound: the drum for the giant, the glockenspiel for the rain.

Add a layer. One person starts a pattern. Each person joins with a new one. Stop one at a time.

Play along. Set up the five notes and play along with a piece in C major.

How to set up at home

Keep the instruments on a low shelf where your child can reach them. Put the mallets in a cup beside them. Set one rule: instruments are played with care and put back. Ten minutes of play a few times a week is enough.

How this fits with lessons

Orff play builds beat, listening, and the nerve to make things up. It does not teach an instrument such as piano or violin. Many children do both. A child who has improvised on a xylophone can bring a steady beat and a habit of trying things to piano lessons.

Sources

Checked in November 2026.

• Annenberg Learner. The Arts in Every Classroom: Orff instrumentarium.
• Music and Arts. Orff instruments.

Next steps

For the approach behind the instruments, read Orff Schulwerk explained for parents. For the wider instrument family, see percussion instruments for kids. Keep a beat with the metronome for kids. For all the approaches side by side, read music teaching methods for kids compared.