The xylophone and glockenspiel for kids

The xylophone and the glockenspiel are percussion instruments that play tunes. Each has a row of bars laid out like the keys of a piano, and the player strikes the bars with mallets. A xylophone has bars of wood and a dry, bright sound. A glockenspiel has small bars of metal and rings like bells.

Quick facts

	Xylophone	Glockenspiel
Bars made of	Wood	Steel
Sound	Dry, bright, and short	Ringing, like small bells
The name means	“Wood sound,” from Greek	“Bell play,” from German
Mallets	Hard rubber, plastic, or wood	Hard plastic or brass
Size	About as wide as a small desk	Small enough to carry in a case
Family	Tuned percussion	Tuned percussion

How they work

Each bar is cut to a certain length. A long bar gives a low note, and a short bar gives a high note. The bars are set out in two rows, the way the white keys and black keys of a piano are.

When a mallet strikes a bar, the bar vibrates. A wooden bar stops ringing almost at once. A metal bar goes on ringing.

Under each bar of a xylophone hangs a tube. The tube is tuned to the bar and makes its note louder.

The toy that has the wrong name

Many toddlers own a small “xylophone” with bright metal bars. If the bars are metal, it is a glockenspiel. A true xylophone has bars of wood.

Their relatives

Instrument	Bars	Sound	Where you hear it
Marimba	Wood, wider and longer	Low, warm, and soft	Solo concerts, and music from Mexico and Central America
Vibraphone	Metal, with a pedal	Smooth, with a slow wobble	Jazz
Metallophone	Metal, larger than a glockenspiel	Mellow, with a long ring	School music classes
Celesta	Metal, struck by hammers from a keyboard	Soft and sweet	The Sugar Plum Fairy
Tubular bells	Long metal tubes on a frame	Church bells	Bells in orchestra pieces

Read the celesta for kids. To tell the larger ones apart, read marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone.

Pieces to hear

“Fossils,” from The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns. The xylophone plays the clattering bones. See the Carnival guide.

Sabre Dance, by Khachaturian. The xylophone hammers out the frantic tune.

“Galop,” from The Comedians, by Kabalevsky. A racing xylophone solo in the middle.

“Chinese Dance,” from The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. A glockenspiel adds its sparkle to the high flutes.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, by Dukas. The glockenspiel glitters when the magic is at work. See the listening guide.

The Magic Flute, by Mozart. The bird catcher Papageno carries a set of magic bells. In the orchestra, a glockenspiel or a celesta plays them. See The Magic Flute for kids.

In school music class

Many schools teach with xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels made for children. The bars lift off. A teacher can take away two notes of the scale so that the five notes left sound good in any order. Then every child can make up a tune that works.

Read Orff instruments for home.

A first instrument for a young child

A small glockenspiel or xylophone is a fine first instrument, with two cautions.

• Buy one with true notes. Many toy versions are out of tune. Play the scale in the shop and listen.
• Look for the layout of a piano. A child who learns where C, D, and E are on the bars has a head start at the keyboard.

Read the best instruments for 3, 4, and 5 year olds.

How to hold the mallets

1. Hold each mallet between the thumb and the first finger, about a third of the way up the stick.
2. Wrap the other fingers around it without squeezing.
3. Strike the middle of the bar.
4. Let the mallet bounce off at once. A mallet that stays on the bar stops the sound.
5. Take turns with the two hands: right, left, right, left.

Things to do together

Wood or metal? Play “Fossils,” and then the “Chinese Dance.” Ask which one has bars of wood.

Five-note tunes. On a glockenspiel, use C, D, E, G, and A alone. Make up a tune. It will sound good.

Echo me. Play three notes. Your child plays them back.

Long and short. Look at the bars. Ask which is the longest and what it sounds like.

Glasses of water. Fill five glasses to different heights. Tap them with a spoon and put them in order from low to high.

Print and play

Find the notes on the piano keyboard chart, which matches the layout of the bars. Read percussion instruments for kids and homemade instruments for kids.