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The xylophone is a fun, easy to learn instrument that originated in Indonesia in the 1500s. This guide will walk you through how to play xylophone for beginners.
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The xylophone is a fun, easy to learn instrument that originated in Indonesia in the 1500s. This guide will walk you through how to play xylophone for beginners.
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Introduction
- The xylophone is part of the percussion family, played by hitting wooden bars of varying lengths with a mallet made of rubber or wood. The xylophone is one of the most fun instruments in an orchestra. This page will give you some tips on how to begin playing the xylophone.
Step 1: Be Sure You Want to Play the Xylophone
- Choosing the right instrument is essential to your success in learning to play. To see if the xylophone is right for you, visit a music store and try out one of their xylophones. You can also try playing a piano to see if you enjoy it. If you like playing the piano, you will more than likely enjoy playing the xylophone.
Step 2: Find a Xylophone
- After deciding that you want to learn to play the xylophone, you should find one to practice on.
- Decide whether you want to buy a used or new xylophone.
- Choose a wooden or metal xylophone.
- A wooden xylophone is better quality but more expensive.
- Metal xylophones are less expensive and often smaller, making them more easily transportable.
- Make sure that you also get mallets, as those are what you strike the keys with.
Step 3: Work on the Fundamentals
- Xylophones are one of the few instruments that you can learn to play, or at least learn to begin playing on your own.
- You can purchase learning software online or check books out of the library that will walk you through the first steps to playing the xylophone.
- Learn to read music. Just as in piano, you must know the different staffs, the different notes on those staffs, what the time signature of the piece is and what each musical notation means.
- Begin to strike keys to see what sounds they produce. Longer bars play lower notes and shorter bars the higher ones.
- Experiment with a different mallets.
- Harder beaters produce brighter and sharper sounds.
- Soft beaters produce gentle tones.
Step 4: Get Professional Instruction
- If you do not feel like you are making enough progress via self-teaching or if you prefer to learn from a professional, you can seek out a xylophone teacher. Some ways to find a good instructor are:
- Recommendations from family or friends who play
- Local newspaper classifieds
- Suggestions from your neighborhood music store
- Online searches
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