How to Play Xylophone for Beginners

The xylophone is part of the percussion family, played by hitting wooden bars of varying lengths with a mallet made of rubber or wood.http://ghscomlab.genevacsd.org/HostedSites/MalletsUnlimited/Mallet_Instruments.html  This instrument is often played as part of an orchestra and can be heard in some ragtime music as well.http://ghscomlab.genevacsd.org/HostedSites/MalletsUnlimited/Mallet_Instruments.html Some music teachers consider the xylophone a good starting choice for musical beginners, as there is little in the way of technique to learn compared to other instruments.

Depending on the xylophone you buy, your instrument may have a range of notes as small as two and a half octaves or as large as four, with bars made of either wood or a synthetic material.http://ghscomlab.genevacsd.org/HostedSites/MalletsUnlimited/Mallet_Instruments.html Your xylophone consists of a set of bars, arranged in graduated lengths in a frame.http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentdetail.aspx?instrumentid=17  Often, you will also find tubes, called resonators, of different lengths mounted beneath the bars.http://ghscomlab.genevacsd.org/HostedSites/MalletsUnlimited/Mallet_Instruments.html These tubes allow for more volume as the instrument is played.http://www.playmusic.org/percussion/xylophone.html

The longer the bar, the lower the pitch it produces.  Most xylophones are set up like a piano, with lower notes played on the left and bars for flat and sharp notes located in sets of two and three just above the main bars. http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentdetail.aspx?instrumentid=17 http://www.musictheory.halifax.ns.ca/3keyboard.html

Take some time to get to know your instrument.  Begin to strike keys to see what sounds they produce. Experiment with different mallets. Harder beaters produce brighter and sharper sounds, while soft mallets produce gentle tones.http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentdetail.aspx?instrumentid=17

As with the piano, the xylophone is made up of a series of notes which are repeated across the instrument.http://www.musictheory.halifax.ns.ca/3keyboard.html  No matter what size instrument you're learning on, the basics of the notes will be the same.  A larger xylophone will allow you to play a larger range of these notes, playing higher and lower versions of the same notes as a smaller xylophone.

To learn the notes of the xylophone, do the following:

1. Locate "middle C."  This will be near the center of your instrument, spaced just left of a set of two sharp/flat bars.http://www.musictheory.halifax.ns.ca/3keyboard.html
2. From C, follow the adjacent bars to the right, labeling them with the letters of the alphabet until you get to G.  The bar directly to the right of G starts the series over at A.
3. Continue moving to the right until you're back at C. You should find a bar that is in the same position as the middle C you located earlier, spaced just left of a set of two of the sharp/flat bars.
4. Once you know the placement of these notes, you can learn the sharps and the flats.  A sharp or flat bar is a sharp note when it is to the right of a bar and a flat note when it is to the left of a bar.  So the first bar in a set of two of these is a C sharp, but it is also a D flat. The second is a D sharp and an E flat, and so on. Take some time to name each sharp and flat on your xylophone.http://www.musictheory.halifax.ns.ca/3keyboard.html
5. You may find it helpful to place stickers or tape small pieces of paper to label the notes on the bars until you have memorized their placement.

As a beginner, you're going to need to take things slowly as you learn the xylophone. It's best to choose a simple song in the key of C to avoid sharps and flats in the music.http://www.playpiano.com/keyofCmusic.htm  As you become more adept at playing the xylophone, you can branch out into other keys.

To play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" do the following:

1. Begin with your mallet on E.
2. Play the following note progression: E-D-C-D-E-E-E, D-D-D, E-G-G, E-D-C-D-E-E-E-E-D-D-E-D-C.http://www.pianolessons.com/piano-lessons/mary-had-a-little-lamb.php

To play "Three Blind Mice" do the following:

1. Begin with your mallet on E.
2. Play the following note progression: E-D-C, E-D-C, G-F-F-E, G-F-F-E, G-C-C-B-A-B-C-G-G, G-C-C-C-B-A-B-C-G-G, G-G-C-C-B-A-B-C-G-G-G, F-E-D-Chttp://www.bobrk.com/saxfaq/2.15.html

• Regular practice is a necessity for improving any instrumental talent. The xylophone is no exception. Find melodies you'd like to learn and practice them as many times as needed until you are proficient at them.  It will also be helpful to practice xylophone "drills" daily, working to increase your speed and accuracy as you play. Practice every day to hone your skills.