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 Xylophone, from Greek xylon and phonē, “wood” and “sound”, percussion instrument consisting of a set of graduated, tuned wooden bars supported at nodal (nonvibrating) points and struck with sticks or padded mallets. The xylophone has a close cousin called the marimba. Both instruments consist of wooden keys mounted on a wooden frame over a series of metal tubes called resonators. Hammering on the wooden keys causes the impact to resonate through the tubes. The xylophone has a brittle, metallic sound, while the marimba is somewhat more mellow or wooden to the listener.
The xylophone is an ancient instrument that originated independently in Africa and Asia. Wooden bars were originally seated on a series of hollow gourds, and the gourds generated the resonating notes that are produced on modern instruments by metal tubes. Most often the wooden bars may be set on insulating material and pinned in place along two edges of a resonator box or suspended above it with cords.
 In its 21st-century form the Western xylophone’s keys are usually arranged in two rows, somewhat like piano keys, on a stand; to improve the tone, a hollow groove is cut along the underside of each plate. Although rosewood is the favourite choice for plates, synthetic materials can be used. Tube resonators may also be provided.
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SOUL SOUND