Xylophone - The Western Xylophone

The Western Xylophone

The first use of the term is comparatively recent: it came into use in Europe in the 1860s. The first use of a European orchestral xylophone was in Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre", in 1874. The instrument had already been popularized to some extent by Michael Josef Gusikov, whose instrument was the five-row xylophone made of 28 crude wooden bars arranged in semitones in the form of a trapezoid and resting on straw supports. There were no resonators and it was played with spoon-shaped sticks. According to the musicologist Curt Sachs Gusikov performed in garden concerts, variety shows, and as a novelty at symphony concerts. The instrument was associated largely with the folk music of Eastern Europe, notably Poland and eastern Germany. An early version appeared in Slovakia and the earliest reference to a similar instrument came in the 14th century. German organist Arnold Schlick's 16th-century Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten also mentions one.

The xylophone was used by early jazz bands and in vaudeville. Its bright, lively sound worked well the syncopated dance music of the 1920s and 1930s. Red Norvo, George Cary, George Hamilton Green, and Harry Breuer were well-known users. As time passed, the xylophone was exceeded in popularity by the vibraphone. The xylophone is a precursor to the vibraphone, which was developed in the 1920s. A xylophone with a range extending downwards into the marimba range is called a xylorimba.

Shostakovich was particularly fond of the instrument; it has prominent roles in much of his work, including most of his symphonies and his Cello Concerto No. 2. Modern xylophone players include Bob Becker, Evelyn Glennie and Ian Finkel.Alannah Currie of the Thompson Twins used it so swatter.

In the U.S., there are Zimbabwean marimba bands in particularly high concentration in the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, and New Mexico, but bands exist from the East Coast through California and even to Hawaii and Alaska. The main event for this community is ZimFest, the annual Zimbabwean Music Festival. The bands are composed of instruments from high sopranos, through to lower soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass. Resonators are usually made with holes covered by thin cellophane (similar to the balafon) to achieve the characteristic buzzing sound. As of 2006, the repertoires of U.S. bands tends to have a great overlap, due to the common source of the Zimbabwean musician Dumisani Maraire, who was the key person who first brought Zimbawean music to the West, coming to the University of Washington in 1968.