Xylophones and Metallophones

Xylophone
Any tuned percussion instrument consisting of a series of struck wooden bars.

Metallophone
Any tuned percussion instrument consisting of a series of struck metal bars.

I have experience of instrument making alongside African and Indonesian instrument makers, coupled with an academic knowledge of acoustics and instrument construction. This enables me to make strong and beautiful instruments which sound fantastic and continue an acoustic instrument making tradition.

click on images below to enlarge

African Style Concert Marimba

Calabash resonators with buzzers (mirlitons), oak frame,
Honduras rosewood bars.
3 metres long.
Chromatic tuning with double octave overtone tuning to the lower two octaves. This instrument was commissioned by percussionist Evelyn Glennie more.


Gender

Javanese gender penerus.
Bronze bars, coopered cedar of Lebanon resonators,
reclaimed teak.
Javanese 5 note slendro tuning.





Manza

Central African Republic, a small portable instrument.
Calabash and bamboo resonators, rattan cane frame, padauk bars.
Five note scale, adjacent bars are octaves in the sequence 2 2' 3 3' 4 4'
5 5' 1' 1. A pair of beaters in each hand strikes octaves.



Manza Group

Group of three manza type instruments: bass manza very similar to rongo xylophone with elongated calabash resonators, standard portable 10 bar manza, and 5 note kalangba xylophone made in educational workshop.



 

rango xylophoneRongo

New rongo made for the band, Rango.








Burmese Xylophone

Burma and Thailand.
Teak trough resonator frame, Honduras rosewood bars.
Seven note scale.






Gyil

Ghana/Burkina Faso.
Calabash Resonators with buzzers (mirlitons), pau rosa bars, oak frame.
Five note tuning.






Mbila

Democratic Republic of Congo.
Calabash resonator with single padauk bar.

 

 



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