Marimbaphone

The marimbaphone (not to be confused with the similarly named marimba) is an obsolete tuned percussion instrument, developed by the J.C. Deagan Company of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. in the early 20th century.

The marimbaphone had either shallow steel or wooden bars arranged chromatically with a tube resonator under each bar. Its timbre was similar to the celesta, and it was used mainly by marimba bands and as a solo instrument by stage artists.

In addition to being played with mallets in the conventional way (as in the playing of a marimba or vibraphone), the marimbaphone was designed so that its bars could be rotated from a horizontal position to a vertical position, allowing them to more easily be played with a bow. To further facilitate bowing, the ends of its bars were concave rather than flat. A single marimbaphone could be played by more than one performer, allowing both techniques to be used simultaneously.^[1]

Although the instrument has been comparatively little used in art music (Percy Grainger was one of only a few composers ever to call for it), the name is found in many scores where the ordinary marimba is meant.^[2]

Steel marimba[]

Also invented by Deagan was the steel marimba, a variation on the steel marimbaphone design that was intended to be played strictly with mallets and not bowed.^[3] Both of these instruments were superseded by the invention of the vibraphone in 1927.^[4]

References[]

^ "The Deagan Resource - A Historical Reference Catalog of Deagan Instruments". www.deaganresource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
^ Blades, James (2001). Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Marimbaphone" (Second ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0195170672.
^ "The Deagan Resource". www.deaganresource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
^ "The Deagan Resource". www.deaganresource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

External links[]

Deagan Steel Marimbaphone exhibit from Percussive Arts Society Museum site

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[1] "The Deagan Resource - A Historical Reference Catalog of Deagan Instruments". www.deaganresource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

[2] Blades, James (2001). Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Marimbaphone" (Second ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0195170672.

[3] "The Deagan Resource". www.deaganresource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

[4] "The Deagan Resource". www.deaganresource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

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v t Percussion instruments
List of percussion instruments
Pitched percussion	Angklung Balafon Carillon Chimes Chime (bells) Chime bar Crotales Glockenspiel Gubal Handbell Handchime Hang Marimba Marimbaphone (Steel Marimba) Song bells Steelpan Tabla Timpani Tubular bells Vibraphone Xylophone
Unpitched percussion	Afoxé Agogô Agung Babendil Bass drum Bell tree Bodhrán Bongo drum Cabasa Cajón Castanets Clapper Claves Conga Cowbell Cymbal Clash cymbals Davul Djembe Drum Headless tambourine Jam block Lagerphone Maracas Snare drum Tambourine Temple blocks Timbales Triangle Washboard Wood block
Percussion groupings	Drum kit Marching percussion Front ensemble Indoor percussion ensemble Percussion section Percussion ensemble Drum circle
Electronic percussion	Drum trigger Electronic drum Octapad Drum module Trigger pad Groovebox Drum machine Beat slicing
Other	Classification of percussion instruments Drum stick Percussion mallet Cymbal manufacturers List of drum manufacturers List of marimba manufacturers List of vibraphone manufacturers List of timpani manufacturers

Marimbaphone

Contents

Steel marimba[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]