What's A Vibraphone??

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47423994-1', 'fortunecity.ws'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <center> <br> <div> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </div> </center> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="07cc6930.gif" border=0 width="198" height="147" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hear Him Play"><U>Hear Him Play</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Compositions"><U>Compositions</U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">What's A Vibraphone??</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#336666" FACE="BauerBodni BT" ><B>Gavin McGraw</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gavin McGraw"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>What's A Vibraphone??</I></div> <div> The vibraphone (pictured left) is a member of the percussion family, related to the marimba and the xylophone.  It's aluminum tone bars produce a mellow bell-like sound when struck with yarn- or cord-wound mallets, and the sound is accoustically amplified by the resonator tubes suspended beneath each bar.  In some cases the bars are colored gold, which does not affect the sound.  Below the bars and resonators is a foot pedal which functions like a sustain pedal on a piano.  It allows the bars to ring freely when pressed and dampens the them when released using a long damper bar covered with felt, which runs the length of the instrument in the middle.</div> <bR> <div> The Vibraphone gets its name from a mechanical vibrato system.  When turned on, a small electric motor turns two shaft mounted in the tops of each row of resonators.  Atteched to the shafts are small discs which partially close  the top of each resonator to change the tone slightly.  The periodic opening and closing of the resonators creates a vibrato effect (i.e. the sound goes, "wah-wah-wah...").  While many of the great vibes players such as Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson have made effective musical use of the motor, there are others like Gary Burton and Dave Samuels who do not use it.</div> <bR> <div> For great information on the marimba, visit Nancy Zeltsman's site:</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nancyzeltsman.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nancyzeltsman.com"><U>http://www.nancyzeltsman.com</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>