The vibraphone, also known as the vibraharp, is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It has tuned metal bars that are struck with mallets to create sound. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a vibraphonist, vibraharpist, or vibist.

The vibraphone is similar to the steel marimba, which it replaced. A key difference between the vibraphone and other keyboard percussion instruments is that each metal bar is above a resonator tube with a flat metal disc. These discs are connected by a shared axle and spin when a motor is turned on. This spinning creates the instrument’s characteristic tremolo or vibrato effect. The vibraphone also has a sustain pedal like a piano. When the pedal is raised, the sound is quiet; when the pedal is lowered, the sound lasts longer, up to several seconds, until the pedal is raised again.

The vibraphone is often used in jazz music, where it plays an important role. It was a key part of the sound in mid-20th-century "Tiki lounge" exotica, as made famous by Arthur Lyman. In classical music, it is the second most popular solo keyboard percussion instrument, after the marimba. It is taught in college-level percussion programs and is a standard instrument in orchestras, concert bands, and marching ensembles, where it is typically used in the front ensemble.

History

Around 1916, Herman Winterhoff, a maker of musical instruments at the Leedy Manufacturing Company, began testing a special sound called "vox humana" on a steel marimba with three octaves (from F3 to F6). His first design tried to create this sound by moving the resonators, which are parts that make sound louder, up and down. This movement made the instrument produce a noticeable vibrato, or a wavy sound. In 1921, Winterhoff improved the design by attaching a motor that turned small discs under the bars, achieving the same effect. After sales manager George H. Way named the instrument the "vibraphone," Leedy began selling it in 1924. The Leedy vibraphone became popular after being used in recordings of "Aloha ʻOe" and "Gypsy Love Song" in 1924 by vaudeville performer Louis Frank Chiha.

However, the Leedy vibraphone was different from the modern instrument called the "vibraphone." The Leedy version did not have a foot pedal, and its bars were made of steel instead of aluminum. As Leedy's instrument gained popularity, competitor J. C. Deagan, Inc., which had created the original steel marimba used in Leedy's design, asked its chief tuner, Henry Schluter, to make a similar instrument in 1927. Schluter did not copy Leedy's design but added improvements. He used aluminum bars for a softer sound, adjusted the size and tuning of the bars to remove unpleasant sounds found in the Leedy design, and added a foot-controlled damper bar. Schluter's design became more popular than Leedy's and became the standard for modern vibraphones.

The names "vibraphone" and "vibraharp" were registered as trademarks by Leedy and Deagan, respectively. Other companies had to use the general term "vibes" or create new names, like "vibraceleste," for their versions of the instrument.

At first, the vibraphone was used as a novelty instrument in vaudeville orchestras. However, by the 1930s, it became widely used in jazz music. Jazz drummer Lionel Hampton from California helped popularize the instrument. During a recording session with bandleader Louis Armstrong, Hampton played a vibraphone left in the studio, leading to the 1930 recording of "Memories of You," which is often considered the first jazz recording with an improvised vibraphone solo.

In its early years, the vibraphone was sometimes used in classical music to add a jazz feel. The first known composer to use the vibraphone was Havergal Brian in his 1917 opera, The Tigers, which required two vibraphones. However, since the opera was not performed until 1983, Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite, completed in 1931, is sometimes considered the first classical piece to use a vibraphone. Other early composers who used the vibraphone include Alban Berg in his 1935 opera Lulu and William Grant Still in his Afro-American Symphony from the same year. Though the vibraphone is not used as often in classical music as in jazz, it appears frequently in theatre or film scores, such as in Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story.

Characteristics

The standard modern vibraphone has a musical range covering three octaves, starting from the F note below middle C (F3 to F6 in scientific pitch notation). Larger models with ranges of 3 ½ or 4 octaves, beginning from the C note below middle C (C3 to F6 or C7), are also becoming more common. Unlike the glockenspiel, the vibraphone is typically a non-transposing instrument, meaning it is played and written in concert pitch without adjustments.

Vibraphone mallets are usually made with a rubber ball core covered in yarn or cord, attached to a thin stick. These sticks are often made of rattan or birch, and sometimes fiberglass or nylon. Mallets designed for the vibraphone are also suitable for use on the marimba.

The type of mallet used can greatly affect the sound produced, ranging from a sharp, metallic tone to a soft, ringing sound with no clear beginning. Because of this, many different mallets are available, varying in hardness, size, weight, length, and flexibility.

Classical musicians often need to carry many types of mallets to meet the specific sound requirements of composers. Jazz musicians, however, frequently use versatile mallets that allow for easier improvisation.

Construction

Vibraphone bars are made from aluminum, cut into pieces of specific lengths. Holes are drilled through the bars so they can hang from a cord, usually paracord. To help the bars ring longer, the holes are placed near the points where the bar vibrates least, called nodal points. For a bar of uniform width, these points are about 22.4% from each end.

Material is removed from the bottom of the bars in an arched shape to lower the pitch. This helps make the lower notes shorter and gives the vibraphone a softer sound compared to the xylophone, which has a shallower arch, and the glockenspiel, which has no arch. These rectangular bars vibrate in three main ways. The deep arch causes these vibrations to create a harmonious pattern: a main pitch, a pitch two octaves higher, and a third pitch an octave and a major third above the second. For example, the lowest note on a vibraphone, F3, would have F3 as the main pitch, F5 as the first higher pitch, and A6 as the second higher pitch. The arch also shifts the nodal points closer to the ends of the bar.

After shaping the edges, the bars are adjusted for tuning. If a bar is too low in pitch, material is removed from the ends to raise it. If the bar becomes slightly too high, material is removed from specific spots to lower the higher pitches. Vibraphones are usually tuned to A = 440 Hz or A = 442 Hz, depending on the manufacturer or the player’s preference. A = 442 Hz is sometimes used to make the instrument sound slightly brighter.

Professional vibraphones have bars of varying widths. Lower notes use wider bars, and higher notes use narrower bars to balance sound across the instrument. After tuning, the bars are anodized (usually silver or gold) and may have a glossy or matte finish. These are appearance features and do not affect the sound.

The bars are supported by wooden rails attached to the frame. Each rail has pins with rubber spacers. The cord from the bar passes through the holes and rests on the pins. At the ends of the cord, springs are attached to keep the bars taut.

Resonators are hollow tubes, often made of aluminum, attached to each bar. One end is open, and the other is closed. The resonator’s diameter is slightly larger than the bar’s width, and its length is one-quarter the wavelength of the bar’s main pitch. When the bar and resonator are in tune, the air under the bar moves through the resonator, reflects off the closed end, and returns to the bar, creating a stronger sound. This increases the volume of the main pitch but not the higher tones.

There is a balance between the resonators’ ability to amplify sound and the time the bar rings. Energy from the initial strike can make the bar ring louder or longer. Vibraphone bars can ring for many seconds, which is desirable. To manage this, resonators are often slightly out of tune to balance loudness and sustain.

A unique feature of vibraphones is the rotating discs, or fans, on top of the resonators. When the fans are open, the resonators work fully. When closed, they reduce the sound. A motor connected by a belt rotates the fans, creating a tremolo effect (a rhythmic variation in sound).

Some vibraphones have extra, non-functional resonators to make the instrument look complete.

In 1970, Deagan created the ElectraVibe, which used electronic signals from the bars instead of resonators. This improved portability and made it easier to evenly capture the sound of the bars.

Early vibraphones, like the Leedy model, did not have a way to stop the sound. In 1927, J.C. Deagan added a pedal mechanism. A bar under the instrument is pressed upward by a spring, pressing a felt pad against the bars to stop the sound. A foot pedal lowers the bar, allowing the notes to ring. A problem with this system is that the pad may press unevenly, affecting the sound in different ranges. Some manufacturers use silicone or liquid-filled pads to distribute pressure more evenly.

Vibraphones usually have a motor and pulley system to rotate the fans. In classical music, the motor is often turned off. Some outdoor models remove the motor entirely, and the motor is only used when needed.

Early vibraphones used motors from record players, which had limited speed control. Adjustments were made by moving the drive belt between pulleys of different sizes. Later, variable-speed motors became available, allowing precise control of the fan speed through a dial. These motors typically operate between 1–12 Hz.

Technique

The two-mallet method for playing the vibraphone is usually played in a straightforward way, similar to how a horn is played, not like a guitar or piano that plays chords. Players using two mallets often focus on playing one main melody and depend on other musicians to provide background music. Sometimes, two notes are played at the same time, but this is mostly to strengthen the main melody, like how violinists use two notes together. In jazz groups, two-mallet vibraphonists are often part of the main group with horn players. They play their own solos but rarely help other musicians with background music.

Two-mallet players use different grips. The most common is the German grip, where the mallets are held with the palms facing down and the thumbs pointing toward each other. Each hand holds the mallet between the thumb and index finger, with the other fingers supporting the mallet shafts. This grip uses wrist and fingertip movements to control the mallets. Another common grip is the French grip, used on timpani as well. Here, the mallets are held the same way, but the palms face upward, and the thumbs point up. Most movement comes from the fingertips, with the wrists moving less than in the German grip.

Passages are usually played by alternating hands, but sometimes the same hand plays two notes in a row if it helps avoid crossing hands.

The player must watch the damper pedal carefully to prevent notes from ringing unintentionally. When the damper is up, notes ring for a short time. To manage this, players use a technique called "after pedaling," where they press the pedal slightly after hitting a note. This keeps the new note ringing while stopping the previous one. Another technique, "half pedaling," involves pressing the pedal just enough to reduce the spring pressure on the bars without fully lifting the damper. This allows notes to ring longer and makes fast passages sound smoother.

The four-mallet style is more complex, like a piano. In jazz groups, four-mallet players are often part of the rhythm section, replacing the piano or guitar. They provide background music for other musicians and also play solos. This style has led to many solo performances on the vibraphone. One example is Gary Burton's version of "Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)" from his 1971 album, Alone at Last.

The most common four-mallet grip is the Burton grip, named after Gary Burton. One mallet is held between the thumb and index finger, and the other is held between the index and middle finger. The mallets cross in the middle of the hand. For wide intervals, the thumb moves between the mallets, and the inside mallet is held in the crook of the fingers. Unlike other grips, the outer right mallet is the main one. While some early players used four mallets, like Red Norvo and Adrian Rollini, the fully developed four-mallet style for jazz is mostly the work of Burton.

Players using the Burton grip often use double strokes more than two-mallet players. This helps avoid crossing hands and reduces movement between the two rows of bars. For example, an E♭ major scale might be played with the left hand on the upper bars and the right hand on the lower. For fast, leaping passages, all four mallets are used one after another.

Another popular grip is the Stevens grip, named after marimbist Leigh Howard Stevens. Many other grips exist, including variations of Burton or Stevens and unique styles created by individual players.

Pedaling is important for four-mallet players, but the sustain pedal’s all-or-nothing damping system makes it harder to manage multiple melodies. To solve this, players use "mallet damping" and "hand damping." These techniques allow smoother transitions between chords and help play new notes without affecting the sound of existing chords.

Mallet damping happens when a player strikes a note with one mallet and then presses another mallet onto the ringing bar to stop it. Usually, different hands are used for striking and damping, but advanced players may use the same hand. "Dead strokes" involve striking a bar and then pressing the mallet head directly onto it to stop the sound immediately, creating a distinct "choked" sound.

Hand damping, or "finger damping," involves pressing the heel of the hand or the side of a finger onto a lower bar while striking an upper bar with the same hand. Using both hands, players can damp and strike two bars at once.

Some vibraphonists use three mallets per hand, either in both hands (six total) or just the left hand (five total), to create a fuller sound and more complex chords.

Like other metallophones, the vibraphone can be played with an orchestral bow to produce sustained tones without a percussive attack. This is done by bowing the bars perpendicular to their edges. This changes the sound, emphasizing higher tones and giving it a "glassy" quality. However, fast passages are rarely written for bowed vibraphone because changing notes requires large, precise movements.

Bent notes on the vibraphone are created by sliding a rubber or plastic mallet from a specific spot on the bar (the nodal point) toward the center. This lowers the pitch by about a half step.

Repertoire

The vibraphone is a common instrument in the percussion section of classical music ensembles. Over the past 50 years, its use has become more common, especially in college-level percussion groups.

Several concertos have been written for the vibraphone. The first was Darius Milhaud's Concerto for Marimba, Vibraphone and Orchestra, composed in 1947. Other well-known concertos include Ney Rosauro's Concerto No. 1 for Vibraphone from 1996 and Emmanuel Séjourné's Concerto for Vibraphone and Strings from 1999.

The vibraphone is the second most popular solo keyboard percussion instrument, after the marimba. Solo pieces for the vibraphone can include jazz songs that have been adapted for the instrument or new compositions that are either jazz-style or classical. Some of the most frequently performed solo works are Mirror from Another by David Friedman, Mourning Dove Sonnet by Christopher Deane, Trilogy by Tim Huesgen, and Blues for Gilbert by Mark Glentworth.

Manufacturers

During the 1930s and 1940s, each manufacturer had its own group of fans in different areas. However, Deagan vibraphones were the models chosen by many jazz musicians who specialized in certain styles. Deagan made agreements with several top players, including Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson. In the 1980s, the Deagan company closed, and its trademark and patents were bought by Yamaha. Yamaha still makes percussion instruments using designs from Deagan.

In 1948, the Musser Mallet Company was started by Clair Omar Musser, who had previously worked as a designer at Deagan. The Musser Mallet Company continues to make vibraphones as part of the Ludwig Drum Company after Ludwig bought it in 1965. The Leedy Manufacturing Company, which originally designed the vibraphone, had already merged with Ludwig Drums in 1929 under C.G. Conn.