The vibraphone is a percussion instrument with tuned metal bars, mallets, and resonator tubes beneath the bars.
Its aluminum bars are arranged like a piano keyboard. Each bar has a vertical resonator tube that strengthens its sound. Rotating discs, called pulsators, can periodically interrupt the airflow and create the instrument’s characteristic vibrato.
The vibraphone became especially important in twentieth-century jazz, where performers such as Lionel Hampton helped establish it as a solo instrument. It is also used in concert music and film scoring.
The marimba and xylophone use wooden bars, while the glockenspiel uses smaller metal bars and has a much higher register. These differences make the vibraphone’s metal tone, sustained resonance, and motorized vibrato distinctive.