The Xylophone is a wooden percussion instrument with fine tuning. The instrument is a series of wooden plates, each of which corresponds to a specific sound. The tuning accuracy is ensured by the manufacturer. On sale you can find both children's 8-ton xylophones and complex professional instruments with a large number of boards. The xylophone is played with special hammers.
It is necessary
- - xylophone;
- - 2 hammers;
- - sheet music for xylophone;
- - table of scales, chords and arpeggios;
- - the layout of the boards.
Instructions
Step 1
Examine the tool. Baby xylophone boards are usually painted in different colors to make it easier for the child to navigate. On some instruments for adults, the tablets are signed - there you will find either the name of the note, or its designation on the staff. There may also be a tool where some designations are absent. In this case, a diagram of the location of the boards is needed. If it is not there, you will have to identify sounds by ear. However, this problem is easily overcome if you have learned to play, for example, the piano. Like a piano, a xylophone has planks tuned to adjacent sounds, placed side by side. The sound scale can be natural or chromatic. Children's xylophones are tuned in C major, pieces in other keys, with the exception of natural A minor, cannot be played on such an instrument. A professional xylophone has a chromatic scale, that is, adjacent plates give an interval of half a tone.
Step 2
Take the hammer. Its tip should lie on the nail phalanx of the index finger, on the side of it. The thumb pad is on top. She holds the tip of the hammer, but does not press down on it. The rest of the fingers are slightly bent and free. The wrist should also move freely. At the slightest tension, the sound is muffled. Try to play any scale, first with one hand, then with the other. Then try playing with two hands, the bottom four steps with your left hand and the rest with your right. Alternatively, alternate arms. For example, in C major, C is taken with the left hand, D - with the right, E - with the left, etc.
Step 3
Xylophone scores are written in the treble clef. You can take a collection designed specifically for this instrument (for example, "Reader for Xylophone and Snare Drum"), but the most common solfeggio textbook for a music school will do. Your task is to learn the notes, their position on the instrument and the symbols for the durations. A whole note is indicated by a white circle, a half by a white circle with a stick, a quarter by a black circle with a stick, the eighth note has a ponytail, the sixteenth has two tails, etc. The number of beats in each measure should correspond to the time signature that is written at the beginning of the staff. Try practicing a simple piece. It is important to coordinate your hand movements. Begin to take apart the piece, pick up the sounds with the hand that is more comfortable for you. In the notes, you can put down the appropriate icons. Start playing at a slow pace, hitting exactly the middle of the boards. When you remember the order of the sounds, increase the tempo.
Step 4
Learn to slide across all the planks in the row. This technique will come in handy when you play virtuoso pieces that need a bright ending.
