Parts of a Xylophone – Bars, Resonators, Frame, Mallets

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Bars and cord 4

Natural bars The near row, laid out like the white keys of a piano.
Accidental bars The far row, the sharps and flats, like a piano's black keys.
Suspension cord A cord through every bar. It holds the bars above the frame.
Posts Small pegs on the frame. The cord rests on them between bars.

Resonators and frame 4

Resonators Metal tubes under the bars that make each note sound fuller.
Frame It holds the bars and the resonators. Wood or steel tubing.
Legs They raise the instrument so the player can play standing up.
Casters Wheels on the legs, so the instrument can be rolled.

Mallets 3

Mallets The sticks used to strike the bars.
Mallet head The ball that strikes the bar. Xylophone mallets have hard heads.
Mallet shaft The thin handle, often made of rattan or birch.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it for this part. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Xylophone (bars, mallets and their heads, tube resonators, frames of wood or steel tubing, the woods of the bars), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylophone ; Marimba (accidentals, the node where the string goes through the bar, mallet shaft of birch or rattan, legs), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimba . (2) Gary D. Cook, Teaching Percussion, searched in full text at https://archive.org/details/teachingpercussi0000cook (natural bars, accidental bars, resonators, a frame with legs and wheels, casters, mallet heads, shafts). (3) Kenneth A. Mueller, Teaching Total Percussion (1972), searched in full text at https://archive.org/details/teachingtotalper0000unse (the suspension cord that passes through the bar at a nodal point; posts). (4) Harry R. Bartlett, Guide to Teaching Percussion, searched in full text at https://archive.org/details/guidetoteachingp0000bart (natural bars, frame, resonators, a stand with casters, mallet heads). (5) The same maker's xylophone owner's manual, searched in full text at https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-580650 (tone bars, resonators, frame, suspension cord, suspension post, leg), and the same maker's Musical Instrument Guide, The Structure of the Marimba (bars lined up like piano keys, resonator pipes, mallets, nodes), https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/marimba/mechanism/ ; the two count as one source. (6) How Products Are Made, Xylophone (keys on a frame over resonators, mallet heads and handles, where a bar is struck), http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Xylophone.html . (7) Jeremy Montagu, Making Early Percussion Instruments, searched in full text at https://archive.org/details/makingearlypercu0000mont (suspension cord). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's instrument, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A xylophone is a set of tuned wooden bars on a frame, struck with mallets. Start with the two rows of bars, then look under them and at how they are held.

Read the full guide

Two views, whole and close

Numbers 1 to 7 are the whole xylophone: natural bars, accidental bars, resonators, frame, legs, casters and mallets. Numbers 8 to 11 are four bars from above: the suspension cord, the posts, and the head and shaft of a mallet.

Why the bars differ in length

Each bar is tuned to one note. The longest bars, at the low end, give the lowest notes, and the bars get shorter as the notes get higher. The resonator under each bar matches it: the lower the note, the longer the tube.

Strike a bar in its center. Where the cord passes through is a node, and a bar struck there sounds weak.

Questions and answers

What are xylophone bars made of?

Wood, such as rosewood or padauk, or a synthetic material such as fiberglass. Each bar is tuned to one note of the scale.

What do the tubes under a xylophone do?

They are resonators. One tube hangs under each bar and makes its note fuller and longer. Without the tube, a struck bar gives only a short, soft sound.

How are the bars of a xylophone held in place?

A suspension cord runs through holes drilled across each bar and rests on posts between the bars. The holes are at the nodes, the points of the bar that move least when it rings.

What is the difference between a xylophone and a marimba?

Both have wooden bars over resonators. The marimba has a lower range, larger resonators and a mellower sound. The xylophone sounds brighter and more brittle.