Meet the Xylophone
The xylophone is special because it can play MELODIES — the tunes of songs! Shakers, drums, and triangles make rhythms, but the xylophone makes the actual notes of a song.
A xylophone has a row of bars arranged from long to short. Each bar is a different length and plays a different note:
Long bars = LOW notes (deep sounds)
Short bars = HIGH notes (bright sounds)
You play the xylophone by striking the bars with mallets — sticks with round heads. Hit the bar in the center for the best sound. DING!
Classroom xylophones often have colored bars:
C = Red
D = Orange
E = Yellow
F = Green
G = Blue
A = Dark blue or purple
B = Pink or violet
C (high) = Red again
The notes go from left (low) to right (high), just like a piano keyboard goes from left (low) to right (high). Each note has a letter name: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and then it starts over with another C.