snorre017 How to Play a Glockenspial (with Pictures) - wikiHow wikiHow to do anything How to Play a Glockenspiel Glockenspiels are such a common instrument for beginners that many xylophone toys for children are in fact glockenspiels. ‘Strike the center of the metal keys with plastic mallets to produce a strong chime sound. Cross over your arms as you play to pick up speed, Perform chords by playing with three or four mallets and you'l impress everyone with the chiming of the instrument 4 Buve pair of plastic mallets. st of good male's wil help you rng out the best sounds from the instrument ‘Mallets can be found packaged with the instrument or at music stores, Many mallet heads are made of plastic, hile others are made of nylon, rubber, or metal, Plastic mallets are the perfect choice for beginning players." + Plastic and nylon mallets are a useful tool for all players. Metal mallets produce a better quality sound but require more of a deft touch aM A Rest the glockenspiel on a stand or table, Many kids ply aglockenspiol whl siting, The Koys are set in a frame which makes the instrument ideal for the ground or another flat surface. Glockenspiels may also be placed fn larger stands so you can play while standing, Find these at music supply stores, (2 15snorre017 How to Play a Glockenspial (wth Pictures) - wikiHow 3 Stand or sit up tal. Before you play, make sure you feel comforiable, Bending over th Koy is painul and sets a bad habit for beginners. Keep your back straight as you reach your hands out towards the keys. Adjust the lockenspiel until you can reach all of them without bending over or reaching up. A Relax betore playing. Sometimes a tough day ornervousness can spill over ino playing. Before you begin take the time to shake out your arms. Practice turning yout wrists and shrugging your shoulders untl you feel loose. When you pick up the mallets, your grip should not feel tight. + Tenseness will wear out your arms. You'll also strike the keys too hard. Using the Mallets 4 Pickup the matlets between your thumb and index finger. Holding a malotis ike holding a drumstick or bike handle, Use your thumb to support the outside of the mallet Wrap your index finger around the other side. This. finger should not be on top ofthe mallet. Move your other fingers under your index finger. Your grip should be about hattway up the mallet shaft + One way to check your grip is to open up your hand, Try to balance the mallet on your index finger. The spot where the mallet feels balanced is where your grip should be. D Hote the mates straight and over the glockenspiel, Stay relaxed as you move the malls towards the lockenspiel, Hold the mallets about three inches (7.62 em) above the keys at all imes. Adjust your hands so that the mallets are level with the ground. 3 Aim forthe middie ofthe ar. Ty strking one ofthe keys, When you hit mid part ofthe bar, you'l gt the best sound. Listen as the note vibrates cleanly. Striking near the ends ofthe bars produces a more muted sound. A Bounce the mailat ofthe bar. Tho key to good sound is agen site. Dont use force. stead, bring the mallet, down gently and allow the impact with the bar to bounce it back into position. Striking too hard will also cause the bar to vibrate too much and produce a muted sound.|§] 15) Keep tho matot near the bars, Dont draw back when the male rebounds off he bar. Return tt ahold position right above the keys. As long as you keop the mallets about three inches above the keys, youl be able to play notes in rapid succession. hitpsiwwuzwkihow.comPlay-2-Glockenspie!?printable=yesBimages=1 25snorre017 How to Play a Glockenspial (with Pictures) - wikiHow G Alternate hands when playing notes srk he second note wih your other hand you fit he fst one with your left, hit the next one with your right. Ifyou hit it with your right, switch to your left, You will ned to cross over your arms as you play. This is needed for playing two nearby notes very quickly!®1 "5° | Mastering Playing Techniques 4 Memorize the sounds ofthe main keys. Learning the sound each key makes fs enought start you playing. Hit 1e keys one by one, familiarizing yourselt with the tones. Larger keys are on the left side of the glockenspiel These produce deeper, lower-pitched sounds, Smaller keys produce higher, ighter sounds, 1D Listen tothe sounds of the second row of keys Larger glockenspels feature a second sat of Keys, Ths sets above the regular keys and has less bars. These are sharp and flat notes, Strike these one at a time so you can learn what sound they make. They will make a sound that’s between whatever two bars on the lower set of keys they are positioned over + Try striking the lower bars they're near. Start with the let bar in the bottom row, then strike the small key inthe: top row, and fnish with the right bar in the bottom row. You'll hear how the tone gradually increases as move right on the glockenspie! 3 Label the keys t0 memorize the notes. Learing the notes the keys represen will ach you how o read ‘music. You can write the notes on small stickers and place them on the keys. On an eight-key glockenspiel, the largest key on the left isa C key (middle C, or C4 on the piano). Larger glockenspiels often start ata low A note and fend on a high A note.!7 + The notations such as C or C4 represent notes on the musical staff. The notes are named by letter. They go Ax B-C-D-E-F-G and then start again at A, + The sharp notes are represented like C#. Fat notes are represented lke Ds. Cif and Ds sound the same and \would be found on the small key between the C and D keys. + Investing in a book on how to read music is very useful for learning. These books typically have a few simple ‘songs you can sound out while memorizing what notes to strike. Practice playing scates, Scales aro whon you play up or down th glockenspial keys, Star at one end and play all the way up to the other. Then reverse direction and go back to the beginning. Alternate the hand you use to strike each note, This is a great way to get used to crossing your arms and increase your playing speed.(9) hitpsiwwuzwkihow.comPlay-2-Glockenspie!?printable=yesBimages=1snorre017 How to Play a Glockenspial (with Pictures) - wikiHow + You can also try playing the individual notes of chords. The C Major chord arpeggio is ©, E, G, C, E, G, C. Play the notes in order to practice your playing motion wiile learning the sounds of the notes. 5} Stiptwo matiets in one hand to play extra notes, Set the malts down and coss the shat of the one closest ‘9 you over the other one. Use your pinky, ring, and middle fingers to pick up the mallets. Place your thumb and index finger between the mallets. These two fingers adjust how close together the mallet are. You'llbe able to play two notes with one hand, You can use your other hand regularly or hold two mallets wit it to play four notes at once.) + This grip is called the traditional cross grip and is commonly used outside of America. + Many American players are taught the Burton grip. The mallet shaft farthest from you crosses over the other ‘one. Your index finger goes between the shatts. Your thumb stays on the outside, + A thir grip is the Stevens grip. The mallet shafls do not cross. Place one mallet between your middle and ring fingers. Use your pinky and ring fingers to hold it. For the other mallet, set the bottom of the shaft in the middle ‘of your palm, resting it against your index finger, then pinci it between your index finger and thumb. G "tv chords by striking three or more notes. You wil need to use thee or four mallets fortis. A chords produced when you sound three or more notes at once. Use your thumb and index finger to manipulate the mallets 50 you can reach the keys you want, Play the keys as you normally would by bouncing the mallets and retuming them to positon three inches above the glockenspial + One chord you can try isthe C major chord. Find a C key. Find the E and G keys next to it. Use one hand to reach either the C and E or E and G keys. Reach the other key with your remaining hand, ‘Community Q&A Now! Make a stranger's day. Answer How do I stop hitting the plastic bits? Memorize and got extremely comfortable with the piace you playing. That way, you'l be abe to look down at your ssw hands when you'e playing and not rely on your sheet music. By looking at your hands, you can see where you're playing, and avoid the plastic Dts, Why do the top row of keys have a# sign? ‘They/re accidentals, similar to black keys on the plano. That isa sharp sign, which indicates thatthe note is halt: seu step higher than the kay fit et NatHepal 1 Hebi Its hard to read musie and play at the same time, How can I play without looking down? Memorise the piecet | have the same problem but think the best solution Is to memorise the tune ~ otHapsl Hep 2 How can play without looking down? Ittakes practice. Ifyou keop your mallets positioned right over the keys at all times, striking the koys with avery sa controlled motion, youl have a feel for where your hands are positioned, You cauld try placing @ piece of cardboard in {font af your hands so you are forced to look up at the musical notation instead of your hands. Why does my glock have different keys from your diagrams? Note ranges vary betwoen diferent models. Some glockenspiel sets start with alow F, others with G, A, oF C (above). sw Most purchase descriptions say how many octaves of range it has (the number of keys on the instrument) and a Picture can tell you the lowest and highest notes. Can you tune a glockenspie!? No. Sines you play the the glockenspial by striking the keys, the noise comes from the vibrations of the metal. You scant really alter how the Keys sound, atHebal 3 Hebi | am a first timer, how do I read the notes? I you are in veble cleft (the one that doesn't ook tke aC) then the line note willbe E,G,8,0.F (rom bottom to top) ‘ane the space notes would be F.A,C.Eirom battom to top. hitpsiwwuzwkihow.comPlay-2-Glockenspie!?printable=yesBimages=1 45snorre017 How to Play a Glockenspial (with Pictures) - wikiHow Notre 2 Hepa 3 | play but I don't develop. How do I develop? Keep practicing, Focus on your weak areas. First, memorize the keys, Do you play slowly? Try laying scales to get into the rhytnm of alternating hands. Master basic techniques and songs and move up to more complicated things. AS you get batter, you can ly using chords inthe songs you've learned NotHaptl 0 Heil + Where is the line for a glockenspiel in an orchestral score? Itt!be among the pitched percussion section. Scores usualy start with the woodwinds and brass inst~uments. The “percussion section comes next. Keep in mind though that there's no defntive rules for scoring, and scores will vary depending on what instruments are in the orchestra, Some instruments will even have multple ines, NotHaptt Hepat How do I play the key of F on the glockenspiel? “The F would be the bottom key after the top key that only has one row. ° NatHepal 3 Hebi 3 Make a stranger's day. Answer a question. Leam more Tips + To clean the keys, gently use an alcohol wipe. + Many glockenspiels have removable keys. This is a good way to help younger players learn to identity afew selected keys + Search musie stores for books with notation for simple songs like Mary Had A Litle Lamb. These will help you read music ‘oF learn notes through playing. Percussion or piano books work for this + You can place small stickers on the keys to help you memorize notes. + Glockenspiels are smaller and higher in pitch than xylophones. Their range is limited to the upper register and they usually cover about two and a half to three octaves, Sources and Citations 1. htps:luwwwzmoderndrummer.com/2015/02ineed-know-malles-percussion’ 2. htts:mw kindermusik.com/mindsonmusicikindermusik’s-parents-ntroductiono-ne-glockenspie/ 3. https www.bethsnotesplus.con/2011/08/instruments-tps-ticks-2html 4, hitpslluwwclassicsforkde.comtteacherslorfinstuments. asp 5. hip:typaper sounclly.comfipsimusical-ipslcrash-course 6. htp:Mlypaper sounchly.comtipsimusicaltipsicrash-course-learn-the-glockenspie-in-60-seconds! 7. httpswwtradtionalmusic.co.ukits-easy-to-make-musicimake-music-0168.htm r-the-glockenspiel-in-60-seconds! 8. htlpMypaper sounclly.comtipsimusicaltipslerash-course-tearn-the-glockenspie-n-60-seconds! 9. htipsifimww youtube comiwatch?v=BCqol 1e-qOlBfeature=youtu beat hitpsiwwuzwkihow.comPlay-2-Glockenspie!?printable=yesBimages=1 55