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 A traditional style xylophone from Africa.
The earliest forms of xylophones have been in existence for potentially thousands of years. Cultures in both Africa and Asia developed their own versions of the instrument using local materials. Xylophones were introduces to Europeans during the Crusades, and eventually became a common instrument in Eastern European folk music. In the early 1900's, the xylophone became very popular in vaudeville shows, and xylophone performers were of highly sought after.
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Xylophones serve different musical functions depending on the area and culture using them. In Africa, for example, different ethnic groups have different traditional uses of the instrument. In some parts of Africa xylophones are used as an accompaniment to drums. In other parts, entire bands of twenty-five or more xylophones are used to form an exclusively xylophone band. In North America and Europe, xylophones are used as one of many instruments in an orchestra.
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The construction of xylophones varies slightly from culture to culture, but all types of xylophones have a common basic structure. Xylophones consist of a set of wooden bars of varying lengths. The bars are arranged from longest to shortest on a metal or wooden stand. They usually have resonators below the bars to enhance the sound and volume. The instrument is played by striking the bars with wooden or rubber mallets on the bars, each of which creates a different pitch depending on its size.
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There are dozens of different xylophone types that have been created and adapted by the many different cultures that play them. Some of the differences in xylophone types include their size, the materials used to make them, and what instruments they are intended to accompany. Luntangs, for example, are large xylophones that consist of five logs suspended from a rock. They are usually played by two people together. Timbela are another form of traditional xylophones, and they used hollowed out gourds as amplifiers. Amadindas have 15 keys, and are typically accompanied by multiple drum sets.
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 Xylophones are frequently used as children's toys today.
Xylophones remain an important aspect of culture among some African and Asian peoples. They are used in everything from European orchestras to African fertility ceremonies. Even in America, children are introduced to xylophones at a young age, and small colorful xylophones are a popular toy for young kids. Xylophones are fairly easy to play, but difficult to construct and so the use and building of xylophones has fascinated people to continue using xylophones for centuries.
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