Editing Vibraphone (section)

{{short description|Mallet percussion instrument}}
{{Distinguish|Vibraslap}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox Instrument
| name           = Vibraphone
| image          = Vibes joelocke koeln2007.jpg
| image_capt     = A [[Musser Mallet Company|Musser]] vibraphone
| background     = percussion
| names          = {{hlist|Vibes|vibraharp|vibraceleste|vibratone}}
| classification = Keyboard percussion
| hornbostel_sachs = 111.222
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Sets of percussion plaques
| inventors      = Herman E. Winterhoff
| developed      = 1916
| range          = [[File:Vibraphone range.svg|200px|center]]
| related        = {{hlist|[[Steel marimba]]|[[song bells]]|[[glockenspiel]]}}
| musicians      = See [[list of vibraphonists]]
| builders       = {{hlist|[[Musser Mallet Company|Musser]]|[[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]]|[[Adams Musical Instruments]]|Saito|Marimba One|[[Premier Percussion]]|[[Majestic Percussion]]|Bergerault|Dynasty}}
| articles       = 
}}
{{Listen
| type         = music
| filename     = F scale on vibraphone.oga
| title        = Vibraphone sound sample
| description  = An [[F major]] scale played on a vibraphone with the motors on}}
<!-- Use the term vibraphonist (rather than vibist or other terms) within the article  -->
The '''vibraphone''' (also called the '''vibraharp''') is a [[percussion instrument]] in the [[metallophone]] family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using [[Percussion mallet|mallets]] to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,'' or ''vibist''.

The vibraphone resembles the [[Marimbaphone|steel marimba]], which it superseded. One of the main differences between the vibraphone and other [[keyboard percussion instrument]]s is that each bar suspends over a resonator tube containing a flat metal disc. These discs are attached together by a common axle and spin when the motor is turned on. This causes the instrument to produce its namesake [[tremolo]] or [[vibrato]] effect. The vibraphone also has a [[sustain pedal]] similar to a [[piano]]. When the pedal is up, the bars produce a muted sound; when the pedal is down, the bars sustain for several seconds or until again muted with the pedal.

The vibraphone is commonly used in [[jazz]] music, in which it often plays a featured role, and was a defining element of the sound of mid-20th-century "[[Tiki bar|Tiki lounge]]" [[exotica]], as popularized by [[Arthur Lyman]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adinolfi |first=Francesco |title=Mondo Exotica: Sounds, Visions, Obsessions of the Cocktail Generation |publisher=Duke University Press |others=Karen Pinkus, Jason Vivrette |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8223-4132-1 |location=Durham, NC |pages=99 |oclc=179838406}}</ref> It is the second most popular solo [[keyboard percussion instrument]] in [[classical music]], after the [[marimba]], and is part of the standard college-level percussion performance education. It is a standard instrument in the modern percussion section for [[orchestra]]s, [[concert band]]s, and in the [[marching arts]] (typically as part of the [[front ensemble]]).