How the flexatone makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the flexatone belongs to the idiophones: the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
The flexatone or fleximetal is a modern percussion instrument (an indirectly struck idiophone) consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle. Used in classic cartoons for its glissando effect, its sound is comparable to the musical saw.
Other idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a flexatone sound like?
As one of the idiophones, its sound comes from the way the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
What type of instrument is the flexatone?
It is classified as idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 154).