How the Pixiphone makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the Pixiphone belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
The Pixiphone was a range of toy glockenspiels (although they were inaccurately labelled as xylophones on their packaging). The larger Pixiphones had a 'raiser-bar' which could be used to end a note abruptly, rather than letting the sound fade naturally. Although marketed as a children's toy, the Pixiphone could be tuned pitch-perfect and was very robust, resulting in many children using them at British schools for music instruction, and occasional use on professional recordings by established musicians (see "recordings" below).
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does the Pixiphone sound like?
As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the Pixiphone?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.212).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q7199741 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Pixiphone – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Sarah Joy – CC BY-SA 2.0