marimba

Word family

• marimbist
  nounC2
• marimba player
  nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four instruments all belong to the struck-bar family but differ in materials and tone. The marimba has wide wooden bars and metal resonating tubes beneath each bar, producing a warm, deep, mellow sound. The xylophone has narrower wooden bars and a higher, brighter, sharper pitch — it sounds more percussive. The vibraphone uses metal bars and has a motorised rotating disk inside each resonator, creating a shimmering vibrato effect commonly heard in jazz. The glockenspiel is the smallest and highest-pitched; its metal plates are struck with hard mallets and produce a bell-like chime. In practice: if the piece sounds rich and bassy, it is likely a marimba; if it sounds crisp and cutting, a xylophone; if it shimmers, a vibraphone; if it rings like tiny bells, a glockenspiel.

Common collocations

Etymology

The word 'marimba' comes from Bantu languages of Africa, where 'ma' means 'many' and 'rimba' means 'single-note xylophone'. The instrument originated in sub-Saharan Africa, was brought to Central America by enslaved Africans, and developed into the modern form in Guatemala and Mexico during the 19th century. English borrowed the term directly from Spanish marimba in the 1700s.