Bars Vibraphone

interior of vibes exposed, showing deep arch , tuning marks in bar bottom, resonators, disks, damper bar , pins holding bars.

vibraphone bars made aluminum bar stock, cut blanks of pre-determined length. holes drilled through width of bars can suspended cord. maximize sustain of bars, holes placed @ approximately nodal points of bar, i.e., points of minimum amplitude around bar vibrates. uniform bar, nodal points located 22.4% each end of bar.

material ground away underside of bars in arch shape lower pitch. allows lower-pitched bars manageable length. key mellow sound of vibraphone (and marimba, uses same deep arch) compared xylophone, uses shallower arch, , glockenspiel, has no arch @ all. vibrating rectangular bars have 3 primary modes of vibration. deep arch causes these modes align , create consonant arrangement of intervals: fundamental pitch, pitch 2 octaves above that, , third pitch octave , major third above second. f3 bar forms lowest note on vibraphone, there f3 fundamental, f5 first overtone , a6 second overtone. side effect, arch causes nodal points of fundamental vibration shift closer towards ends of bar.

after beveling or rounding edges, fine-tuning adjustments made. if bar flat, overall pitch structure can raised removing material ends of bar. once sharp bar created, secondary , tertiary tones can lowered removing material specific locations of bar. vibraphones tuned standard of a=442 hz or a=440 hz depending on manufacturer or in cases customer s preference.

vibraphones graduated (foreground) , ungraduated (background) bars

like marimbas, professional vibraphones have bars of graduated width. lower bars made wider stock, , higher notes narrower stock, balance volume , tone across range of instrument. bars anodized, typically in silver or gold color, after fine tuning, , may have smooth or brushed (matte) finish. these cosmetic features negligible effect on sound.