Online Marimba (Virtual Marimba)
This online marimba is a chromatic five-octave concert marimba, from C2 to C7: 61 wooden bars in two rows, with the natural notes on the lower row and the sharps and flats on the upper one. The bars get shorter toward the treble, just like on the instrument, and the screen shows two, three or four octaves depending on its width, with buttons to move through the rest.
How to use it
- Tap the bars with your fingers; you can hit several at once, as if you were holding four mallets. Slide your finger across them for a glissando.
- On a computer, Z X C V B N M and Q W E R T Y U play the lower row (the natural notes); S D G H J and 2 3 5 6 7 play the sharps on the upper row. With the MIDI keyboard button you can also play from a keyboard plugged in over USB.
- Use the octave buttons or the arrow keys to move through all five octaves. A phone held upright shows two, sideways shows three, and a wide screen shows four.
- Tap Record, play, then tap again to stop. Then use Play, ↓ MIDI, ↓ WAV or Share.
Help and explanations
The sound is synthesized on your own device; it is not a recording of a real marimba. It models what a bar does over its resonator: a deep, round fundamental that rings on, a second partial tuned two octaves up and the soft thud of a yarn mallet. Use it to practice a melody, try out chords or teach the notes when there's no marimba around, then record what you play, download it as MIDI or WAV and share it with a link.
Marimba vs. xylophone
Both have wooden bars laid out in two rows, but they don't sound alike. The marimba is lower, with wider bars and long resonator tubes that sustain the note and give it a warm, round tone. Each marimba bar is also carved out underneath so that its second partial lands two octaves above the note. The xylophone sits higher, with a dry, short sound and its second partial tuned an octave and a fifth up. If you want that bright click, try the online xylophone.
Range of a concert marimba
The largest concert marimbas span five octaves, from C2 to C7, and many student instruments cover a little less, starting on A2. The marimba sounds at the pitch it's written, and solo marimba music is usually written on two staves, like piano music.
The MIDI file you download uses General MIDI instrument 13, Marimba, so it opens with a marimba sound in MuseScore or your DAW.
From Central America to the concert hall
The marimba is the national instrument of Guatemala and a much-loved part of the music of Chiapas in southern Mexico and other parts of Central America, where several players often share one large instrument at dances and celebrations. The concert marimba heard in percussion studios and solo recitals today grew out of that tradition. This page is a chromatic concert marimba, not a model of any particular regional instrument.
Tips
- To hold a long note, alternate two fingers very fast on the same bar: that's the roll marimba players use, because a bar doesn't ring forever.
- With four fingers you can voice chords the way four-mallet players do: C, G, E and the C above make an open C major that sounds great in the low register.
- Under Settings, use Chord or scale to light up the bars of a scale before you play it; Listen plays it for you.
- A phone speaker cuts the marimba's low end: use headphones or an external speaker to hear the bottom octave properly.
- If you own a real marimba, check it bar by bar with the marimba tuner.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the online marimba with my computer keyboard?
Z X C V B N M play C D E F G A B in one octave and Q W E R T Y U play the octave above. The sharps sit on the row above each one: S D G H J and 2 3 5 6 7. The arrow keys change octave and Esc releases everything.
Is this a marimba simulator with a real recorded sound?
No. The sound is synthesized on your device rather than played from recordings. It's built from how a marimba bar vibrates: a long fundamental boosted by the resonator, a second partial two octaves up and a soft mallet attack.
Can I practice with my own marimba?
Yes. Open Challenge: play the note, turn on the microphone and play the requested note on your marimba: the site recognizes it by sound, on your device, without recording. It also works with a xylophone, a piano or any other pitched instrument.
Can I record and share what I played?
Yes. Tap Record, play and stop. The Share link carries the notes in the address, and the ↓ MIDI and ↓ WAV buttons download a file to open in notation software or send in a message.