Online Xylophone (Virtual Xylophone)
This online xylophone has the sound of wooden bars struck with a mallet and the colorful bars many people know from toy xylophones, one color per note. The bars get shorter toward the treble, like on the real instrument, and the sharps sit on the back row.
How to use it
- Tap the bars with your fingers; 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 colored bars (the natural notes); S D G H J and 2 3 5 6 7 play the sharps on the back row.
- Use the octave buttons or the arrow keys to change octave.
- Press Record, play, and press it again to stop. Then use Play, MIDI, WAV or Share.
Help and explanations
It works on phones, tablets and computers, including with the computer keyboard, and the sound is generated on your own device. You can record the tune, play it back, download it as MIDI or WAV and send the link: handy for a music lesson at school and for practicing a song before you pick up the instrument.
Xylophone, metallophone and glockenspiel
A real xylophone has wooden bars (the name comes from the Greek xylon, wood) and a dry sound that fades quickly. The colorful toy many kids call a xylophone almost always has metal bars: it's a metallophone, with a longer, brighter sound. The orchestral glockenspiel is metal too and sounds very high. This page imitates a wooden xylophone with resonator tubes.
Colors and notes
Each natural note has a color: C red, D orange, E yellow, F green, G blue, A indigo and B violet. It's the same rainbow found on many classroom xylophones and in color-coded music methods, which helps young children follow colored sheet music before they can read notes.
Tips
- For class, agree on one color per note with the group and write the tune as colored dots on the board.
- Public-domain tunes built on neighboring notes are easy: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is C C G G A A G, F F E E D D C.
- The xylophone sounds an octave higher than written on the staff; here the bars already show the real note.
- In the classroom, connect the phone to a speaker: the phone's built-in speaker cuts the bass.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the online xylophone 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.
What's the difference between a xylophone and a metallophone?
A xylophone has wooden bars and a short, dry sound; a metallophone has metal bars and a sound that lasts longer. The colorful kids' toy is usually a metallophone, even when it's sold as a xylophone.
What notes does a xylophone have?
An orchestral xylophone covers three to four octaves, with the natural notes in front and the sharps behind, like the white and black keys of a piano. Toy ones usually have just the 8 notes of a C major scale.
Can I use it for music class at school?
Yes. It works on the classroom computer connected to a speaker and on students' phones, with no sign-up and nothing to install. Record the example and send the recording link to the class to listen at home.
Can I record and download what I played?
Yes. Press Record, play and stop. The MIDI button downloads the notes to open in notation software; WAV downloads the audio to send in a message or use in a video.