Xylophone << ZY luh fohn >> is a percussion instrument that consists chiefly of a number of bars arranged on a frame like the keys of a piano. Most xylophones have 44 bars with a range of 31/2 octaves. The majority of xylophones have bars made of rosewood, but some have plastic bars. A musician strikes the instrument’s bars with a mallet to produce a hard, brittle sound. A hollow metal tube called a resonator lies beneath each bar. The resonators amplify the sounds that are produced when the bars are struck. Variations in tone quality may be produced by using different types of plastic or rubber mallets. 
No one knows exactly where or when the xylophone originated, but prehistoric peoples used some form of the instrument. During the 1500’s in Europe, the xylophone was called the Strohfiedel because the bars were placed on belts made of straw. The German word stroh means straw. The word fiedel means fiddle. Musicians now play the xylophone in bands, orchestras, and small musical groups.
