Glockenspiel, << GLOK uhn `speel` or GLOK uhn `shpeel,` >> is a percussion instrument that consists of two rows of metal bars on a frame. The musician strikes the bars with one or two mallets.
There are two main types of glockenspiels, the bell-lyra and the orchestra bells. A bell-lyra has aluminum bars on a lyre-shaped frame. The player holds the instrument with one hand and strikes the bars with a hard, plastic mallet held in the other hand. The bell-lyra is used mainly in marching bands and drum corps. Most bell-lyras have a range of two octaves. Orchestra bells have steel bars arranged in a case. The case, which amplifies the sound, rests on a flat horizontal surface. The player strikes the bars with two hard mallets made of plastic, rubber, brass, or steel. The characteristic sound is bright and metallic. Orchestra bells are used primarily in concert bands, orchestras, and chamber music groups.
Loading the player...Glockenspiel
Almost every culture has developed a version of the glockenspiel. Bell makers in the Netherlands created the present-day instrument between 1650 and 1700. The bell-lyra was first played in a royal fife and drum corps in England during the 1850’s.
