Musical instruments beginning with X
Xylophone, xaphoon, xalam: three names beginning with X, three ways of producing sound. The xylophone uses wooden bars, the xaphoon a single reed and the xalam plucked strings. Similar sounds or spellings do not change their instrument families.
Instruments under X and how they work
| Instrument | Family | How to recognise it |
|---|---|---|
| Xylophone | Percussion, idiophone | Tuned wooden bars struck with mallets. Instruments using this principle exist in various traditions across Africa, Asia and Europe. |
| Xaphoon | Wind, single reed | A compact instrument associated with its inventor Brian Wittman in Maui, Hawaii. Versions are made from bamboo and other materials. |
| Xalam, or khalam | Plucked strings, lute | A West African lute associated particularly with Senegalese traditions. Its body is covered with skin, and construction varies between instruments. |
The xylophone has wooden bars, not metal ones
Wood is the key distinguishing feature. A glockenspiel has metal bars, as does a vibraphone, but with different dimensions and characteristics. A marimba also uses wood; its construction and range mean it cannot simply be equated with any orchestral xylophone.
Mallet choice changes the attack and tone colour. The Yamaha guide to mallets describes these differences for mallet percussion. The effect still depends on the instrument and musical context: this is not a universal mallet prescription.
The xaphoon comes from Maui
The nickname ‘pocket saxophone’ suggests a timbre, but does not mean the xaphoon has a saxophone’s key mechanism. It uses a single reed and a compact tube. The Maui Xaphoon manufacturer introduces Brian Wittman and the making of bamboo models. The instrument should therefore not be described as a New Zealand invention.
The xalam belongs to the plucked-string family
Its skin-covered body and neck help identify it. Searches using the spellings xalam and khalam may lead to similar descriptions. Specifying the tradition or musician is more useful than assuming a universal number of strings.
For further listening, compare the xylophone’s bars with the vibraphone, the xaphoon’s reed with the saxophone — French index and the xalam’s strings with the ngoni — French index.