This disclosure relates to the field of percussion musical instruments in general, and marimbas in particular.
A marimba is a percussion instrument including one or more sets of wooden bars disposed in a generally opposed, parallel relationship. The wooden bars (tone bars) are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. Normally, resonators suspended beneath the bars amplify their sound. The bars are arranged like keys on a piano, with groups of 2 or 3 accidentals raised vertically, overlapping the natural bars to aid the performer both visually and physically. The marimba is a type of idiophone, as is the xylophone. While the present disclosure uses the example of a marimba, it generally relates to percussion musical instruments such as xylophones, metallophones, vibraphones, and glockenspiels.
Because these instruments may have considerable length and width, there is a need to be able to make the size more compact for the player to carry the instrument. This is particularly a need when the player is a younger, smaller student. Further, in order to advance in skill development, the player should be able to practice on a full-size instrument rather than a smaller instrument adapted for the smaller student.