[lojban] Re: marimba and xylophone and other instruments

[Pierre Abbat <phma@phma.optus.nu>]

On Monday 15 January 2007 00:53, Stephen David Simmons wrote:
> I'm not sure what the classifications mean, but to me, a xylophone is a
> like a set of miniature drums (generally held at two points on the
> "outside"), generally arranged in a line (though the line isn't always
> straight).  Perhaps {damryli'ica'a}.

1. Idiophone: The instrument itself, which is not stretched, vibrates.
2. Membranophone: A stretched sheet vibrates.
3. Chordophone: A stretched string vibrates.
4. Aerophone: Air vibrates.
5. Electrophone: Electricity vibrates.

The bars of a xylophone vibrate without being stretched. It is therefore an 
idiophone. They are held at the nodes of the first mode of vibration. Bells 
are also idiophones.

{pipno} covers both pianos and organs, which have nothing in common except the 
keyboard and the mapping of keys to notes. Since a xylophone has the same 
arrangement of bars as a piano does of keys, I think it qualifies.

Pierre


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