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Jan 4, 1200
Origin of the Marimba
The Marimba was created by African Tribal Slaves for entertainment purposes.The instrument first consisted of slender wood over holes in the ground and then changed to slender wood bars, thick stick to support it, and thatch rope to hold it together. The marimba was first called a xylophone because of it's early stages being very small and high pitched, but is evolving into something bigger. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. -
Jan 4, 1300
1st Development
After the marimba was created, percussionists, or people that play the marimba, started to think that it does not have a good tone quality, so they created an attachable part called the resonator. This resonator was made out of a calabash plant. The resonator would go under each bar to make sure it would ring louder and longer. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. -
Jan 4, 1400
Moving to Latin America
When the Europeans came to colonize South America, they brought with them their African Slaves. These slaves continued to create their instruments from their homeland, and when the Europeans saw the instrument, they thought it was a interesting concept. The Latin Marimba was soon to be spread along to Brazil and Mexico. As a result of the region change, the Calabash resonators were replaced by wood resonators. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. -
Jan 4, 1500
The Chiapas
Because of the popularity of the marimba in Mexico, the Mexicans created the Chiapas. The Chiapas had many different adaptations starting from a 6.5 octave version to an astonishing 79 bars, the largest ever made! The Chiapas set up the marimba for what it looks like today. The Mexican's also changed resonators to bamboo. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. -
The Early Applications to the Symphony Orchestra
The marimba was finally given it's name today, when the instrument was applied to the symphony orchestra. Companies like Deagan and Leedy first began manufacture the instrument in the US. They started with changing the resonators to metal, and changing the shape of the resonators at times. They also added wheels to help with maneuvering the instrument to different areas. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. -
The First Composers
After the popularity spike in the 1920's, many famous orchestral composers started to engineer a new era in the music industry. A French man named, Darius Milhaud, composed the "Concerto for Marimba" was one of the first music composure's to be popular. With this new popularity spike, Deagan eventually changed the marimba so it would resemble a piano. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. -
The Modern Marimba
The marimba took on it's modern look whenever companies like Musser, Yamaha, and Malletech decided to start manufacturing marimabas. The latest innovation of the marimba is the height adjustment capabilties. This made it easier for the younger and taller audiences to be able to learn the instrument, because of the ability to raise and lower the instrument. "Vienna Symphonic Library." Vienna Symphonic Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.
