AM T1.06Playing a Xylophone
The child strikes the bars of a small tuned xylophone or glockenspiel with a mallet and hears high and low notes.
Safety
- Check that the bars are fixed to the frame and the mallet heads are firmly attached; a loose pin or mallet head may fit the small parts test cylinder (1.25 in. × 2.25 in.).
- The child plays sitting down and does not walk or run with a mallet.
Presentation
- 1
Carry the xylophone with two hands to a table or mat and sit beside the child.
- 2
Hold one mallet loosely. Strike the longest bar once and lift the mallet at once so the note rings. Say: 'Low.'
- 3
Strike the shortest bar the same way. Say: 'High.'
- 4
Offer the child a mallet, handle first.
- 5
Let them play in their own way. This is the point of interest: a quick tap rings, and a mallet left on the bar stops the sound.
- 6
Play the bars one at a time from longest to shortest and listen together as the notes go higher.
- 7
Show how to lay the mallets in their place and carry the xylophone back to the shelf.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Play from low to high and from high to low
- Play while the adult sings a familiar song
- The adult plays two notes and the child plays two notes back
- Play a short known tune while the adult points to the bars
Control of error
The sound: a quick tap rings clearly, a mallet pressed on the bar stops the note, and a missed bar makes no note.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Strikes one bar at a time with the mallet
- Lifts the mallet so the note rings
- Plays along the bars from one end to the other
- Returns the mallets and xylophone to their place
Guide note
Many toy xylophones are not tuned. Choose one sold as a tuned instrument so that the child hears true pitches before the Montessori Bells.