Showing posts with label Xylophone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xylophone. Show all posts

Dec 25, 2015

Pronouncing the Letter X

Did you know there at least eight ways to pronounce the letter X? The first is for today:
as kris in Xmas
as eks in x-ray
as gz in exist
as gzh in luxurious
as ks in sex
as ksh in anxious
as z in xylophone
or not at all as in faux pas.

Dec 18, 2015

What's in a Name, Zoolophone

Like xylophones and glockenspiels, the Zoolophone is an instrument with tuned metal bars that produce sound when struck. The tone and amplification it makes depends on the shape of the instrument itself.  A zoolophone can be thought of as a xylophone with keys shaped like animals, where different shapes have different sounds.

Most zoolophones require hand-crafting to get resonant frequencies and amplification correct. They use rigid geometries, like bars and hand-drilled dimples on their undersides to create predictable sounds.