A lithophone is a
musical instrument consisting of a rock or pieces of rock which are struck to produce musical notes.[1] Notes may be sounded in combination (producing harmony) or in succession (melody). It is an
idiophone comparable to instruments such as the
glockenspiel,
vibraphone,
xylophone and
marimba.
In the
Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, lithophones are designated as '111.22' – directly-struck percussion plaques.
The
Txalaparta (or Chalaparta), a traditional
Basque instrument, can be made of wood or stone, but is traditionally wood.
More sophisticated lithophones utilize trimmed and individually mounted stones to achieve full-scale instruments:
Probable prehistoric lithophone stones have been found at
Sankarjang in
Odisha, India.[2]
Recent research into usage wear and acoustics of prehistoric stone artefacts in North America and Europe has revealed a number of possible portable lithophones.[3][4]
Vietnamese lithophones dating back to ancient times, called đàn đá, have been discovered and revived in the 20th century.
The ritual music of Korea features the use of stone chimes called pyeongyeong, derived from the Chinese bianqing.
A lithophone called the Musical Stones has been created at
Brantwood, the former home of
John Ruskin in Cumbria, England, and may be played there by visitors.[5]
The
Silex Piano, circa 1885, employed suspended flints of various sizes which were struck with other flints to produce sounds.
Composer-vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid uses an instrument called the
gramorimba, which is featured alongside the vibraphone and marimba in a trio setting.
The hōkyō, a lithophone invented in Japan, has been made from the bars of
sanukite.[8]
The German composer
Carl Orff calls for a lithophone called Steinspiel in his later works.[citation needed]
Some lithophones include electric pickups to amplify the sounds.[citation needed]
As architectural elements
Ancient Indians were perhaps the first to use man-made lithophones as architectural elements. Temples like
Nellaiyappar temple (8th century) in Tirunelveli, Vijaya Vitthala temple (15th century) in Hampi, Madurai Meenakshi temple (16th century) and Suchindram Thanumalayan temple (17th century) have musical pillars.[9]
Stone marimba
A stone marimba is configured in the same manner as the more typical wooden bar
marimba. The bars are usually wide like a wooden marimba, but are thinner, which helps increase
resonance. The stone marimba may or may not have
resonators.
In 1949 an ancient stone marimba was discovered in modern-day
Vietnam near a village called Ndut Lieng Krak. The 11 stone plates, made of
schist, were chipped into the tuning of a
pentatonic scale. They are currently housed at the
Musée de l'Homme and may be the oldest known musical instrument.[10]
^Diagram Group. (1976). Musical instruments of the world. Published for Unicef by Facts on File. p. 121.
ISBN0871963205.
OCLC223164947.
^
P. Yule/M. Bemmann, Klangsteine aus Orissa Die frühesten Musikinstrumente Indiens?, Archaeologia Musicalis 2.1, 1988, 41–50 (also in English and French); Paul Yule, Rätsel indischer Kultur, in: H.-G. Niemeyer - R. Pörtner (eds.), Die großen Abenteuer der Archäologie (Salzburg 1987) vol. 10, p. 3739
ISBN385012150X.