Marching Aluphone for Hire

Range: G3 - C6

Measures: 109" x 9" (278x23cm)

Tuning: A=442

The marching Aluphone is designed for Marching Bands/Drum Corps to clamp onto the field frame of a Marimba/Vibraphone.

The Tuning of the Aluphone:

The unique sound of the Aluphone occurs because of special overtones that differ from the overtones you know from a piano. On a piano, the tone is basically formed by a mixture of the fundamental and the overtone, which is an octave plus a major third over. This sound is what our ears perceive as normal, and a sound you would think is in tune. An Aluphone has a very particular overtone, which is located between a minor third and a major third. The overtone is also very powerful and it affects the experience of the keynote. This provides the unique sound, but it sometimes deceives you into thinking, that the instrument is not in tune. That's because the ear occasionally perceives the tone as more than the keynote, and you experience the tone to be a little false, even though it is not. The overtone of the instrument is not tuned, and that is what gives it the distinctive sound of a bell. Church bells also have the same problems with overtones. For some harmonies it is perceived more clearly than in others. If, for example, you play an A major chord and place the major third an octave up, then you will hear that the false overtone from the fundamental enters and mixes with the the major third. The disharmony you will hear, is the clash between the minor third and major third. You can experience the same problem when placing the minor third in an elevated position relative to the root. As a music arranger you should avoid this spread location of an accord. Aluphone has chosen not to fine tune the overtones of the bells, as it will affect the instruments' characteristic sound.

Bass Drum Harness

Bass Drum Harness

Description

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