Question 1

What is Timbre Table?

Accepted Answer

Timbre Table is a free set of tuned mallet instruments that runs in your browser. You tap the bars with your mouse, your finger, or your keyboard, switch between nine voices (marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, balafon, celesta, lithophone, gamelan, and tubular bells), record a melody, loop it, and export the performance as a video or GIF.

Question 2

What is the difference between the xylophone and the marimba?

Accepted Answer

They are tuned differently, which is why they sound distinct. Xylophone bars are quint-tuned, so the first overtone sits an octave and a fifth above the fundamental, giving a bright, dry, sharp attack. Marimba bars are octave-tuned, so the main overtone lands two octaves up, giving a warmer, rounder, longer-ringing tone. Timbre Table models both, so switching instruments actually changes the overtone structure, not just the volume.

Question 3

Why does it sound like real wood and not a beep?

Accepted Answer

A struck bar does not produce a simple harmonic series like a string. Its overtones are inharmonic, and instrument makers carve an arch out of the underside of each bar to pull one overtone into a musical relationship with the fundamental. Timbre Table synthesizes each note from a dominant fundamental plus those inharmonic overtones, each with its own decay, a short mallet-contact transient, and a resonator emphasis, so it reads as a real bar rather than a sine tone.

Question 4

Can I play it with my keyboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Timbre Table maps your computer keyboard like a piano across two octaves. The Z row and the letters above it play the low octave, and the Q row and the number keys play the high octave, so every bar has a key. Turn on key letters in the settings to see them, and touch and mouse work everywhere too.

Question 5

How do I record and export a melody?

Accepted Answer

Open the settings, press Record, play your melody, and press it again to stop. You can play it back, loop it, or clear it and try again. Export renders the performance as an MP4 with sound or an animated GIF, in landscape, portrait, or square. Keep the browser tab in front while it renders.

Question 6

Do I need to install anything or sign up?

Accepted Answer

No. Timbre Table is free, runs entirely in your browser, needs no download and no account, and nothing you play leaves your device.

Timbre Table: Play Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel and Balafon Online

FAQ

Settings

Transport

Instrument

Sound

Timing

Scale & pitch

Bars

Demo melodies

About Timbre Table

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