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Sounding stones made of basalt, granite, marble and other minerals were used in many ancient cultures for ceremonial and religious purposes. These days, the Lithophone is the most commonly known stone instrument, which Carl Orff first introduced to orchestral arrangements. There are 15 small round slabs of limestone chromatically arranged on rubber pegs. The Lithophone recorded by the Vienna Symphonic Library was newly developed at the Technical University of Zurich, and modeled after the marimba. The unmistakable, round stone sound remains prominent over the instrument’s nearly five octave range.
Lithophone | ||
ARTICULATION GROUP | STANDARD & FULL LIBRARY | FULL LIBRARY ONLY |
11 LITHOPHONE | Single notes with soft and hard mallets Small and large stones on slabs Bowed, p and f |
Soft mallets: Single notes secco Rolls Chord tremolos Sul ponticello, normal and secco Glissandos Medium mallets: Single notes normal and secco Chord tremolos Hard mallets Single notes secco Chord tremolos Effects: Finger strokes normal and secco Nail strokes normal and accented 3mm needle center strokes and plucked 5mm needle side strokes and ponticello "Shattering" tremolo portato and accented |