Mark tree

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Bar chimes by Meinl

A mark tree (also known as a nail tree, chime tree, or set of bar chimes) is a percussion instrument used primarily for musical colour. It consists of many small chimes—typically cylinders of solid aluminium or hollow brass tubing 3/8" in diameter—of varying lengths, hung from a bar. They are played by sweeping a finger or stick through the length of the hanging chimes. They are mounted in pitch order to produce rising or falling glissandos.

Unlike

inharmonic (rather than harmonic) spectra
.

The mark tree is named after its inventor, studio percussionist Mark Stevens, who devised it in 1967. When he could not come up with a name, percussionist Emil Richards dubbed the instrument the "mark tree".[citation needed] Mark trees are referred to colloquially as wind chimes in modern percussion repertoire, despite starting out as distinctively different instruments with different names. Initially, wind chimes had bars mounted in a circle with a hanging striker strung in the center; they may be solid or hollow and made of many types of material, whereas the mark tree is mounted in a linear fashion and normally has solid metal bars.

The mark tree should not be confused with a similar instrument:

  • The
    bells
    mounted vertically along a center post.

See also

References

  • Kalani (2008). All about Hand Percussion: Everything You Need to Know to Start Playing Now!. Alfred Music Publishing. pp. 24–. .