Which instrument from the listed items is an idiophone?

Prepare for the Academic Decathlon Music Test! Practice with flashcards and multiple choice questions that include hints and explanations. Enhance your knowledge and boost your exam readiness today!

Multiple Choice

Which instrument from the listed items is an idiophone?

In this topic, the key idea is how a percussion instrument makes its sound. An idiophone produces sound primarily from the vibration of its own body, without strings or membranes vibrating to create the pitch. The marimba fits this description because its wooden bars themselves vibrate when struck, producing the musical tones. The other options rely on vibrating membranes or skins: a bass drum uses a stretched head that shakes to make sound, timpani are pitched drums also driven by a vibrating skin, and the snare drum similarly sounds from the vibrating drumhead (even though it has snares on the bottom, the sound source is the membrane). So the marimba is the idiophone here because the vibrating material that produces the pitch is the solid bars, not a stretched membrane.

In this topic, the key idea is how a percussion instrument makes its sound. An idiophone produces sound primarily from the vibration of its own body, without strings or membranes vibrating to create the pitch.

The marimba fits this description because its wooden bars themselves vibrate when struck, producing the musical tones. The other options rely on vibrating membranes or skins: a bass drum uses a stretched head that shakes to make sound, timpani are pitched drums also driven by a vibrating skin, and the snare drum similarly sounds from the vibrating drumhead (even though it has snares on the bottom, the sound source is the membrane).

So the marimba is the idiophone here because the vibrating material that produces the pitch is the solid bars, not a stretched membrane.

More practice questions