Manta Ray Metallophone

The Manta Ray metallophone adds a little bit of sparkle to our range of Outdoor Musical Instruments and play equipment. . The individual chime tubes are suspended by coated steel cable. The scale is diatonic (c major) and is mirrored to the right and left sides.  The range is two octaves and a fifth.

Metallophones have become increasingly popular for use in schools. Similar to the glockenspiel it is a percussion instrument consisting of a graduated series of metal bars to be struck with a hand-held mallet or beater.  The name metallophone is simply a word to describe the type of instrument.

Metallophones existed in China during the 7th century. By the 17th century, metallophones reached northern Europe through Indonesia where there are many different types with names such as slentem, gender and saron.  They were originally used as practice instruments but were accepted as performance instruments in the 18th century. In the 20th century, the music-education methods of Carl Orff added metallophones to many classrooms around the world.

The Manta Ray metallophone has been inspected by The Play Inspection Company who have confirmed its compliance with EN1176. 

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