More Info on Vibraphone Overtones
This page accounts for additional notes on overtones on vibraphone, including higher overtones than the more-familiar double-octave, as well as a multiphonic-like harmonic.
Last Updated: September 1, 2024
Last Updated: September 1, 2024
Limitations for Double-Octave Harmonics
In late 2019, Connor spoke with Brian Graiser about using both mallets and a bow to produce overtones on vibraphone. Graiser noted in his playing that harmonics were hard to make speak on higher bars, where volume and sustain were less, citing C8 as the highest usable overtone via the C6 key with a bow, and G7 via the G5 key with mallets.
In July 2024, Connor was able to produce the double-octave harmonic quite clearly on even the high F6 key (with a Musser M-16 mallet), which is shown in the video on the mallet percussion harmonics index. Based on the discussion with Graiser, Connor found this surprising. A month later in August 2024, Connor used another vibraphone and a different mallet (Yamaha 5010) and found results more similar to Graiser's account: the particular instrument and mallet are important to consider here, and the double-octave was much weaker but still relatively "usable" from the A5 and B5 key (producing A7 and B7 respectively). For C6 and above, the double-octave was not present outside of spectral analysis, and an intermediary pitch emerged, e.g. the Db6 and D6 keys produced a pitch close to G#7, and an A7 rang very clearly from the high F6 bar.
An Innovative Percussion RS301 mallet was pretty effective to around the same point: B5. A Musser Good Vibes mallet (exact one not recorded) was weaker at getting the double-octave to ring out, but with a stronger hit a G7 rang out of the G5 key nicely. The higher bars did produce a double-octave, and one which was louder than the intermediary pitch observed with the Yamaha 5010 mallet. This includes F8 from the F6 bar, but the sound is so muffled that trying to play an 8th-octave pitch with these variables would be musically and technically dissatisfying. The effect is more "muted vibraphone" than anything pitch-centric.
Second and Third Overtone
Graiser shared information about 2nd and 3rd overtones as well. He noted that the lowest bars of the vibraphone are more likely to have the 2nd overtone (2 octaves + major 3rd) and 3rd overtone (2 octaves + major 6th or 7th) speak well. On Graiser's instrument — a 4-octave vibraphone — the 3rd overtone only appeared to be producible on the F3 key, which produced a D7, and on lower bars. Thus, the 3rd overtone is most accessible on 4-octave instruments which have bars down to C3.
Multiphonic Harmonic
In addition to the more "standard" harmonic on vibraphone that sounds two octaves higher than the fundamental is what has been called a "multiphonic harmonic." This was reported in 2022 by Michael Edgerton and Olaf Tzschoppe (paper here), which can be produced on the lowest octave of vibraphone (F3–F4). This harmonic is produced by touching the bar at the node and striking in the center of the bar between the nodes, but very close to the edge of the bar. The F4 bar produces both a G#7 and C¾#8 through this technique and can be heard in this video (2021) @ 2:22. This very high dyad has an interval between a perfect 4th and perfect 5th rather consistently across the range of possible bars.
Edgerton and Tzschoppe report that this technique will also work on vibraphones with access to lower bars (i.e. C3).
In August 2024, Connor was able to replicate the findings of this multiphonic technique on vibraphone using a Yamaha 5010 mallet. The execution was not perfect and did not result in the same "emerging-ringing" quality from the video linked above, but was able to produce quite-audible px and py frequencies as described in the paper, achieving [for example] the same ~C7 (px) and ~F7 (py) from the G3 bar, as well as ~C8 (py) from the Eb4 bar.
In late 2019, Connor spoke with Brian Graiser about using both mallets and a bow to produce overtones on vibraphone. Graiser noted in his playing that harmonics were hard to make speak on higher bars, where volume and sustain were less, citing C8 as the highest usable overtone via the C6 key with a bow, and G7 via the G5 key with mallets.
In July 2024, Connor was able to produce the double-octave harmonic quite clearly on even the high F6 key (with a Musser M-16 mallet), which is shown in the video on the mallet percussion harmonics index. Based on the discussion with Graiser, Connor found this surprising. A month later in August 2024, Connor used another vibraphone and a different mallet (Yamaha 5010) and found results more similar to Graiser's account: the particular instrument and mallet are important to consider here, and the double-octave was much weaker but still relatively "usable" from the A5 and B5 key (producing A7 and B7 respectively). For C6 and above, the double-octave was not present outside of spectral analysis, and an intermediary pitch emerged, e.g. the Db6 and D6 keys produced a pitch close to G#7, and an A7 rang very clearly from the high F6 bar.
An Innovative Percussion RS301 mallet was pretty effective to around the same point: B5. A Musser Good Vibes mallet (exact one not recorded) was weaker at getting the double-octave to ring out, but with a stronger hit a G7 rang out of the G5 key nicely. The higher bars did produce a double-octave, and one which was louder than the intermediary pitch observed with the Yamaha 5010 mallet. This includes F8 from the F6 bar, but the sound is so muffled that trying to play an 8th-octave pitch with these variables would be musically and technically dissatisfying. The effect is more "muted vibraphone" than anything pitch-centric.
Second and Third Overtone
Graiser shared information about 2nd and 3rd overtones as well. He noted that the lowest bars of the vibraphone are more likely to have the 2nd overtone (2 octaves + major 3rd) and 3rd overtone (2 octaves + major 6th or 7th) speak well. On Graiser's instrument — a 4-octave vibraphone — the 3rd overtone only appeared to be producible on the F3 key, which produced a D7, and on lower bars. Thus, the 3rd overtone is most accessible on 4-octave instruments which have bars down to C3.
Multiphonic Harmonic
In addition to the more "standard" harmonic on vibraphone that sounds two octaves higher than the fundamental is what has been called a "multiphonic harmonic." This was reported in 2022 by Michael Edgerton and Olaf Tzschoppe (paper here), which can be produced on the lowest octave of vibraphone (F3–F4). This harmonic is produced by touching the bar at the node and striking in the center of the bar between the nodes, but very close to the edge of the bar. The F4 bar produces both a G#7 and C¾#8 through this technique and can be heard in this video (2021) @ 2:22. This very high dyad has an interval between a perfect 4th and perfect 5th rather consistently across the range of possible bars.
Edgerton and Tzschoppe report that this technique will also work on vibraphones with access to lower bars (i.e. C3).
In August 2024, Connor was able to replicate the findings of this multiphonic technique on vibraphone using a Yamaha 5010 mallet. The execution was not perfect and did not result in the same "emerging-ringing" quality from the video linked above, but was able to produce quite-audible px and py frequencies as described in the paper, achieving [for example] the same ~C7 (px) and ~F7 (py) from the G3 bar, as well as ~C8 (py) from the Eb4 bar.