What kind of design conveys the very sound itself?
A mallet percussion instrument that lets you appreciate every note
2025
Overview
Designing an acoustic instrument
This project began with an open call for proposals from a business division aiming to develop new products. Afterward, I took it upon myself to continue development and found myself revisiting the question of what exactly it was that I wanted to express.
There are several key points to explaining this work. Examples include serving as a first musical instrument for children, and creating freedom of expression by dividing an instrument into individual notes. However, the most important aspect was to express the expansive, rich, deep sound of the marimba itself, created by the pairing of the tone bars and resonators. For inspiration, I reached all the way back to the first time I heard a marimba, a formative experience that was deeply moving.
The purpose of this work was to express that inspiration in as pure a form as possible and share it with the world. As a result, this project was an attempt to reexamine the structure of the marimba—an instrument with a long history—and offer a proposal for a new prototype.
Works
Details of the design
For the exterior, I deliberately selected a transparent material for the resonators rather than metal to highlight the fact that the interiors are hollow, making what are usually enclosed spaces visible with the hope that people would be able to sense the vibrations of the air inside the resonators. This was possible because with resonators, the shape is the important thing; there is some freedom when choosing the material. A key feature of the design is that it provides a visual representation of the acoustic principles associated with the instrument while accurately conveying the distinctive physics behind them.
I was also quite particular about the color of the transparent resonators, envisioning an amber color that would seem to capture the passage of time, and drawing inspiration from the tint of the varnish used on oil paintings. For the texture, the prototypes are made of acrylic, yet give the impression of blown glass. I buffed the surfaces to vary the thickness very slightly so that the view through them would gently distort. This was an important element for visually expressing the deep, expansive sound of the marimba.
I revised the overall shape in pursuit of stability, so that rather than being perpendicular to each other, the resonators open downward and the tone bars face upward. This configuration balances playability with the essence of a percussion instrument with tone bars. Metal parts were also added to the bottoms of the resonators to improve stability and texture.
The design features a deep green color for the pitch markings as well as the joint gaskets and the felt on the supports, reflecting my goal of making the design consistent down to the finest details so that people would experience the inspiration of the moment of encountering sound.
Process
Form = Sound
This project utilized an iterative development process in which engineers used mathematical formulas to derive the basic form in line with my vision, then I revised the design, and then the engineers verified the revisions, in a back-and-forth collaboration to refine the shape.
Consequently, this work does not stress appearance above all else; it is a rational design rooted in its function as a musical instrument. This method allowed engineering and design to work in synergy, providing an effective way to derive new shapes for acoustic instruments whose forms are designed to produce the sounds we expect.
For the tone bars, I adopted an even more distinctive process. There were few precedents for such compact tone bars, so trial and error was used to arrive at the basic shape. Therefore, I carved the tone bars to the desired pitch by hand, using an analog tuner to check along the way. This was necessary due to the nature of the acoustic marimba, where the shape of each tone bar determines its pitch. Ultimately, each piece took on the appearance of the pitch for which it was shaped.
The process of finishing each piece while verifying both its sound and appearance proved to be a challenging yet highly rewarding experience that provided many valuable lessons.
The roles of prototypes
Prototypes are generally intended to convey new concepts or value, but they do not necessarily function exactly like the finished work they represent—what the finished work actually does is often described using words and images.
This work aims to convey the inspiration inherent in the sound of the acoustic marimba. As a prototype of an instrument in which appearance is synonymous with sound, the pieces of this work stood out when exhibited as objects created to embody their respective sounds. Thus, the value of the prototype was reaffirmed to visitors, and the distinctive role of a musical instrument was fulfilled.
At the exhibition, we also received a great deal of feedback about potential uses for the work, including suggestions for installing it at a café or bar, or using the pieces as call bells at a hotel or recreational implements for young children and elderly people. This speaks to the fact that the sound of each piece sparks the imagination and naturally leads people to envision specific use cases.
Many people also found it interesting that the structure of each piece is visible. We interpret that as a sign that the design straightforwardly expresses the distinctive principles and physics of the acoustic marimba.
Insights and outlook
I took a lot away from designing this work. I discovered many things, including the fact that the ends of the marimba’s resonators are closed, that the back of each tone bar is carved to adjust the pitch and harmonics, and that the tone bars and resonators combine to create rich sound. I feel that these surprises are something many people can relate to.
By reinterpreting the structure of the marimba and presenting it in a new form, I cast light on the potential to bring discovery and inspiration to everyone, even those unfamiliar with musical instruments. Also, there is still plenty of room to explore acoustic instruments whose appearance is a direct representation of their sound mechanics. For example, changing the materials while keeping the pitch the same can bring out differences in sound.
The potential applications are also vast. The pieces can be adapted to specific venues like hotel lobbies, cafés, and bars as well as educational and recreational settings. Works like this can even be used to simply enjoy sound, separate from music. We intend to continue exploring new possibilities that musical instrument prototypes like these offer.
Designer: Ryo Suzuki/Yamaha Design Laboratory