VibraSMACK!

Have you ever been listening to music and realized that it’s missing something? You can’t tell what it is, yet you just know that if something were added, the song would become a masterpiece. I believe I have figured out what the missing element is, or at least what it is for jazz music. THE VIBRAPHONES!!!

Vibraphones (also known as “vibes”) are a mallet percussion instrument much like the marimba, the xylophone, or the bell kit, except they have a very unique sound unlike any other mallet instrument. Instead of producing a steady “ring” after being struck, they produce a very wavy vibrato sound. The only way to describe this is by having you imagine a wave (like a sine or cosine wave) that is producing a sound, and this sound keeps alternating from high and low sounds (“wee-ooo-wee-ooo”). The sound “vibrates”. It’s this metallic vibrato that gives the vibraphones their incredibly unique sound, a sound that adds more than anyone can imagine to a jazz chart.

How do the vibraphones create this vibrato sound? All mallet instruments have resonating tubes underneath the keys (the “bars” that are struck with a mallet) and these tubes help to amplify the sound of the keyboard. In a vibraphone, these tubes are fitted with rotating discs that sequentially dampen and amplify the sound by alternating between blocking off the tube and opening it to let all sound through. This is what creates the wavy sound produced. Boring, yes, but now you can go tell you’re friends that you know the concept behind how a vibraphone works!

“Hey, you hear that? Those are the vibraphones!”
“Yeah! I hear them, I wonder how they make that noise?!”
“Well let me tell you…”

I’m telling you, you’ll go far with that knowledge… Anyways, now on to the actual music. It’s hard to demonstrate the power of the vibes without real life examples. Music was not meant to be read (unless you’re a musician, ah ha ha ha…), but rather to be heard.

Wes Montgomery and his band utilize the vibraphones in almost every piece that they compose. Wes’s brother, Buddy Montgomery, plays both the piano and the vibes (which are essentially the same in their layout) and it’s because of him that the Montgomery music is so distinct.

The first time I listened to a song by Wes Montgomery, I fell into a trance and lost myself in the song, but near the solo section in the middle I noticed something distinct and was immediately pulled out of my trance. The song actually uses vibes! I hadn’t noticed it in the beginning because they just fit in so perfectly with the song, producing a very clean sound, reflective of the togetherness of the Montgomery group, or any other jazz group for that matter. One of the best songs utilizing the uniqueness of the vibes that I’ve heard by Wes is Sound Carrier off of their album “Fingerpickin”. I enjoy this song because it starts right out with all the voices of the band playing the same thing together, then BAM!, the vibes are off on their own course playing what appears to be a very early, quick solo while the rest of the band holds back to really accentuate the position of the vibes. Soon after, the real solo is introduced as Buddy shows his true talent.

Now, I’m not saying that West Montgomery is the only person to successfully incorporate the vibraphone sound into his music, actually I hope to portray the exact opposite. Many songs have fantastic vibe players accompanying them, even if they go completely unnoticed. Now that I’ve introduced the idea of vibraphone jazz, you’ll probably be surprised when you start noticing them when you listen to songs you didn’t even know had vibes in them!

Also, there are many groups based on the vibraphones as the lead instrument. I mean, the vibe player has to get some attention every now and then, right? A lot of very talented musicians have put their time and talents into becoming some of the best vibraphone players in the world. Many go on solo tours, form their own jazz combos, and some follow around some of the biggest names in jazz.

An example of a small percussive combo with the vibraphones in the forefront is shown below. I chose this video because the vibraphone player is outstanding and puts out a LOT of unique and genius rhythms. Also, the sound quality of this video is surprisingly good compared to most youtube videos, so this is a good way of getting to hear AND see what the vibes are really like at their full potential.

You should start listening to songs and see if you can pick out the vibes. Next time you hear them, you might really understand how much they add to a song. You may even feel moved by the incredible sound that’s produced! Whatever you end up doing, I hope I’ve convinced you that the vibes are a critical element in the world of music that generally go unnoticed. Give the guys some credit when you see them!