Glockenspiel

Double-click empty space on the timeline to open the instrument picker, then choose 🔔 Glockenspiel.

Nineteen tuned bars from F5 to C8. Strike them directly or sweep across them.

Where you strike

The instrument states the rule: hits near the bar centre ring longer, edge hits sound brighter and shorter. That is a real change in tone, not a change in volume.

Two controls

Mallet Hardness and Sustain set the rest.

Hard mallets and short sustain give the bright, percussive glockenspiel that cuts through a mix. Soft mallets with long sustain give something closer to a music box, which sits underneath rather than on top.

Recording a take

Start Recording, or the R key, begins the take, and the counter tracks the hits as you play. A last hit readout shows what your most recent gesture registered, which is usually the difference between a hit that sounded wrong and a hit you did not make the way you thought.

Play the shape before you record it. These instruments reward a second attempt, because the surface registers speed and position rather than just which note you pressed.

Related

Kalimba and Triangle are the other struck tuned instruments. The Sampler also carries mallet presets, including a marimba and a xylophone.