The marimbaphone (or just “marimba”) consists of wooden bars of various lengths which are arranged according to their pitch in scales, very similarly to the keys of a piano. Compared to the xylophone, the marimbaphone is larger with a key range of five octaves (from bass to alto), and its wood bars are thinner and softer, resulting in a warm and pleasing sound. Since the 1950s it has become a standard instrument in contemporary music. This instrument was played not only with various mallets (very soft, medium soft, hard, extra hard) but also with handles, fingers, fingernails, a superball and a string bow.