Recently, I had the privilege of joining the Mus’Art Youth Wind Orchestra as a percussionist and rehearsing for an upcoming performance with them. All the percussion instruments — even mallets and sticks — are already provided by the band, so I need not worry about forgetting to bring my own sticks, which is great!
Anyways, I’m writing this article just to showcase a concert-grade, 3.3-octave glockenspiel that they have. It’s my first time playing with a band that has such a fancy (positive) glockenspiel 😂. It has a more extended pitch range, being able to play notes as low as C3 (written) and as high as E6 (written). Wow!
When I took this picture in the scene, it didn’t occur to me to check the brand and model of this glockenspiel (oops), but after some searching online, it seems like a Yamaha 3.3-octave Symphonic Glockenspiel, model YG2500 (2025/08/27 update: I remembered to check the brand during another rehearsal session, and yes, it is indeed the model).
It even has a damper pedal, just like a vibraphone! This is so convenient, because with this I don’t have to stop the reverb by hastily pressing the glockenspiel keys after hitting them. Instead, I just need to release the pedal after stepping on it when needed, like playing a piano! That’s pretty cool!
It even comes with its own stand and wheel, so there’s no need for a table to place it on, nor to constantly carry it up and down.
As someone who is only used to playing 2.6-octave (F3-C6) glockenspiels, it was indeed an eye-opening and exciting experience, which I think deserves to be recorded in the form of a (personal) blog article, even though it may end up sounding like a country bumpkin going to a big city for the first time.