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Recently there have been several questions regarding tuning and more specifically "triple tuning" of marimba bars. As an educational and informative service, we have decided to add this page to our web-site. Being a fairly complicated and complex subject we will try to explain it in a simplified format. That withstanding, the most important point to understand is that each marimba bar consists of several tuned pitches, not just the "fundamental", or the most prevalent pitch you hear when striking a bar. If these pitches are not tuned correctly, the instrument will not have a characteristic sound, and in many cases may sound out of tune to the human ear. In any musical tone there consists a series of pitches, or overtones often referred to as the "harmonic series". Each of the pitches effects the other in certain ways. In the case of the marimba, the lowest notes are where the overtones are most noticeable. However, the importance of tuning this series of notes correctly in each bar effects the entire range and overall sound of the entire instrument. Tuning the overtone series is part of what gives the marimba and every musical instrument its characteristic sound. Why does a trumpet sound different than a French horn? Well the answer to that question is more complex than the harmonic series alone, but it does have a lot to do with it. Manipulation of each of these pitches in relation to the other can make a musical instrument's characteristic tone sound different. In the case of a marimba keyboard, manipulation of these pitches help to make it sound warm, full, dull, pronounced, or even piercing, among other effects. Professional musicians and amateurs alike often have exact ideas of the type of sound they want from their marimba keyboard. Thus the term and practice of "bar voicing". During the early years of mallet instrument production in the United States, mallet instrument manufacturer's only tuned one pitch in each marimba bar. That is, they tuned the "fundamental" pitch only. After years of research, some trial and error, and improvements in methods of manufacture, marimba makers began tuning two pitches in each bar. The fundamental pitch, and the third overtone or harmonic. This pitch is located two octaves above the fundamental. This created marimba bars which were much more pleasant to the human ear and also sounded less "tribal" or ancient. More recently makers began tuning the ninth harmonic above the fundamental in addition to both the fundamental and third harmonic. This pitch is located at three octaves and a major third above the fundamental pitch. As stated earlier this pitch is most noticeable when playing the lowest notes on the marimba, especially when playing these notes in combination with the highest notes on the keyboard. The process of tuning which is a combination of all three of these pitches being tuned in a single bar is what the term "triple tuning" refers to. Manipulation of these pitches, as well as several other physical factors, affect the overall sound of a marimba. Experienced tuners and makers know how to manipulate these factors to create an instrument with specific tone colors, and an instrument that is custom built and tuned upon the sonic wishes of their customers.
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