The marimba is essentially a lower-pitched version of the xylophone. Wooden or faux-wooden bars are positioned over individual tubular resonators and struck with a specialised mallet to create sound. Each bar sounds a single pitch and therefore there is one bar required per note. The bars are arranged in the form of a giant piano keyboard.
Yamaha marimba bars are made from a variety of materials including Honduran rosewood, padauk (wood) and an artificial wood called "acoustalon". Acoustalon has a sound comparable to rosewood and is moreover hardwearing and heat and moisture resistant, making it ideal for heavy use in a school environment.
Yamaha likes to work with outstanding instrumentalists to create their top of the range instruments. The YM-6100 concert grand marimba is the result of 40 years collaboration between the legendary marimbist Keiko Abe and Yamaha's designers.