Pianos – they’re everywhere! People have pianos in their homes. Schools have pianos. There will be a piano on the cruise ship you’re going on. Many music venues will have a piano ready to go. There’s a piano in the middle of the mall! Basically, if you’re a piano player, you have the luxury of sitting down at your instrument many places you go.
I am a percussionist and my big beautiful instrument is the marimba. In my world, people ought to consider Piano vs Marimba. Now, the marimba is nowhere near as popular as the piano. It’s very possible that you may not even know what a marimba is. Basically, a marimba is like a big xylophone that you play standing up with mallets. It’s a gorgeous sounding instrument and it’s really fun to play!
Like the piano, the marimba is not exactly portable. In fact, it’s roughly the same size as a piano, with a typical marimba being just a little bit wider. When I go to the mall or go on a cruise or over to a friend’s house, chances are, there will not be a marimba waiting for me to show off my skills. Here are a few benefits of purchasing a marimba for your home.
Round-1 Marimbas Are Portable.
Marimbas are on wheels and relatively light weight so you can roll it around the house if necessary. It only requires one person to roll around and it can pass through most doorways without a problem. Gigging with them is another story (which is why more places need marimbas). It’s not easy to pack up a marimba and take it to a gig but it is possible and very doable. You can’t pack up your piano and put it in the trunk of your Toyota Corolla! Everything on the marimba comes apart so transporting it from place to place is very possible!
Round -2 Marimba Isn’t Expensive, Piano vs Marimba
I have a marimba in my house and people are always shocked to see it as if I had to sell my house to buy the thing. You can purchase a new marimba for about $2,000. Now, these are the lowest end models and most concert-grade marimbas will cost you more. A mid-level marimba will cost between about $5,000-$10,000 and the highest grade marimba you can buy will cost you less than $20,000. Pianos can cost over $100,000!
Round-3 Marimbas Are Uncommon.
This is definitely a good thing. My marimba has started many conversations and people absolutely love it. For the few people who do play the instrument, there are not many places to go to practice, so I love making my home available to those who want to play it from time to time. Also with a marimba in your home, it is much easier for teachers to come to your home to teach it!
Round-4 They Look And Sound Amazing!
Marimbas are very visually appealing and look great in any home. Everyone will want to play it and the great thing about a marimba is that anyone CAN play it! It’s one of those instruments that sound great no matter what notes you’re hitting. When someone does know how to play it, it can be one of the most beautiful sounding instruments out there.
If you have a budding percussionist in your home or you would just like to have this beautiful instrument, I would highly recommend purchasing one. Once you have one, start those lessons because you’re going to really want to learn how to play it!
I love Marimba! I played Marimba in middle & high school orchestra,band & sometimes in jazz band. I agree Marimbas are unique, way cool and a great,easy addition to your performance arsenal if you already play piano like I did. I also loved the diversity & depth being in a percussion section added to my musical education as a young adult.
If you can play the marimba would you say you can play the piano too??? Because they have about the same basics. Or maybe even the Keyboard?????
Hi Morgan, playing the marimba would mean that you understand the keyboard of a piano. Obviously the technique is totally different but you are correct. The layout of both instruments are the same.