VY-bruh-fohn
Vibraphone is a percussion instrument with metal bars and motor-driven resonators that create a distinctive vibrato effect. Invented in 1921, it became a staple of jazz music and is played with soft mallets to produce its characteristic warm, shimmering sound.
Yes. VIBRAPHONE is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 20 points in Scrabble, 23 in Words With Friends and 22 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | V | I | B | R | A | P | H | O | N | E | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| Words With Friends | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Wordfeud | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
A vibraphone is a percussion instrument that belongs to the mallet keyboard family, similar to the xylophone and marimba. It consists of tuned metal bars arranged like a piano keyboard, with each bar positioned over a resonator tube. What makes the vibraphone unique is its motor-driven rotating discs inside the resonators, which create the instrument's signature vibrato or tremolo effect—the shimmering, pulsating sound that gives the instrument its name.
The vibraphone typically has a three-octave range (F3 to F6), though four-octave models are becoming more common. Players use soft mallets, usually with yarn or cord wrapping, to strike the aluminum bars. The instrument features a sustain pedal similar to a piano—when engaged, the bars ring freely; when released, felt dampers mute the sound. This pedaling technique allows vibraphonists to control note duration and create sophisticated harmonic textures.
Invented in the United States in 1921, the vibraphone initially served as a novelty instrument in vaudeville orchestras. However, jazz musicians quickly recognized its expressive potential. Lionel Hampton's 1930 recording of "Memories of You" with Louis Armstrong featured what many consider the first improvised vibraphone solo, forever linking the instrument with jazz. The vibraphone's warm, mellow tone and ability to play chords made it perfect for jazz harmony.
The word "vibraphone" is a compound formed from two elements that perfectly describe the instrument's unique characteristic. It combines "vibrato" (from Italian vibrare, meaning "to vibrate" or "shake") with the Greek suffix "-phone" (from phonē, meaning "sound" or "voice").
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of VIBRAPHONE.
Hooks: no front hooks; back VIBRAPHONES.
Words inside VIBRAPHONE: 337 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: BEHAVIORHIPBONEBARHOPPHOBIAHAVIORHEPARINPHONIERVAHINEBOVINEEPHORIHARPINHAVEN. See all words from VIBRAPHONE.