As you walk the airport, parks, eat at the restaurants, and even the hotels you stay in Guatemala, the music you always hear comes from the marimba. In Guatemala, the marimba is named the national instrument. The marimba is an instrument that is composed of rows of wooden bars, and it is played with mallets. A marimba is usually played with three people when it is a smaller one and four with a bigger one. In my family, I grew up listening to marimba music, and whenever I hear it, I find it relaxing. I remember when first visiting my family in Guatemala even though I was very young, I remember how surprised I was of how the marimba was played in a variety of places. What I enjoy, every time I visit is seeing people play live at the parks and during festivities. It is also common to find individuals playing the instrument on the streets so that several tourists can experience what the music is like. Guatemalans listen to the marimba for a variety of reasons. Some listen to it to remember their past and their ancestors while others just to enjoy the beautiful sound that comes out of it.
Here is a link if you would like to listen to a famous song that is played with marimba in Guatemala, “El Ferrocarril De Los Altos”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgyd9mVzuQ
I am actually traveling to Guatemala for a study abroad trip in May, so this post quickly caught my attention:) I have never heard of this instrument, but I am excited to experience multiple people play on it once I go ! Looking at the picture that you posted, the Marimba reminds me of a xylophone that I have seen here in America. I am guessing a Marimba is a lot larger in scale since it is a collaborative effort to play a tune on it which is interesting.
Loved your post! I’ve never heard marimba before, but I feel like i can relate to your post. Every time i go to Mexico I love hearing all the different types of music that they play on the street. It just shows how much love they have for our culture. Walking around the city or the parks and hearing music being played just gives you so much joy. Hopefully one day i’ll be able to go to Guatemala and be able to experience the music of the marimba.
Thank you for sharing! After listening to the song you shared, I felt like I was at the beach in Guatemala. The marimba reminds me of the Thai ranad, which is a traditional xylophone that has a long history of religious music and art behind it. Almost every traditional Thai song has the ranad playing, and it makes me understand the significance of the marimba. I also hope I have the chance to travel to Guatemala and hear people playing the marimba everywhere I go!
As a fellow musician, I immediately drew to this post after seeing the picture of the marimba. I definitely agree that the marimba definitely has a softer tone than other similar instruments, and is definitely more pleasing to listen too. As awkward as it sounds, Middle Eastern music traditionally does not use the marimba, xylophone, or similar instruments in its music. However, I remember playing one as a high school band member!
I loved your post! I especially enjoyed the link that you provided to give us all a sample of what it sounds like! Music is such an important part of every culture it seems and the marimba is such a lovely instrument!
I was immediately drawn to this post because I’ve been playing the marimba since I was in the 6th grade! It’s really cool that Guatemala has the marimba as it’s national instrument because the sound it produces is very resonant and calming. The video you included was very pretty and reminded me of music that I played while in high school. While my culture has the steel pan as the national instrument instead of the marimba, it’s also included in a lot of our traditional Caribbean music and sometimes it can sound really similar to the video that you included. Also in high school we played using the same hand techniques as the people in the picture so it’s really cool to see it displayed in a cultural setting.
I always thought that this instrument was a wooden xylophone, thanks for correcting me lol. The music from the link puts me in a peaceful mood, the words that come to mind while listening are tropical paradise. I heard of Guatemala before but now I have more info and would like to take a visit. Thanks for sharing!