How to Use vibraphone in a Sentence

vibraphone

noun
  • The score asks one of the players to run sticks along the vibraphone pipes.
    — New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021
  • To many people my age, vibraphone was for high school band practice.
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Apr. 2018
  • Part of a cycle inspired by nature, the nine-minute piece is scored for piano, harp and vibraphone.
    — Dallas News, 21 Sep. 2022
  • Most notable within Jones’ theme is the use of vibraphone when set against his orchestra’s melancholy strings.
    — A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Chris Barrick’s vibraphone was set up onstage for all to see, as was Mikel Combs’s upright bass.
    — Michael J. West, Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2019
  • In Rushefsky’s hands the tsimbl can resemble (or sound like) a harpsichord crossed with a vibraphone.
    — John Adamian, courant.com, 29 Sep. 2019
  • The ballad is an ideal vehicle for the vibraphone’s shimmering sound.
    — Dan Emerson, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2017
  • Ches Smith often moves gracefully from trap set to vibraphone within a performance.
    — Larry Blumenfeld, WSJ, 17 May 2022
  • The vibraphone and marimba later join in, playing warmly ringing harmonies.
    — Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 27 May 2021
  • The music evokes a wintery atmosphere with soft high lines in the piano, harp glissandos and glowing tone clusters from the vibraphone.
    — Dallas News, 21 Sep. 2022
  • Four seconds in, Convertino taps his mallets across the vibraphone, spreading droplets of sound that echo above everything.
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Apr. 2018
  • Gyrating vibraphones, jubilant horn runs, elastic basslines and odes to Weldon Irvine all mesh.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2019
  • For over a decade, the dance floor classic has gripped us with its immediately recognizable and transporting vibraphone melody.
    — Katie Bain, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2022
  • Four artists on vibraphone and marimba near the conductor and two pianos tapped out mesmerizing patterns, falling in and out synch with wave-like orchestral surges.
    — Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 6 Feb. 2022
  • On it, Stepney layers his own performances on piano and vibraphone over an early drum machine, for a bare-bones insight into his talents.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 25 Mar. 2022
  • Piano strings are manipulated with fishing line for a metallic whine; bowing a vibraphone while a tubular bell is gently struck ends up sounding like how a shiver feels.
    — New York Times, 14 June 2022
  • The Fest is also bringing vibraphone great Roy Ayers to Oshman today.
    — Paul Freeman, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2017
  • Harp, marimba and vibraphone give the Rhinemaidens’ warning to Siegfried a suitably watery texture.
    — Heidi Waleson, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2020
  • For the very sound of the vibraphone, with its ringing tones and overtones, beguiles and delights the ear, particularly when played as fluidly as Tukes.
    — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Oct. 2019
  • The climax of his first set emerged not on vibraphone but on marimba, its lighter, less resonant sound inspiring some remarkable flights of virtuosity.
    — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Oct. 2019
  • The work featured timpani, vibraphone and a variety of more obscure instruments and percussive effects.
    — Matt Schudel, Washington Post, 6 July 2019
  • McDonald co-wrote everything as well as playing Mellotron and other keyboard parts, along with vibraphone.
    — Gary Graff, Billboard, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Rising vibraphone star Ross will finally make his San Diego headlining debut, which was pushed back two years by the pandemic.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Feb. 2023
  • Just as the flowing notes grew tiresome, a reflective flute cadenza, answered by shuddering strings and melancholy vibraphone, provided a respite.
    — Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2019
  • One successful vehicle was the Fo’tet, an unorthodox group consisting of clarinet, vibraphone, bass and drums.
    — New York Times, 7 Mar. 2021
  • Their music splayed Ayers’ pillowy vibraphone tones across languid jazz-funk grooves that formed the bedrock for neo-soul—and, through sampling, much of West Coast hip-hop—to come.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 6 Mar. 2025
  • He was inspired to take up the vibraphone after seeing Lionel Hampton’s Big Band at the age of five, and took piano lessons and sang in the church choir.
    — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The Shape of Punk to Come—helped the band incorporate touches of vibraphone, organ, and harmonica.
    — Spin Staff, SPIN, 31 Dec. 2022
  • Redd, an international performer on drums and vibraphone, hosted the center's Christmas Jazz Jam for many years.
    — Kristin Wright, NPR, 27 Dec. 2025
  • As an adult, Stepney became a piano and vibraphone player, later joining Chess Records as an in-house musician and arranger.
    — Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vibraphone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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