The Glockenspiel | A Minute with Miles

Kaltura

When a percussionist says, “I’m playing bells in this piece,” he means he’s playing the glockenspiel. Glocke is the German word for bell, and Glockenspiel literally means “bell-play.” The modern orchestral glockenspiel, in use since the mid-1800's, consists of thirty tuned steel bars mounted in a portable case.