Lithophone

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• A musical instrument consisting of a rock or pieces of rock which are struck to produce musical notes

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• Notes may be sounded in combination (producing harmony) or in succession (melody). The lithophone is an idiophone similar to the bars on instruments such as the glockenspiel, metallophone, xylophone and marimba.

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• Musician, artist, and "edutainer" Tom Kaufmann makes unique instruments called lithophones, which are similar to xylophones, but created from various stones. Here's how Kaufmann describes them:

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• "Another happy coincidence led me to my current fascination with constructing lithophones. I was tossing around some scrap pieces of granite counter top that I’d gotten for one of my Upright Furniture projects, and as one of the chunks landed, it rang as clear as a bell."

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• Sounding stones made of basalt, granite, marble and other minerals were used in many ancient cultures for ceremonial and religious purposes. These days, the lithophone is the most commonly known stone instrument, which Carl Orff first introduced to orchestral arrangements. There are 15 small round slabs of limestone chromatically arranged on rubber pegs