Lithophone

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A lithophone is a musical instrument consisting of a plurality of rocks or pieces of rock, in which musical notes are sounded by striking one or more of the rocks in combination (harmony) or succession (melody).

A rudimentary form of lithophone is the rock gong, usually a natural rock formation opportunistically adapted by indigenous peoples to produce tones for a variety of purposes. Examples include the rock gong on Mfangano Island, Kenya, in Lake Victoria.

One of the most widely-known examples of a lithophone is The Great Stalacpipe Organ of Luray Caverns, which uses 37 stalactites to produce the tones of the Western scale.

Other similar musical instruments

The lithophone is similar to the glockenspiel, tubular glockenspiel, metallophone, xylophone, marimba, and to the glass percussion instruments created by Barry Prophet of The Music Gallery, not to be confused with the verrophone (a musical instrument that makes sound by rubbing, not by hitting, glass).

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