Color Coded Pitched Percussion Instruments

Alternative music notation is something we are passionate about as a tool for accessibility, and color coded instruments help to facilitate it! All of these instruments require minimal training and technique so for most learners they are an access point to quick music-making. (Note: all of these instruments use very similar colors for pitches, with the exception of the desk bells.) Click each picture to view the product for sale on another website.

Colorful plastic boomwhacker sound tubes with size labels G, F, E, D, C, B, A, and G, arranged diagonally. The bands are in red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple, and pink.

Sound tubes, brand name Boomwhackers, are played by striking them on surfaces like the floor, chair, desk, or body parts.

Eight colorful textured balls featuring note names C through C.

Mel-o-Dee balls are played by squeezing.

A set of detached colorful xylophone bars with rainbow-colored metal bars and black mallets in a black carrying case.

Resonator bells are highly durable and have a pleasing tone.

A set of colorful hand chimes labeled with musical notes and numbers, arranged from red to red in a row.

Hand chimes have a particularly pleasing ringing tone. The attached strikers can break off and are very difficult to repair.

A circle of colorful desk bells, including red, orange, green, blue, white, pink, and yellow, arranged in a ring on a white surface.

Desk bells are played with a simple vertical striking motion. They do not hold up well when dropped.

Colorful hand bells arranged in a row, each with a white handle labeled with a letter and number, representing different pitches.

Hand bells can be very satisfying to play in an ongoing tremolo style.

Colorful set of nine bottle-shaped objects with black caps labeled with letters from A to G, arranged on a white surface.

Sound bellows are played by squeezing.

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