HI. I am very interested in learning the ropes with basic marimba. I have never played EVER but I recently saw a performance and I fell in love with it. I am wondering how do you go about learning to play ect..because i realize you can not just go out and buy one. Should I look for someone giving lessons in my area> are there smaller scale marimbas that can be used to practice,ect.??? Any information would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

Taking lessons is the best route. If there is a college or university nearby you could contact the music department there and see if they could suggest someone to teach you. I think quite a bit will depend on what kind of musical background (if any) that you have. A teacher would be able to help you figure out where you are and where you would like to go. You may want to look around malletshop.com to get an idea of what mallet instruments are available. I have never dealt with them personally but I have heard good things about them and they usually seem to have new and used instruments on their web page.

I'm glad you are a newly realized Marimbist! i would start with the local music store. there, usually, they employ Drum teachers and those teacher usually have connections in the community. They would be the first place to go. Then, if you didn't get any leads from that, contact your local college and see if there is a student who would like to give you lessons. Usually, since students are harp up for cash, they would be more willing to give you lessons than the main percussion instructor.

Good luck!