# Pixiphone

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Toy glockenspiel

Pixiphone Percussion instrument Hornbostel–Sachs classification 111.212 (Sets of percussion sticks) Developed 1950s Builders Chas E. Methven Ltd

The **Pixiphone** was a range of toy [glockenspiels](/source/Glockenspiel) (although they were inaccurately labelled as [xylophones](/source/Xylophones) on their packaging). The larger Pixiphones had a 'raiser-bar' which could be used to end a note abruptly, rather than letting the sound fade naturally. Although marketed as a children's toy, the Pixiphone could be tuned pitch-perfect and was very robust, resulting in many children using them at British schools for music instruction,[1] and occasional use on professional recordings by established musicians (see "recordings" below).

		- [Diatonic](/source/Diatonic) Pixiphone

		- [Chromatic](/source/Chromatic) Pixiphone

## Manufacturer

The Pixiphone was manufactured by [Chas E. Methven Ltd](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chas_E._Methven_Ltd&action=edit&redlink=1), Chatham, Kent, England, and distributed by [Playcraft Toys](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Playcraft_Toys&action=edit&redlink=1) Ltd England from the 1950s to the 1970s (or possibly later).

## Recordings

The Pixiphone, incorrectly (or jokingly) credited as a *Pixiephone*, was played by [Steve Took](/source/Steve_Took) on three [Tyrannosaurus Rex](/source/Tyrannosaurus_Rex_(band)) albums,[1] and on David Bowie's *[The World of David Bowie](/source/The_World_of_David_Bowie)*.

The Pixiphone was used on the self titled album by the [Canterbury scene](/source/Canterbury_scene) band [Hatfield and the North](/source/Hatfield_and_the_North) on track 5 by Jeremy Baines[2]

The instrument was also used on the [Badfinger](/source/Badfinger) song "She Came Out of the Cold" which featured on the compilation album *Without You*,[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] by Jeremy Baines on the first [Henry Cow](/source/Henry_Cow) [album](/source/Legend_(Henry_Cow_album)), and by [Daisy Chute](/source/Daisy_Chute) on the single "Lazy Daze". Ben Christophers also used one on two [Marianne Faithfull](/source/Marianne_Faithfull) songs, "Late Victorian Holocaust" and "Deep Water" on her *[Give My Love to London](/source/Give_My_Love_to_London)* album,[3] although again it is misspelled pixiephone in the booklet.

[Britpop](/source/Britpop)/[Shoegazer](/source/Shoegazer) band [LUSH](/source/Lush_(band)) used a Pixiphone in the introduction to "[Light from a Dead Star](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Light_from_a_Dead_Star&action=edit&redlink=1) from the 1994 Album [Split](/source/Split_(Lush_album)).

## Similar instruments

[Sooty Xylophones](/source/Sooty#xylophone) sold in the 1950s and 1960s

A similar but unrelated instrument was sold as the *Sooty Pixie Xylophone* (Pixie with an **e**) in the same period.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-took_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-took_1-1) ["THE PIXIPHONE – A DEFINITIVE DEFINITION"](http://www.stevetook.mercurymoon.co.uk/pixiphone.html). *Stevetook.mercurymoon.co.uk*. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [List of instruments and albums played on by Jeremy Baines](https://www.discogs.com/artist/287640-Jeremy-Baines?superFilter=Instruments+%26+Performance&creditFilter=Pixiephone)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Marianne Faithfull – Give My Love To London (2014, Vinyl)"](https://www.discogs.com/Marianne-Faithfull-Give-My-Love-To-London/release/6151502). *Discogs.com*. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pixiphone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixiphone) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixiphone?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.