glock·en·spiel / ˈgläkənˌspēl; -ˌshpēl/ • n. a musical percussion instrument having a set of tuned metal pieces mounted in a frame and struck with small hammers.

glockenspiel

Glockenspiel (Ger.). Play of bells. Perc. instr. of tuned metal bars, with compass of 2 to 3 chromatic octaves, emitting brittle bell-like sound when played with kbd. or (more commonly) by small hand-held hammers. Orch. glockenspiel is played in horizontal position; in military bands it is carried vertically, bars being mounted in lyre-shaped frame (hence alternative name bell-lyra). First used 1739 by Handel in Saul (where he called it a carillon) and later by Mozart in Die Zauberflöte (1791). K. Salomon wrote glockenspiel conc., 1948.

glockenspiel Percussion instrument with a bell-like sound. Its tuned metal bars are struck with a hammer, either freehand or from a miniature keyboard.