Which description matches the Xylophone's sounding pitch relative to written notes?

• A. Sounds up one octave from written
• B. Sounds down one octave from written
• C. Sounds the same as written
• D. Sounds up two octaves from written

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how pitched percussion with keyboard-style layouts are notated versus how they actually sound. For mallet keyboard instruments like the xylophone, the music is written so that the notes on the page sound higher when played. Specifically, the sounding pitch is one octave above what is written. This keeps high pitches readable on the treble staff and avoids excessive ledger lines for players. So if you see a written C on the page, you’ll hear it as C an octave higher. The other options would mean the instrument sounds at the written pitch, or much higher than that, which isn’t how the xylophone is typically notated.