Mark tree

<p>A mark tree (also known as a nail tree, chime tree, or bar chimes) is a <a href="/facts/Percussion_instrument/YojwA7VR">percussion instrument</a> used primarily for musical color. It consists of many small chimes—typically cylinders of solid aluminum or brass tubing about 3/8" in diameter—of varying lengths, hung from a bar. They are played by sweeping a finger or stick through the length of the hanging chimes. They are typically mounted in pitch order to produce rising or falling <a href="/facts/Glissando/azcPbFJh">glissandos</a>. More expensive models may also have a damper bar. Unlike <a href="/facts/Tubular_bell/ASYvcGwT">tubular bells</a>, another form of chime, the chimes on a mark tree do not produce definite pitches.
</p><p>The mark tree is named after its inventor, studio percussionist Mark Stevens, who devised it in 1967. When he could not come up with a name, percussionist <a href="/facts/Emil_Richards/4VdYQNbC">Emil Richards</a> named it after Stevens. Mark trees are colloquially called <a href="/facts/Wind_chime/9qUGa4gl">wind chimes</a> in some modern repertoire. However, the mark tree and wind chimes are two separate instruments, differing in construction and manner of sounding.
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Mark tree open-in-new

Mark tree