in different configurations using specialized holders (either homemade or available from the manufacturer), similar to a horizontally-aligned xylophone. Usage Boomwhackers are most commonly used in elementary music classrooms as an inexpensive alternative or supplement to traditional pitched instruments such as xylophones and metallophones. Students are usually given a distinctly pitched tube, such as F# or A. Educators then instruct players of certain pitches to strike the Boomwhacker at a precise time, forming a melody. Boomwhackers are often used by performance artists and other musical performance groups to add an element of spectacle. They can also be used by people with intellectual and developmental impairment to develop sensorimotor skills, social skills, and creativity. References External links Idiophones struck directly Hand percussion 20th-century percussion instruments North American percussion instruments Pitched percussion instruments Plosive aerophones