What Does A Celesta Sound Like? In this captivating video, we will take a closer look at the celesta, a unique keyboard percussion instrument known for its delicate and enchanting. The celesta, often likened to a delicate, glistening counterpart of the piano, produces a sound that is both ethereal and bell-like. Its timbre is characterized by a bright, crystalline quality, with a gentle percussive attack followed by a sustained, shimmering resonance. The celesta instrument looks very much like a piano with a characteristic housing, a claviature and a single pedal. The housing contains an impressive mechanical system of felt hammers, special sound plates and wooden resonators. The celesta looks like a compact upright piano, yet no strings hide inside its cabinet. Each key sends a small hammer toward a tuned metal plate, producing the clear, bell-like tone heard in delicate orchestral passages and in the famous Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The celesta is a keyboard-operated percussion instrument that produces a bell-like, ethereal sound. It works by using a piano-style keyboard to trigger felt hammers that strike steel plates suspended over wooden resonators. Here you will find celesta sound samples from different musical eras and the most famous celesta parts. The Spanish pianist Celia García-García has recorded famous piano pieces on a Schiedmayer-Celesta. The exceptional sound of the celesta instrument brings new colours into the music. This resource includes comprehensive text, sound files, images, a glossary, and historical information, all about the instruments of the orchestra. It is the online version of the CD-ROM that accompanies the Naxos publication Meet the Instruments of the Orchestra! The celesta is a keyboard percussion instrument that produces a delicate, bell-like sound. Its appearance resembles that of a small upright piano, with a wooden case, a keyboard, and foot pedals. We train you in a workflow that gets music finished, teach you to develop your voice, and coach you every week — so you can become the composer who finishes. Your first mission is free. Walk into. The sound of the celesta is similar to that of the glockenspiel, but with a much softer and more subtle timbre. This quality gave the instrument its name, celeste, meaning heavenly in French.