The
celesta or
celeste is a struck
idiophone operated by a
keyboard. It looks similar to an upright
piano (four- or five-
octave), or a large wooden music box (three-octave). The keys connect to hammers that strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates suspended over wooden
resonators. Four- or five-octave models usually have a pedal that sustains or damps the sound. The three-octave instruments do not have a pedal because of their small "table-top" design. One of the best-known works that uses the celesta is
Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from
The Nutcracker.