They are an essential part of pop music and rock and roll.
And yet they often go by unnoticed, and many people don’t know quite a few of them by name, though the sounds they make may be familiar.
They are the wonderful array of hand percussion instruments, sometimes called “auxiliary percussion” or simply “toys”. I would argue that both terms unintentionally undermine their importance to the music we love.
“Hand percussion” describes:
(Bongos, congas and other drums that are not typically hand-held are a topic for another day.) These are some that most people can name.
Number one would be:
The tambourine.
Without it, rock and pop wouldn’t sound like it does. I would be willing to guess that it’s featured in at least half the songs of those realms, if not more.
No singer in a band is complete without a tambourine in their hand at some point. Almost as ubiquitous are maracas and various shakers. It’s easy to not even realize they are there, and yet they are providing a layer of sound that would render a song incomplete in their absence.
Right behind these two in familiarity and frequency would have to be the cowbell.
Yes, for most of you a certain SNL skit involuntarily comes to mind at this point. Sigh.
There is so much more to this wonderful instrument than an out-of-control Will Ferrell banging on it, with his belly hanging out…
And those two words from Christopher Walken that are instantly parroted whenever the instrument is mentioned.
And mt, I know you are just dying to include a picture or caption of some sort referring to it, but I am begging you to resist the low hanging fruit. Begging.
Heading upstairs now with a roll of duct tape.
I have loved the cowbell, going back to high school jazz band, when I got to play it on a song where I wasn’t needed on the piano. One time I got so excited about playing it that I threw it across the room at the end of the song, puncturing the head of one of the timpani. I was told I had to pay for the damage, and I made good on it, 30 years later.
Seriously, the cowbell is one of the most versatile and important members of the hand percussion family and does an amazing amount of heavy lifting in countless songs, particularly in the world of rock.
You still want to say it, don’t you? Just don’t. I said no. You’re better than that.
There are other familiar hand percussion instruments such as triangle and woodblock that can usually be picked out of a lineup.
But then, we have many more that maybe don’t show up quite as frequently, or some that many know by name but can pass by unnoticed. And still others that may leave a listener thinking, “I know that sound, but what is making it?”
When they do appear in a song, they can make all the difference in the world, whether they get the glory or not.
Here is a list of some my favorites, along with examples of songs on which they can be heard.
I tried to steer toward more widely known songs and artists… but I couldn’t resist throwing in some deep cuts.
Güiro (pronounced “GWEE-ro”)
Adapted from an instrument that may have come from either Africa or South America, the güiro is said to have originated in Puerto Rico, with the Taino people.
It was used in the folk and dance music of Puerto Rico and Cuba for centuries before more widespread use throughout Latin America.
It was originally made from a hollowed-out gourd, and it has notches cut into one side. A ratchet sound is made by scraping a stick or wire brush along the notches. It is sometimes shaped like a fish.
Examples:
- Spill the Wine – Eric Burdon and War
- The Man Who Sold the World – David Bowie
- Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones
- Oye Come Va – Santana
- Do it Again – Steely Dan
- Under the Boardwalk -The Drifters
- All I Wanna Do – Cheryl Crow
- Look Around – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66
- Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand – The Who
- Superfly – Curtis Mayfield
Vibraslap
Its origins are in Africa, where the remains of a jawbone of a donkey, horse or zebra would be struck, causing the attached teeth to rattle. The instrument went with enslaved people to South America, where it was known as the quijada.
The vibraslap is a more durable, modern version, that began being made in 1967. It typically consists of a wooden ball attached to a metal rod, bent so that it can be gripped by hand.
At the other end of the rod is a wooden box with metal rods inside. When the ball is struck, the rods rattle and vibrate against the box, causing that distinct rattling, clattering sound.
Examples:
- Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
- Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
- Funk #49 – James Gang (during percussion break)
- Never There – Cake
- Short Skirt/Long Jacket – Cake
- A Fifth of Beethoven – Walter Murphy (1:03)
- Green Tambourine – Lemon Pipers
- Feelin’ Alright – Joe Cocker
- Would? – Alice In Chains (0:30)
- All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
- Bongolia – Incredible Bongo Band
In 2013, Steven Tyler told Howard Stern that for the recording sessions for “Sweet Emotion”, he played the vibraslap three times in the beginning of the song. On the fourth time, the vibraslap broke, and the sound was abruptly choked off. They just decided to leave it like that in the mix. If you listen for it, you will hear it.
Temple Blocks
Descended from the muyu, a wooden, fish-shaped eastern Asian ceremonial instrument that originated in China, temple blocks are a set of hollow, carved wooden blocks with a slit. They can come in a variety of shapes.
They usually come in sets of 4 or more to offer multiple pitches and are often tuned to the pentatonic scale. Their sound is more hollow and darker than a standard woodblock.
Technically not hand percussion, but I’m including them anyway, as they are hand-held adjacent. (Yeah, just go with it.)
Examples
- Slip Slidin’ Away – Paul Simon
- Dogs – The Who
- Xanadu – Rush
- I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times – The Beach Boys (0:31)
- Beginnings – Chicago (end of song)
Claves (pronounced KLA-vayz)
Originally used in Afro-Cuban music, claves are two small, smooth solid wooden sticks that when struck together give a bright, penetrating click that can resonate through just about any mix.
Some modern versions are fiberglass, but a little goes a long way with those babies. I liken it to an aluminum baseball bat.
Examples:
Magic Bus – The Who
And I Love Her – The Beatles
All Right Now – Free
Donna the Prima Donna – Dion
Don’t Ask Me Why – Billy Joel
Theme from Night Court (0:29)
Waiting on a Friend – The Rolling Stones
I’m a Man – Chicago
Beginnings – Chicago (end of song)
Agogo Bells, or Agogô
The agogo bells are two metal bells, attached by a U-shaped piece of metal. One bell is larger than the other, so two distinct pitches are produced.
Originally from Nigeria as a primarily ceremonial instrument.
They became commonly used in Brazilian music and may be the oldest samba instrument.
Examples:
- Copacabana – Barry Manilow
- Love Rollercoaster – The Ohio Players
- Bluebird – Paul McCartney & Wings (0:58)
- Take Me To The Mardi Gras – Bob James
- Daft Punk is Playing at My House – LCD Soundsystem (2:50)
- Read My Body – Kiss
- Beginnings – Chicago (end of song)
Finger cymbals (or Zills in Turkish)
Finger cymbals have existed since ancient days and are believed to have originated in Asia. They eventually made their way to the Middle East and beyond and they have been used in many cultures throughout Asia and Europe for centuries. They’ve been a very important part of Middle Eastern dance.
Supposedly, belly dancers are judged more by their finger cymbal playing than the dancing itself.
You don’t hear them in pop/rock all the time. But when you do, it’s the perfect “ting” in just the right spot.
Examples:
- I’m A Man – The Spencer Davis Group
- Lady – Styx
- Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel (0:49)
- I’m Gonna Make You Love Me – Diana Ross & The Supremes/ The Temptations
- Green Tambourine – Lemon Pipers
- Tin Man – America (0:40)
- Albatross – Squeeze
- Silly Boy Blue – David Bowie (played by Bowie himself!)
- Poetry Man – Phoebe Snow
- Around the World in a Day – Prince
Castanets
Used in the music of many cultures, the instrument consists of a pair of concave pear-shaped shells joined on one edge by a string. The top of the castanet is tapped to produce clicks for rhythmic accents, or a rapid series of clicks that produce a rattling sound. They are traditionally made of hardwood.
They are played in differently pitched pairs by dancers primarily in Spain, the Balearic Islands, and southern Italy.
The best-known usage is by the flamenco dancers of Spain, which may make this instrument easier to identify than some of the others.
Examples:
- Be My Baby – The Ronettes
- Little Darlin’– The Diamonds
- La Isla Bonita – Madonna
- Logical Song – Supertramp
- Girls Talk – Linda Ronstadt
- Dance, Dance, Dance – The Beach Boys (first time at 0:23)
- Brown Sugar – The Rolling Stones
- Sandy – John Travolta (from Grease)
- Golden Years – David Bowie (0:22)
- Funeral For a Friend – Elton John (3:43)
- Musentango – Einstürzende Neubauten (Thank you, Phylum)
Sleigh Bells
Ok, just about everybody knows this one because of its heavy usage on songs associated with Christmas. What can be overlooked is that on occasion, there are non-holiday songs that feature sleighbells, to great effect.
Some non-holiday examples:
- God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
- Dance, Dance, Dance – The Beach Boys
- School Boy Crush – Average White Band
- I Wanna Be Your Dog – The Stooges
- Charlie Freak – Steely Dan (starting at 1:49)
- Hazy Shade of Winter – The Bangles
- Chicago – Sufjan Stevens (starting at 3:27)
- The India Song – Big Star
- Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys (2:01)
- Airbag– Radiohead
Siren Whistle (or Acme No. 147 Siren Whistle)
It sounds like its name said it would. It’s commonly associated with clowns and the circus.
Or perhaps classic cartoons featuring cops.
But there are some songs that employ it. It’s loud and silly, and not for everybody, but it serves its purpose well.
Examples:
- The Logical Song – Supertramp (2:56)
- Runnin’ With the Devil – Van Halen (2:09),
- Heroes and Villains – The Beach Boys (first time- 0:17)
- Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan (twice in the beginning and multiple times thereafter)
Here is a playlist of the songs mentioned. Some songs feature more than one of the listed instruments.
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It’s amazing how this kind of stuff adds a lot of life and fun to a song.
I’ll never forget the time I was in middle school band and a song we were playing featured vibra-slap. The first time I heard that played across the room I said “Wow! The sound from A Fifth of Beethoven!” I was so excited to go to find out what made that cool sound.
One hand held that you didn’t mention that I love is the police whistle, often two different ones with two different tones. Used so well in Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls”, and also briefly in the middle solo section of Steely Dan’s “Aja” (my favorite moment of that song).
Nice. I love hand percussion discovery stories! The first time I saw a vibraslap was high school band and I was equally excited, though I didn’t connect it to a specific song. You had a good ear as a child.
I considered including the police whistle, and I specifically thought of Bad Girls, as well as Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain”, but I left it out, for a couple of reasons. It’s a great one and I’m glad you mentioned it!
Gotta hand it to you, RB, you did your homework here! Lots of great info. One hand percussion instrument from Japan is the hyoshige, which is like a louder version of the claves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6XLv73BPms
It’s often heard in traditional performance music like for kabuki. I can’t think of any more recent songs that use it. Not even by Geinoh Yamashirogumi, who were known for their percussion work.
Dead Can Dance’s Spirit Chaser is another album full of interesting percussion sounds that I can’t name. Recognize any in this song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWzEWv-GHY
Woah, the hyoshige is deadly.
Any of my guesses on the percussion that Dead Can Dance song would be likely wrong. I thought it might be a digeridoo in the beginning, but I don’t know. There is definitely a cuica in there (the hooting sound). The shakers sound like gourds with beads. Maybe a native American flute played in bent pitches in there. The hand drum sounds Native American but it could also be a djembe. The real low drum seems like a medicine drum of some sort. I think a cowbell comes in later. I am probably way off. This is amazing. I love it.
Also, did you notice I included a song example from your recent article?
Blixa Bargeld feels seen.
Great stuff, rollerboogie. I’m going to dig into a bunch of these songs.
Question: What’s the name of the instrument that looks like a gourd covered in macramé beads?
Thanks, v-dog. I believe you are referring to the shekere.
That’s it! Thanks.
So that’s a Güiro on Gimme Shelter. I always thought it was the sound of a ratchet wrench unbolting the connectors that hold society together.
Can it be both?
I used to have a wooden frog that made a similar sound, using a similar sort of stroking motion, as the guiro. Now, what happened to that thing??? *Scratches head*
We had one of those around here somewhere too. It actually sounds like a frog when you play it. I looked it up, and a lot of sites are calling it a “frog guiro”.
What a great article. A whole new spin on the unsung heroes, giving them a moment in the spotlight.
The mention of maracas means only one thing to Brits of a certain age. Bez of the Happy Mondays and then Black Grape may have had no discernible musical talent but he was an integral part of both bands for his 24 hour party people wide eyed gurning vibes. Generally seen with maracas in hand but he’s one exception to the percussive instrument being essential to the song. In Bez’s case they were all image over substance.
I don’t know him but I love him.
I can’t be 100% certain but I’d say there’s a good chance Bez may have imbibed some illegal substances before that photo was taken. His lifestyle may well have been a bigger factor in his band membership than his maraca playing.
You are probably right, just by looking at him, but he also seems vital to the band as well. I think there are a number of bands that have someone like that in them, particularly from certain eras and scenes. You’re not sure quite what they do, but the band wouldn’t be the same without them.
Very informative article @rollerboogie, and since my musical ignorance is big, I would like to ask you which instrument is heard right before the saxophone in the song Kumbala by Maldita Vecindad y Los Hijos del Quinto Patio.
https://youtu.be/sFP3NmP2NxI
Ooh, this is nice. If you are talking about the echoing clicking sound that is, that is the claves.
Oh thank you very much, like I said I don’t know a thing about music but I always liked the sound of the claves in this song, and even when I’m not a musician, I would like to replicate that sound in a cover of a song that I’m not going to sing or play in my life.
I know that sounds crazy but, have any of you ever sort of fantasized about making different arrangements to some songs?
All the time! I imagine how a song would sound if I was allowed to produce it. When I was working on this article, many times as I listened to songs, I was thinking things like, man, finger cymbals would have fit perfectly right in this spot on this song.
In a more drastic sense, as a musician, I’ve had the luxury of being able to rearrange a song, performed in a totally different style, and I’ve done so frequently.
This weekend, I will be singing “Smoke On the Water” by Deep Purple, reimagined as a Sinatra-esque lounge piece, for a Casino Night church fundraiser, among other casualties. But that’s probably not the sort of thing you were talking about.
I’m guessing you’re a fan of Postmodern Jukebox?
I like some of their stuff. I really admire the way they reimagine songs in a completely different genre and it always works.
Ooh, fun! And hats off to Chicago for incorporating so many items in the Fun With Percussion Instruments box laying about their studio into recordings. 😁
When I lived in Orlando, there was a radio morning show who loved ‘Name That Cowbell’. This was going on back in the 90s down there. They’d have people call in with a suggestion, the producer would play the Cowbell snippet and the dj’s would guess the song. (I think that’s how it went at least!) So when the SNL skit aired, they were pretty stoked on that radio show.
To this day I can’t help but want to scream out “Best Cowbell Intro EVAH!” whenever I hear Working For the Weekend.
My favorite? The castanets. I absolutely adore hearing someone with nimble fingers just go off on a long drawn out castanet musical interlude. Done right, it is ridiculously mesmerizing and transfixing for me.
I absolutely love that radio cowbell quiz. I would have loved to have taken part in that. There are SO many. Maybe Dutch will do a cowbell article?
Yes, castanets really bring that extra pop to a song like nothing else. A castanet solo would totally rock my world too.
Super fun article – thanks, Mr. Boogie!
Bravo, RB! Excellent handling of a subject that doesn’t get covered enough. Percussion is so effective at adding distinct colors and textures to a song, yet it flies under the radar so often!
If it weren’t for percussion, most songs would be drab, lifeless slabs of sound. Shakers, tambourines, and others are what bring songs to life!
Of course, the fact that I myself am a percussionist has zero influence on the veracity of the above claims. Zero, I say!
Okay, maybe I’m being a bit hyperbolic. In my defense, I am obviously biased about the subject. 😛
That’s a well-rounded selection of percussion instruments you covered, and I love the way you included the songs so that we can actually hear examples. There are a few others that deserve attention:
-You mentioned the CUICA in the comments; as a friction drum, it stands apart in design and sound
-The AFUCHE is a close relative of the guiro but also different enough to be its own thing
-The BERIMBAU, widely associated with the Brazilian martial art capoeira, is unlike any other percussion instrument
-The Japanese KOKIRIKO isn’t as well-known but is also quite unusual in design
Those are just off the top of my head. If you’re interested (and only if you’re agreeable to the idea) I’d be happy to work up a second installment here and cover those instruments! Of course if you’ve got more installments planned I’d certainly not want to hijack your cool idea…
I love this. Please write an article on that topic. I will clear the lane for you
Oh, oh, who was Elton John’s percussionist for the longest time? Looked like Paul Schaffer’s brother? He was always fun to watch on live Elton clips because he’d be so into everything, and have this huge set up of various Percussion Instruments around him…..
I had to look it up, but it was Ray Cooper.
YES! I can never remember his name, but ever since I was a little kid I was fascinated by him performing because he was obviously having so much fun, the set was a theatrical performance for him the entire time, and he’d just have this endless supply of Percussion Instruments that all sounded so cool! And he also seemed to be on stage in London during Live Aid the entire day. 😀
And TIL Ray has the same management group as Duran Duran. Go figure!
Very cool. That’s probably him on the castanets on Funeral For a Friend.