Twanging, Stirring, Thundering And Shaking: My Favorite Exotic Percussion Instruments – Part Two

Following my recent look at percussion instruments, it became clear that further investigation was needed.

As I said then, the field is wide. So let’s start with an instrument that most people are familiar with:

The Rainstick:

It’s possible (but not certain) that the Rainstick originated with certain hollow cacti in South America. Lengths of the cactus were dried in the sun, and then the spines were removed before being turned around and pushed back into the cactus, creating a sort of lattice inside. Then amounts of small stones or seeds were added and the ends were sealed.

The primary mechanisms are gravity and kinetics.

Generally speaking, it’s used more as a meditative instrument. Surely there are other examples, but this gorgeous serving of pastoral melancholy is the one I know:

Additionally, it can be used in a style similar to a shaker. I brought up shakers last time without going into depth. That’s a bit of a glaring omission, one that bears correction. Thankfully, most people are already familiar with shakers.

Which is to say, the Rainstick can be thought of as a shaker variant.  The mechanics are the same.  And indeed, if a Rainstick is held level, it works exactly like a shaker. Go to 04:30 of the above video to see a short example of how that can work.

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The Jaw Harp is also familiar to most people.

But otherwise, it has nothing in common with the Rainstick. The Jaw Harp is generally a metallic construction, and the style of playing is… unusual, to say the least:

To get the full effect, one has to physically place the Jaw Harp directly in contact with their front teeth.

This allows for a wide range of expressive tonalities. In the same way that it’s done with a harmonica, the player changes the tone of the instrument by varying the position of the tongue and the shape of the inside of the mouth.

It may be the case that the Jaw Harp ranks somewhere near the kazoo in terms of how seriously it’s taken by music fans, but it’s a surprisingly versatile and expressive instrument:

The trade-off is that the player has to press an actively vibrating chunk of metal against their teeth. It’s for this reason that I generally avoid the Jaw Harp – I’m rather concerned with maintaining the structural integrity of my skeleton.

My uneasy feeling is that the Jaw Harp is the instrument that is most likely to be recommended by a dentist with a third mortgage.

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The Thunder Tube, or Spring Drum, also uses a resonating chamber and has a metallic element.

The spring drum is superficially similar to the Cuica, which I profiled last time. But instead of a thin wooden dowel which is rubbed by the player, the Spring Drum uses – you guessed it – a metal spring, which is attached to the thin drumhead that covers one end of the tube. The sound is created when the instrument is shaken or struck.

The vibration of the spring is transferred through the drum head, and the tube acts as the resonating chamber. It’s great for certain effects and situations, but tricky to use in a highly rhythmic manner.

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Even less familiar is the Kokiriko, an instrument of Japanese heritage.

Honestly, you’re not likely to hear this one in the wild. But it’s interesting in that its construction is unique.

Basically, the Kokiriko is a series of small wooden slats that are tied together in a particular way.

As with most percussion instruments, there are a variety of ways to work it. A skilled player can make it swing like shakers, can make it sound like wind and rain, and can snap it loudly. 

Honestly, I had a very hard time finding a video of anyone playing a Kokiriko competently…

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Lastly is the Stir Drum.

This is similar to a very small xylophone – usually with eight small slats or notes – mounted on a circular base. The player holds it in one hand and uses a mallet or stick in the other. The notes can be struck singly from the inside or the outside, or the player can place the mallet inside and rapidly bounce it between two oppositely-placed slats.

You can hear an example of that at the beginning of this selection:

Even more interesting is the technique suggested by the drum’s name: The mallet is placed inside and then moved in a circular motion, tapping the slats quickly in succession. The motion is reminiscent of stirring a big cup.

The slats are placed in order of length, so “stirring” it, depending upon the direction of the motion, creates a rapidly repeating upward or downward series of tones. The effect is a bit hypnotic.

In contrast to a xylophone, the slats on a Stir Drum are not tuned to specific notes. This contributes to an effect in which listening to and playing the Stir Drum is more evocative of the sounds of Nature – a babbling brook, for instance – than formal music. And really, that’s true of quite a lot of the percussion instruments. 

That’s not to say that these instruments CAN’T be tuned to certain keys.  But looked at in a broad context, I think the wide-scale occurrence of Rhythm pre-dates, and as a result can exist outside of, the idea of keys and tuning in music at large. 

“Harmony and Melody collapse without Rhythm:”

“But Rhythm can stand on its own.”

tnocs contributing author both grouse

Tapping into your sense of rhythm – and EVERYONE has a sense of rhythm – it’s a tried and true method of dipping one’s toe into the mystic. 

There’s more to be said about percussion.

But next time we should talk about drums!

…to be continued…