 Rattles are found in almost every musical culture, in almost every era throughout human history. Technically, they are classified as "idiophones", but that simple label doesn't convey the almost overwhelming variety of materials from which they are made or performance contexts where they are used.
These instruments can be made from animal horn or hide, leather strips, rope, cloth, wood, nut shells, gourds, metal, or clay. They can be filled with shell, stone, corn kernels, beads or other sound-producers; some, like the shekere gourd rattle illustrated here have beads attached to a net on the outer surface of the instrument. You can hold them in your hand and shake them or strike them against a hard surface. They can be tied around your wrists, waist or ankles or attached to other musical instruments, such as drums or xylophones. There is at least one constant feature in this incredible diversity of form and use: almost without exception, rattles accompany dancing as well as vocal music. In English, |
