Latin Musical Instruments
Marimba
A precisely tuned, percussion instrument
of African
origin, brought to America by African
slaves.
The marimba consists of strips of wood of different length with resonators
underneath. There is also a modern orchestral marimba.
Leather
Maracas
A pair of gourd, usually
oval, rattles, of South American
Indian origin. Sewn out of leather, wood handles and contain the dried
seeds of the fruit. The Maracas are part of the rhythm section of Latin
American dance bands and have been adopted by Western
rhythm bands and orchestral percussion.
Maracas
Developed by Venezuelan
and Cuban
musicians. The indians weave it and use small
stones to fill it. Can also be made of gourd, leather,
wood or coconuts.
Bongos
Bongo is the Cuban
term for a variety of small Afro-Cuban drums,
one of which is the bongo which we are familiar with. Bongos are an integral
part of Latin Percussion,
particularly as a solo instrument. They are mainly played sitting down,
held between the knees, with a combination of finger and hand techniques.
Usually made of wood with skin head.
Shekere
Shekere is a a Nigerian
gourd covered with a woven, beaded webbing,
played by shaking the beads and striking the gourd.
Brazilian Cuica
The Cuica is used in the famous carnival
in Brazil,
the traditional friction drum. Traditionally made of gourd with natural
skin head, the modern ones are made with metal bodies and tunable plastic
heads. The friction stick is inside the drum, unlike other folk friction
drums, and is rubbed with a small cloth as the other hand manipulates the
drumhead to produce a wide range of very vocal expressive tones.
Ukulele
A small four-string South American
guitar.
An easily learnt instrument from the South Pacific islands of Portuguese
origin, which were brought to the USA and
Europe in the late 19th century by immigrants
from Madeira.
Images and sounds courtesy of
MusixCool© By
Nadav Dafni
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