Easy to Make Latin Percussion Instruments

Simple, Effective Instruments in the Palm of Your Hand in Minutes

Sep 23, 2009

These two instruments, the rhythm sticks or claves and the cowbell, feature prominently in Afro Carribean music. They can be made in minutes at home.

The Clave

Claves, or rhythm sticks, are among the simplest of instruments to fashion. They are simply a pair of cylindrical hardwood sticks struck together to produce a penetrating click or clack. In AfroCuban music, they are often used to sound the rhythmic pattern known as the clave.

Clave Materials

Commercially made claves are often fashioned from dense tropical hardwoods. While it may be hard to find a piece of hardwood dowel large enough, temperate domestic species such as hard maple, white ash and black walnut all possess a fairly bright crack when struck and can take a beating well.

Where it may be difficult to find hardwood dowels of the appropriate thickness, well-aged, felled hardwood branches can also be cut to size and used to good effect.

Making the Clave

Cut two sections of dowel or branch anywhere from 7” to 9” in length. If a branch is used, the bark can be removed. While this brightens the tone, this may not be desirable. The ear should be the judge. The two lengths of stick produce two distinct pitches. If more wood is available, various thicknesses and lengths can be cut for variety. For safety, the ends can be rounded over slightly using sandpaper.

Playing the Clave

The knack to playing the clave is to cup one stick loosely in one hand so that it can vibrate freely, striking it in the center with the other stick. This is similar to the concept behind the marimba, where one stick resonates briefly after being struck by another.

Cowbell

In music, a cowbell is merely a heavily dampened metal bell. This dampening arises from the bell's shape: The non-circular rim doesn’t allow for sustained vibration. In addition, a player typically holds a cowbell in a manner that dampens the sound further.

While it doesn’t look much like a cowbell in the traditional sense – more like something a cow has stepped on – a cowbell can be fashioned from a metal fence pole cap that has been crimped. This does the job admirably and fits into the palm of the hand well.

The post caps discussed here are the same kind used for heavy storm fences. Used caps can sometimes be found at scrap metal yards. New ones are sometimes carried at stores that sell fencing supplies. Dome-shaped caps fit the hand best.

Making the Cowbell

Secure the pole in a bench vise. Crank the jaws together slowly, crimping the sides inward. When the opening is narrowed to a bit more than 1” wide (if using a 3” pole cap), remove the bell from the vise, hold it and strike it. Listen for a clear, hollow “thock” tone. If the tone is satisfactory, then the bell is complete. If the tone is still not quite there, put the cap back into the vise and continue to crimp it, making very fine adjustments on the crank.

Playing the Cowbell

With the fleshy part of your hand resting on the metal as you hold the bell, strike the rim with the blunt end of a drumstick or beater. Each hand and each cowbell is different, so it will take some experimentation with one's grip to produce the best tone.

The copyright of the article Easy to Make Latin Percussion Instruments in World Instruments is owned by Douglas Howard. Permission to republish Easy to Make Latin Percussion Instruments in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.