Axatse

The axatse is a member of the shaken and scraped idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 112.13). Learn how it makes its sound and explore related instruments.

How the axatse makes its sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the axatse belongs to the shaken and scraped idiophones: the body is shaken, scraped or split – rattles, maracas and guiros.

More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.

Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.

From Wikipedia

The axatse is a West African rattle-like percussion instrument. The axatse is a traditional musical instrument made from a dried gourd, wrapped in a beaded net. The axatse originated in Ghana and was used by the Ga ethnic group, Togo, and in the Volta Region by the Ewe people. The axatse is closely related to the shekere of the Yoruba people and the ichaka of the Igbo people of southern Nigeria, though the axatse is usually made from a smaller gourd. Axatse usually has a hole on the bottom of the gourd, while Shekere usually has a hole on the top of the gourd, near the stem. These holes are made to remove the seeds and the water from the gourd. This action of removing seeds adds resonance to the gourd and stops the gourd from rotting. The Axatse is traditionally percussed between the hands and the upper leg.