How the monkey stick makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the monkey stick 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
A monkey stick (also called a mendoza, mendozer, Murrumbidgee river rattler, lagerphone or zob stick) is a traditional English percussion instrument, used in folk music. Some musicians have taken to fixing a small stuffed toy monkey to the tops of their instruments.
The instrument is constructed from a stout pole with metal "jingles" fastened at intervals along the shaft. These are commonly beer-bottle tops with a 1-inch washer in between the tops and the shaft. A boot that might be attached to the base of the pole is a recent 'Zob Stick' addition.
Other shaken and scraped idiophones
Tambourine
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Maraca
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Music box
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Sistrum
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Angklung
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Jingle bell
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Ratchet
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Güiro
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a monkey stick sound like?
As one of the shaken and scraped idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is shaken, scraped or split.
What type of instrument is the monkey stick?
It is classified as shaken and scraped idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 112.12).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q2698284 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Monkey stick – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Clivep19 – CC BY-SA 3.0