Listen to the whip
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the whip makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the whip belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
A clapper is a basic form of percussion instrument. It consists of two long solid pieces that are struck together producing sound. They exist in many forms in many different cultures around the world. Clappers can take a number of forms and be made of a wide variety of material. Wood is most common, but metal and ivory have also been used. The plastic thundersticks that have recently come to be popular at sporting events can be considered a form of inflated plastic clapper.
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a whip sound like?
Listen to 4 recordings on this page. As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the whip?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.12).
Sources & credits
- Whip-sound by Mike Koenig – CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Necedah Wildlife Refuge, United States by Justin Watts – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Anoka, Minnesota… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Whip-poor-will song by Digrpat – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q1410790 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Clapper (musical instrument) – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Sobebunny – CC BY-SA 3.0