Wood block

The wood block is a member of the struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.243). Listen to 1 recording and learn how it makes its sound.

Listen to the wood block

Blok music

0:04CC BY-SA 4.0by Krol111Wikimedia Commons

0:04

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

How the wood block makes its sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the wood block 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.

Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.

From Wikipedia

A woodblock (also spelled as two words, wood block) is a small slit drum made from a single piece of wood. The term generally signifies the Western orchestral instrument, but may also refer to the Chinese woodblock. In ragtime and jazz music, it is also known as the clog box or tap box. In orchestral music scores, woodblocks may be indicated by the French bloc de bois or tambour de bois, German Holzblock or Holzblocktrommel, or Italian cassa di legno.

The orchestral woodblock of the West is generally made from teak or another hardwood. The dimensions of this instrument vary, although it is either a rectangular or cylindrical block of wood with one or sometimes two longitudinal cavities. It is played by striking it with a stick, which produces a sharp crack. Alternatively, a rounder mallet, soft or hard, may be used, which produces a deeper-pitched and fuller "knocking" sound.