Kwakiutl man in traditional dress, holding a ceremonial staff and a shaman's rattle; photograph by Edward S. Curtis, Native American musical styles and genres, Texas State Historical Association - Native American Music. Native peoples from the southeastern United States make leg rattles from turtle shells or evaporated milk cans filled with small pebbles and attached in rows to a piece of leather. In addition to container rattles, Native Americans make rattles from small objects strung together in clusters; these objects include deer hooves, seashells, seeds, seed pods, nuts, fruit pits, brass shotgun shells, and bottle caps. The Warao of Venezuela make strung rattles from beetle wings. Strung rattles may be played by hand, suspended down a dancer’s back, or worn by a dancer on the knees, ankles, or wrists. Unlike rasps, friction idiophones consist of a solid or hollow body with a smooth surface rubbed with a stick or other implement. Musical instruments are important throughout the Americas. Jingle rattles are made from metal or wooden disks that slide up and down on a post or stem; the Seri, Mapuche, and Mataco people play different kinds of jingle rattles. Methods of recounting history existed among peoples such as the Inca and the Aztec. These designations derive from the method through which each instrument produces sound and are based upon physical descriptions. Among tribes of the Northwest Coast, rattles represent voices from the spirit world. Idiophones produce musical sound by vibrating when the body of the instrument itself is struck, stamped, shaken, scraped, rubbed, or plucked. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Other idiophones include scrapers, friction idiophones, and plucked idiophones. Northern Cree & Round Dance Songs . Concussion instruments, which consist of two similar elements that are clapped together, include the Seri split-cane clapper, striking sticks (Choctaw, Mi’kmaq [Micmac], and Mbyá), and separated scissor blades (native Andeans). By far the largest category of musical instruments in Native American musics, idiophones appear in many shapes and sizes and are made of extraordinarily diverse materials, from beetle wings to sections of plastic pipe. Other instruments require weeks or even months to make by a specially trained craftsman using materials prepared by different individuals. 5. The most recognizable sound of Native American music, aside from the New Age-style Native flutes, is the sound of the pow-wow drums. Native Americans also make container rattles from manufactured materials, such as tin cans or hollow metal tubes. Many musical instruments carry symbolic significance, which appears in the ways instruments are used, decorated, named, or handled before and after use. A lively and informative new podcast for kids that the whole family will enjoy! Scrapers or rasps are serrated objects that are scraped with a stick or other implement. Some idiophones have special meaning to native peoples. A well-known Native American struck idiophone is the log drum or teponaztli, which consists of a hollow tree trunk with a carved H-shaped slit that creates two tongues, each of which produces a separate tone. Other instruments require weeks or even months to make by a specially trained … For certain peoples of the Eastern Woodlands, the sound of a gourd rattle symbolizes the sound of Creation, while for some of the peoples of the Tropical Forest and Southern Cone areas, the sound of the gourd rattle facilitates communication between shamans and spirit beings. Some instruments are thought to be sentient and require respectful treatment. Each tribe has its own approach to instrument classification based on traditional ways of organizing knowledge. Native Americans often decorate idiophones with intricate and colourful patterns or images. Similarly, peoples from northwestern Mexico make leg rattles from the cocoons of the saturniid moth; the cocoons are dried, filled with seeds or bits of broken seashells, sewn shut, and strung on a cord. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. In addition, many American Indian dancers attach bells or other tinkling objects to their dance regalia; these objects are set into motion when the dancer moves, adding another layer of sound to the performance. A few indigenous instruments can be made in an hour or two by virtually anyone in the community from materials readily available in the natural environment. The Aztec áyotl was a tortoise shell rubbed on its ventral side with a stick. Peoples from the Tropical Forest area of South America decorate rattle handles with brightly coloured parrot feathers, which are symbolic because of the special attributes of birds (e.g., they move between earth and sky realms as they fly, helping bring prayers to the spirit realm). They accomplish this in part by “holding true to some of the core musical features of Powwow music,” Christopher Scales, an ethnomusicologist who specializes in Native American music … Native American music - Native American music - Musical instruments in the Americas: Musical instruments are important throughout the Americas.

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