Jawbone?

[Martin Ward]

Hi everybody!

I've just taken delivery of JABB (thanks for the special Gary!) and have been having lots of fun going through the instruments and trying them out. And then I came across a percussion instrument named "Jawbone" and described in the manual thus: "The jawbone of an animal used as a percussion instrument that when struck, the teeth rattle."

An animal used as a percussion instrument??!! Doesn't the Humane Society have anything to say about that?

And how can I hit that old Ab4 key, thinking of that poor dumb animal, probably tethered in the middle of the rhythm section, its big brown eyes full of fear and resignation, waiting for the next teeth-rattling whack across the side of it's head?

Is this some kind of Caucasian Chalk Circle test?

[Pingu]

Hi everybody!


An animal used as a percussion instrument??!! Doesn't the Humane Society have anything to say about that?


Is this some kind of Caucasian Chalk Circle test?

It sounds a bit gross, until you remember that the skin on most drums is literally skin, and gut strings really means it. On the other hand I'm glad that a lion's roar isn't literal...quick way to clear concert halls.

[ofafeather]

I think the modern version is the Vibra-slap. If you use that then you can say "No animals were hurt in the production of this music". Of course you would have to take out all the animal skin, gut strings, hide glue, etc....

[Larry G. Alexander]

On another note (pun intended), think of the number of trees that are sacrificed each year in order to get the wood to make drum sticks, conductors' batons and violists' brains. ;) :p

Larry

[Styxx]

Vibra Slap it is~! Wouldn't be without one. As for the drum "skins", sure you can still get calf skin heads, however the norm today is mylar due to its resistance to weather conditions from area to area. Calf skin is not easy to use. Any who ... interesting post.

Here's a great site to read up on drum heads, history, ect ...


http://www.drumdojo.com/kit/heads.htm

[Pingu]

Vibra Slap it is~! Wouldn't be without one. As for the drum "skins", sure you can still get calf skin heads, however the norm today is mylar due to its resistance to weather conditions from area to area. Calf skin is not easy to use. Any who ... interesting post.

Here's a great site to read up on drum heads, history, ect ...


http://www.drumdojo.com/kit/heads.htm

Sorry, you're quite right. I'm afraid I'm not a kit or timp player - when I said drums, I was thinking of djembes, dun-duns and th like.

[Tom Hopkins]

The jawbone is, as stated above, a primitive precursor to the vibraslap. The instrument was part of the collection of instruments the percussionist brought to the recording session. It was a very old instrument (probably decades old) and, despite its possibly distasteful nature to some, an example of an historically accurate instrument used in traditional latin percussion.

I wouldn't want anyone to picture the percussion recording session as a long line of animals outside my studio awaiting their torturous fate at the hands of a drummer! This didn't happen. However, we did sample a miniature dachshund, two gerbils (stereo,) and the percussionist's mother-in-law. Of these, the mother-in-law ended up on the cutting room floor - too much vodka. No, no, just kidding! To tell the truth, *I* was the only animal harmed in the course of making this library and that was on the trumpet high notes!

Tom

P.S. You could look at the sampled jawbone as being a way of giving an alternative to harming any future jawbone candidates - "use our samples and leave the poor animals alone!"

[Styxx]

BONES! What the devil is that?

My jaw, captain.

Spock, what do you make of this?

It would appear captain that striking Bone's head at the precise location has dislodged the Doctors jaw causing the teeth to rattle rather uncontrollably.

Blasted Spock! Confound your Vulcan logic and hand me the damn thing!