The barril de bomba is a traditional

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

used in bomba music of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. The ''barriles de bomba'' are built from the wood of rum storage barrels and goatskin, adjusted with tourniquets, screws, cuñas or wedges. At least two drums are required to perform bomba music and dance: a ''Primo'' or ''subidor'', the lead drum who follows the dancer, and the ''buleador'', which keep a steady

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Additional instruments include the ''cuá'', a hollow small wooden barrel which is struck with wooden sticks, and most commonly a ''maraca''. ''Cuá'' - wooden sticks are used on a wooden surface to draw a basic

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

ic pattern, similar to the buleador pattern. The wooden surface can be a lying barrel, a piece of hollowed tree or a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

, open at both ends. ''

Maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

'' - made from native

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

, this singular maraca produces a sharp sound. Before this artefact, a ''marimba'' (güiro) was used in some areas of the island instead of the rattle. The ''maraca'' is a shaken

idiophone An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings (chordophones), membranes (membranophones) or electricity ( electrophones) ...

instrument comprising a hollow spherical portion supported by a shaft that passes through or is attached to it. The interior is filled with small percussive elements, like small stones, seeds or

peronia ''Peronia'' is a genus of air-breathing sea slugs, a shell-less marine pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by m ...

seeds, which produce sound when hit against the inner wall of the sphere.

References

* Membranophones Puerto Rican musical instruments {{Membranophone-instrument-stub