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Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional
A survey of traditional south-eastern Australian Indigenous music
by Barry McDonald (book chapter) * * * Stick concussion idiophones Australian Aboriginal music Australian musical instruments {{Idiophone-instrument-stub
Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...
instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony
Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. Over 300 languages and other groupings ...
.
They are a type of drumstick, percussion mallet
A percussion mallet or beater is an object used to strike or beat a percussion instrument in order to produce its sound.
The term beater is slightly more general. A mallet is normally held in the hand while a beater may be foot or mechanically ...
or claves
Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony o ...
that belongs to the 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 ( electroph ...
category.
Unlike drumsticks, which are generally used to strike a drum, clapsticks are intended for striking one stick on another.
Origin and nomenclature
In northern Australia, clapsticks would traditionally accompany the didgeridoo, and are called bimli or bilma by the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land in theNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
of Australia.
Boomerang clapsticks
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
clapsticks are similar to regular clapsticks but they can be shaken for a rattling sound or be clapped together.
Technique
The usual technique employed when using clapsticks is to clap the sticks together to create a rhythm that goes along with the song.See also
*Clapper (musical instrument)
A clapper is a basic form of percussion instrument. It consists of two long solid pieces that are struck together producing sound. A straightforward instrument to produce and play, they exist in many forms in many different cultures around th ...
* Clapper stick
A clapper stick (also clap-stick or split stick rattle) is a traditional idiophone common among the indigenous peoples of California. It is traditionally constructed by cutting the branch of an elderberry tree, hollowing it out, and partiall ...
External links
A survey of traditional south-eastern Australian Indigenous music
by Barry McDonald (book chapter) * * * Stick concussion idiophones Australian Aboriginal music Australian musical instruments {{Idiophone-instrument-stub