A monkey stick (also called a mendoza, mendozer, Murrumbidgee river rattler, lagerphone or zob stick)''

The Bushwackers The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promoti ...

Australian Song Book'', new edition 1981, published by Anne O'Donovan Pty Ltd, : ''Lagerphone or Murrumbidgee River Rattler. An upright pole with two crosspieces upon which are screwed beer bottle tops. The noise is made by hitting the instrument on the floor, at the same time striking the middle section with a solid piece of wood.'' is a traditional

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, used in

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. The origins of the name are not known but it is believed to stem from an association with Roma,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

buskers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...

who were popular in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. Alternatively, the name "Monkey Stick" could come from modern practice, in homage to the trained monkeys formerly used by buskers to solicit money from passersby. Some musicians have taken to fixing a small stuffed toy monkey to the tops of their instruments. The instrument is constructed from a stout pole with metal "

jingles A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

" fastened at intervals along the shaft. These are commonly beer-bottle tops with a 1 inch washer in between the tops and the shaft to enhance the quality of the sound. Originally the end of the shaft is believed to have been covered with a rag to give some protection to the floor. A boot that might be attached to the base of the pole is a recent 'Zob Stick' addition. When played on a wooden floor (common in ale-houses), the sound produced is a combination of a bass drum and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. It can also be played with an additional small notched or serrated stick held in the other hand, allowing it to not only be shaken or hammered onto the ground, but also "bowed" to produce a combined clicking and rattling sound. Bands such as Groanbox, Zapoppin' and Dr. Busker have incorporated the monkey stick into their recordings and live shows.

Other names and versions

In Australia, this instrument constructed with beer-bottle tops is known as a lagerphone. The same name and construction is found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The town of

Brooweena Brooweena is a rural town and locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Brooweena had a population of 104 people. Geography The town is located in the Wide Bay–Burnett area and is north of the state capital, Brisba ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia claims to hold the unofficial record when 134 people simultaneously played the lagerphone in 2009. In Newfoundland, it is referred to as an "

ugly stick The ugly stick is a traditional Newfoundland musical instrument fashioned out of household and tool shed items, typically a mop handle with bottle caps, tin cans, small bells and other noise makers. The instrument is played with a drum s ...

". In the Dutch province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

this type of instrument is known as a ' kuttepiel'. In the American upper-

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

states of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, the closely related stumpf fiddle or pogocello originated in Czech communities and adds small cymbals, strings, and a drum. A similar instrument, the batih, is found in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The "zob stick" variation of this instrument was constructed and named in 1968 by

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Keef Trouble of the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts and

Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs were an English novelty band that issued a few recordings in the early 1970s. The band was an alias adopted by Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts but signed to a different record label. Terry Dactyl and the Dinos ...

, and included a sprung- boot attached to the bottom of the pole and a metal sleeve round its centre, to be hit with a serrated wooden stick. It is now, with the term ‘Lagerphone’, the most commonly used name for this instrument. The term ' zob' was taken from the British naval slang term for "penis". File:Jingling Johnny (26020760613).jpg, Instrument labeled Jingling Johnny in England. Lined with

made from beer caps. File:Northumbrian Bagpipes and Jingling Johnny (9175779287).jpg, Instrument labeled Jingling Johnny (jingles made from beer caps), and Northumbrian bagpipes at Haworth, England File:F16 Turkiiskt klockspel.tif, 111.242.222.

Turkish crescent A Turkish crescent, (a smaller version is called a çevgen or ''çağana'' (Tr.), Turkish jingle, Jingling Johnny, ' (Ger.), ' or ''pavillon chinois'' (Fr.)), is a percussion instrument traditionally used by military bands internationally. In some ...

or Jingling Johnny. File:Ugly Stick Newfoundland.jpg,

Ugly stick The ugly stick is a traditional Newfoundland musical instrument fashioned out of household and tool shed items, typically a mop handle with bottle caps, tin cans, small bells and other noise makers. The instrument is played with a drum s ...

, has beer caps, like lagerphones. Is played with drumstick (like bumbass).

References

External links

Groanbox
(Web Site featuring Keef Trouble and the original 'Zob Stick'.)

The Lagerphone Pages by Keith Sayers (Canberra February 2014) {{Authority control Hand percussion European percussion instruments English musical instruments Metal percussion instruments Oceanian percussion instruments Percussion instruments played with specialised beaters Shaken idiophones or rattles Street performance Uses of boots

Other names and versions

See also

References

External links