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

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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 percussion instrument, used in folk music. The origins of the name are not known but it is believed to stem from an association with Roma,

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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 pr ...

who were popular in London in the Victorian era. 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 The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The ...

and tambourine. 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. The town of Brooweena in Queensland, 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". In the Dutch province of Friesland this type of instrument is known as a ' kuttepiel'. In the American upper- Midwestern states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the closely related

stumpf fiddle {{Use mdy dates, date=January 2020 The pogo cello is a percussion instrument in the idiophone family. This instrument can be heard in the skiffle bands of England, jug bands from the United States, as well as some blues, bluegrass, folk and roc ...

pogocello {{Use mdy dates, date=January 2020 The pogo cello is a percussion instrument in the idiophone family. This instrument can be heard in the skiffle bands of England, jug bands from the United States, as well as some blues, bluegrass, folk and rock ...

originated in Czech communities and adds small cymbals, strings, and a drum. A similar instrument, the

batih The batih ( uk, батіг) is a thick stick that is rhythmically tapped on the floor in some Ukrainian folkloric groups. Pieces of metal or bottle-caps can be attached to the stick, which rattle when the stick strikes the ground. This adds to th ...

, is found in Ukraine. 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. Exc ...

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Keef Trouble Keef Trouble (born Keith Trussell, 1949, Greenwich, London) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Career Trouble studied at The Slade School of Fine Art, London, from 1968 to 1972. He is a founding member of British country- blues ba ...

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, and included a sprung-

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly ...

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

bumbass The bladder fiddle was a folk instrument used throughout Europe and in the Americas. The instrument was originally a simple large stringed fiddle (a musical bow) made with a long stick, one or more thick gut strings, and a pig's-bladder resonato ...

References

External links

Groanbox
(Web Site featuring

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