A treshchotka ( rus, трещо́тка, p=trʲɪˈɕːɵtkə, singular; sometimes referred to in the plural, treshchotki, rus, трещо́тки, p=trʲɪˈɕːɵtkʲɪ) is a
Russian folk music
Russian folk music specifically deals with the folk music traditions of the ethnic Russian people.
Ethnic styles in the modern era
The performance and promulgation of ethnic music in Russia has a long tradition. Initially it was intertwined with ...
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) ...
percussion
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 ...
instrument which is used to imitate hand clapping. It consists of a set of small boards on a string that are clapped together as a group.
Name
The word is derived from the root ''tresk-'', meaning 'crackling' or 'rattle'. In Russian slang, sometimes describes a person who is excessively chatty and loud.
History
There are no known documents confirming the use of the treshchotka in ancient Russia. However, in 1992, an archeological dig in the city of
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
found two wooden boards, which, by the hypothesis of
Vladimir Ivanovich Povetkin
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
, were parts of a 12th-century treshchotka.
The first published mention of the treshchotka was made by
Kliment Vasilievich Kvitka
Klyment Vasilyovich Kvitka ( uk, Климент Васильович Квітка; February 4, 1880 – September 19, 1953) was a Ukrainian and Soviet musicologist and ethnographer, and the husband of poet Lesya Ukrainka.
The Kvitka family played ...
. The great Russian lexicographer
Vladimir Dahl
Vladimir Ivanovich Dal ( rus, Влади́мир Ива́нович Даль, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈdalʲ; November 22, 1801 – October 4, 1872) was a noted Russian-language lexicographer, polyglot, Turkologist, and founding me ...
describes the treshchotka in his "
" as a device made to produce crackling, thundering and racketing sounds.
In modern times, some villages in Russia are still playing and crafting treshchotkas.
Construction
The treshchotka is made of a set of 15 to 20 thin oak planks, which are about 16 to 18 centimeters (approximately 6-8 inches) long. The planks are tightly held by a rope that is threaded through a hole at the end of each board. To make sure that the boards are not pressed against each other, a small wooden spacer (2 cm
pproximately 1.5 inches is inserted between each board.
Technique
To play a treshchotka, the player holds it by the ends with both hands, generally level with the chest or head, and vary the motion between brusque and smooth to produce crackling and clicking sounds.
Superstitions
The treshchotka was used during peasant wedding ceremonies where instruments could have been decorated with ribbons, flowers and sometimes jingle bells. This use of the treshchotka may have performed not only a musical role but also served some mystical function, perhaps protecting newlyweds from evil spirits.
References
External links
Трещётки''(Russian)''
European percussion instruments
Idiophones
Russian culture
Handicrafts
Russian musical instruments
Russian inventions
{{Idiophone-instrument-stub