Page:Instruments of the Modern Symphony Orchestra.djvu/64



A pair of castanets consists of two shell-like pieces of hardwood hinged together by a cord. The pair played by the left hand is usually the larger and is used to mark the main time. The smaller right hand pair executes embellishments on the main rhythm, some of which are extremely complicated in character. The castanet is of Spanish origin, and is used in the orchestra to impart local color in compositions of a Spanish character. It produces a characteristic, dry click, without definite pitch.

This little instrument is said to have been in use practically unchanged for the past two thousand years. It consists of a small wooden hoop, on one side of which is stretched a parchment head, the other side being open. The hoop is cut away at intervals to allow the insertion of small pairs of metal plates called jingles. The head, when struck by the hand, gives forth a treble drum-like sound without definite pitch. The jingles may be trilled by shaking the instrument without striking the head. The use of the tambourine in the orchestra is confined mainly to the production of oriental effects, though the jingles alone are sometimes employed in connection with other percussion instruments in music of a violent or barbaric nature.

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