Spoons: description of the instrument, history of origin, playing technique, use

Spoons – an ancient percussion musical instrument of Slavic origin, belongs to the class of idiophones. A playing set consists of 2-5 pieces: one piece of the set looks more massive, surpasses the rest in size, is called a Play set, the rest are fan-shaped.

History of origin

Russian spoons are considered the oldest musical instrument. The original documentary evidence dates back to the XNUMXth century, however, undoubtedly, the history of the origin of the folk instrument is much older. Some researchers believe that the origin of the Slavic musical subject is connected with the Spanish castanets.

The Slavs used the simplest wooden musical instruments to help beat the rhythm a long time ago. They were used by shepherds, warriors, hunters, ordinary rural people, celebrating holidays, performing rituals and ceremonies.

Wooden spoons initially spread among the illiterate peasant population. This fact partly explains the lack of early documentary evidence. The old models were made by hand; equipping the structure with bells and bells helped to enrich the sound. An interesting fact: the expression “beat the bucks” meant the initial stage of creating an instrument, which is considered the easiest: you just need to make a buck from a block of wood. Cutting, rounding, grinding, scraping the workpiece is a much more complicated matter.

The difference between a musical model and cutlery is thick-walled, high strength, which helps to extract low sounds. An attractive appearance of the instrument was given by the colorful painting of the surface.

The XNUMXth century is the period of the revival of primordially Russian musical instruments. Musical spoons have become full-fledged members of folk instrumental orchestras. Solo virtuosos appeared, accompanying the spoon Play with complex tricks, dances, and songs.

Today the instrument is an indispensable part of the folk ensemble.

Play technique

Lozhkar (a person playing on spoons) extracts sounds using a variety of techniques:

• “klopushku”;
• tremolo;
• double tremolo;
• fraction;
• slip;
• “ratchet”.

Usually spoons are played using 3 items. It is necessary to hold them correctly as follows: the first (playing) is in the right hand, the second, third (fan) are sandwiched between the fingers of the left. The blows are made by a “Play” instance: with a sliding movement, the performer hits one cup, immediately moving on to the next one.

It is possible to play with 2, 4, 5 items. Sometimes the performer is standing, sometimes he is sitting. The musician achieves a variety of sounds by making parallel strikes on the floor, body, and other surfaces. Spooners use many tricks: the simplest, accessible to beginners, complex, requiring experience, regular training.

Using

Wooden spoons are actively used by modern musicians. The Slavic find has spread everywhere, it is found in the USA, European countries. The British rock band “Caravan” holds concerts using an innovation – electric spoons.

More often the instrument is used by orchestras playing folk music. Due to the simplicity, the simplest tricks of the Play can be learned by people who are far from music, so the spoons fit perfectly into home ensembles, preschool children’s groups.

In addition to the musical component, this instrument is a popular souvenir that inextricably personifies Russia, its culture and history.