Bones and fiddle

Bones and fiddle duet -- bones and dulcimer duet at dulcimer festival in Michigan.
The bones are a musical instrument (more specifically, a folk instrument) which, at the simplest, consists of a pair of animal bones, or pieces of wood or a similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used true bones, although wooden sticks shaped like the earlier true bones are now more often used. If metal spoons are used instead, as is common in the United States, this is called "playing the spoons." The technique arrived in the U.S. via Irish immigrants, but has a history stretching back to ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

They have contributed to many music genres, including 19th century minstrel shows, traditional Irish music, the blues, bluegrass, zydeco, French-Canadian music, and music from Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. The clacking of the loose rib bones produces a much sharper sound than the zydeco washboard or frottoir, which mimicks rattling a bone up and down a fixed ribcage.

They are about 5" to 7" in length and curved, roughly resembling miniature barrel staves. They are played by holding them between one's fingers, convex surfaces facing one another, and moving one's wrist in such a way that they knock against each other.

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• Bones
• fiddle
• dulcimer
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• festival
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[truebones]

nice

[scottstanton1]

good !