Castanets are a small shell-like instrument made of hard wood. It serves as an accompaniment to flamenco dances such as fandango, seguidillo and Spanish folk songs. It is not so easy to combine playing castanets and dancing, but doing it beautifully and naturally, bringing out an interesting rhythm, is even more difficult, therefore, nowadays, professional possession of this instrument is less and less common.
It is necessary
- - castanets
- - lace for castanets
Instructions
Step 1
Remember that castanets are a musical instrument. This is important, because if you take them lightly, you will hardly be able to achieve great success in their development. There are two schools of Spanish castanets: classical and folk. Both of them suggest different handling of castanets, the method of attachment to the hand is also different in both cases.
Step 2
To play the castanets in a classic style, attach them to your thumbs. Two halves, or shells, from each castanet are connected with a cord. It needs to be wrapped around the thumb so that the flaps on one side are closed, and on the other, they are ajar, so that you can tap on the upper half with your fingers, making a sound.
Step 3
In your right hand, take the one of the castanets that gives a higher and brighter sound. Its name is hembra. The second, castaneta sounds softer and quieter, it is called macho. The right hand is engaged in outputting trills and weaves, while the left hand emphasizes the basic rhythm with individual notes.
Step 4
The folk style of the game assumes a slightly different mount, since even the castanets themselves are used slightly different. They are larger in size, and their sound is lower than that of the classical ones. To secure them, wrap the lace not only around your thumb, but also around some other ones. For the folk game, there has not been developed a way to hold castanets, specific for all cases, since all artists act a little in their own way. Therefore, fix the instruments the way your teacher or favorite performer does, or be guided by considerations of ease of sound production.
