Spoon (musical instrument)

Artis the Spoonman playing some spoons (2007).

Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. "Playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way.

Techniques

1. A pair of spoons is held with concave sides facing out and with a finger between their handles to space them apart. When the pair is struck, the spoons sharply hit each other and then spring back to their original position. The spoons are typically struck against the knee and the palm of the hand. The fingers and other body parts may also be used as striking surfaces to produce different sounds and for visual effect.
2. Salad serving style: one spoon between little, ring, and long finger; the other spoon between ring, thumb, and index finger in such a way that they can be moved with ring finger as the common axis. They can be hit to each other at the convex sides by gathering the fingers (mostly middle and thumb).
3. Castanets style, two in each hand one held down by the thumb, one between ring and middle finger.
4. One spoon in the left hand, one under the watch belt, these hit with one on the right hand.

British folk music

As percussion, spoons accompany fiddle playing and other folk sets. An example is seen in Midsomer Murders Series 6, episode 2, where Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy plays the spoons at a house party joining a fiddle player who is entertaining the guests. He uses the first technique. The guests also contribute percussion by hand clapping in time with the music.

Greek folk music

The spoons in Greece, as a percussion instrument are known as koutalakia (Greek: κουταλακια), which means also, spoon. The dancers hold the wooden koutalakia, to accompany with a variety of knocks their dance rhythms. The most of them, are very beautifully sculpted or painted.

American folk music

In the United States spoons as instrument are associated with American folk music, minstrelsy, and jug and spasm bands. These musical genres make use of other everyday objects as instruments, such as the washboard and the jug. In addition to common tableware, musical instrument suppliers make spoons that are joined at the handle.

Russian folk music

Spoons are often used in ethnic Russian music and are known as lozhki (Russian: Ло́жки [plural]; Pronunciation:  Ложка [singular]). The use of spoons for music dating at least from the 18th century (and probably older). Typically, three or more wooden spoons are used. The convex surfaces of the bowls are struck together in different ways. For example, two spoons are held by their handles in the left hand, and the third, held in the right hand, is used to hit the two spoons in the left hand. The hit, in a sliding motion, produces a typical sound. One can also hold three spoons in the left hand and put a fourth into the bot or the pocket. A fifth spoon is then held in the right hand and used to hit the other four. Finally, one can hold the bowl of a single spoon in the left hand and hit it with another spoon. In this style, different sounds can be emitted by holding the bowl more or less tightly.

These wooden spoons are commonly used in performances of Russian folk music and sometimes even in Russian orchestras. A video of a choir performing a Russian folk song with spoon and balalaika accompaniment can be found below.

Turkish folk music

Kasik (spoon) is a Turkish percussion instrument. The ones made from boxwood are particularly favoured. The handles are taken between the fingers and the oval parts are held towards the inside of the hand in a back to back position. There are also different holding styles.

Musicians

• Duncan Campbell British Reggae singer, formerly the only registered spoon player with the Musicians' Union in the United Kingdom.
• Bobby Hebb and Noel Crombie are well-known spoons players.
• In 1994, Seattle Grunge band Soundgarden had a hit with the song "Spoonman" that features a spoons performance by street artist Artis the Spoonman.
• British actor Sylvester McCoy, who most notably played the seventh incarnation of Doctor Who, is adept at playing the spoons, as evidenced during his tenure on Doctor Who as well as in his role in Ian McKellan's King Lear.
• Sam Spoons, drummer of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
• Abby the Spoon Lady, also known as the Nashville Spoon Lady is a street performer known for playing the spoons.

External links

• Spoons by Aaron Plunkett as heard in the movie Titanic
• A video of a choir performing a Russian folk song with spoon and balalaika accompaniment
• 'How to play spoons' in the Irish tradition, on the National Museum of Australia's YouTube page
• Video of a fisherman playing spoon and dancing on a pier