Whip (instrument)

"Slap stick" redirects here. For the type of comedy, see Slapstick.

In music, a whip or slapstick is a clapper (percussion instrument) consisting of two wooden boards joined by a hinge at one end. When the boards are brought together rapidly, the sound is reminiscent of the crack of a whip. It is often used in modern orchestras, bands, and percussion ensembles.

There are two types of whips. The first has two planks of wood connected by a hinge, with a handle on each. The percussionist holds the instrument by the handles and hits the two pieces of wood together, creating a loud whip noise. The other type also has two planks of wood, one longer than the other, with one handle, connected with a spring hinge so it can be played with just one hand, though it cannot produce sounds as loud as a whip requiring both hands. This second type of whip is technically a separate instrument called a slapstick.

A whip being used in a marching band pit ensemble

A slap stick made by Ludwig

Usage in classical music

This list is alphabetical, but is by no means exhaustive.

• John Adams: Nixon in China^{[citation needed]}
• Thomas Adès: Living Toys (the whip is played by the lead French horn player) and The Tempest^{[citation needed]}
• Leroy Anderson: Christmas standard "Sleigh Ride", where the instrument is meant to imitate an actual whip on a horse.^{[citation needed]}
• Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto^{[citation needed]}
• Benjamin Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Noye's Fludde, Sinfonia da Requiem, Saint Nicolas, Spring Symphony, and War Requiem^{[citation needed]}
• John Barnes Chance: Incantation and Dance^{[citation needed]}
• Aaron Copland: Rodeo (Buckaroo Holiday), Symphony No.3^{[citation needed]}
• George Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F^{[citation needed]}
• Adam Guettel: The Light in the Piazza^{[citation needed]}
• Daron Hagen: Shining Brow^{[citation needed]}
• Alun Hoddinott: Fioriture^{[citation needed]}
• James MacMillan: The Sacrifice^{[citation needed]}
• Frederik Magle: Symphonic suite Cantabile
• Gustav Mahler: Symphonies No. 5 and 6^{[citation needed]}
• William Mathias: Vistas, Laudi, and In Arcadia^{[citation needed]}
• Olivier Messiaen: Des Canyons aux étoiles, Saint François d'Assise, and Éclairs sur l'au-delà…^{[citation needed]}
• Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (the whip is used by the orchestrations of Maurice Ravel, Vladimir Jurowski and Henk de Vlieger's version for percussion essemble)^{[citation needed]}
• Krzysztof Penderecki: Symphony No. 1 (which begins with nine whip cracks punctuated by pauses)^{[citation needed]}
• Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G and L'heure espagnole (The Spanish Hour)^{[citation needed]}
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2 in G (last movement), Symphony No. 13, Symphony No. 14 and Symphony No. 15^{[citation needed]}
• Juan María Solare: Un ángel de hielo y fuego^{[citation needed]}
• Carl Strommen: Cumberland Cross^{[citation needed]}
• Frank Ticheli: Fortress^{[citation needed]}
• Michael Tippett: New Year (opera and suite version), The Knot Garden, The Ice Break, The Vision of Saint Augustine, Songs for Dov, and The Shires Suite^{[citation needed]}
• Edgard Varèse: Ionisation^{[citation needed]}
• Alexander Vustin: The Devil in Love^{[citation needed]}
• William Walton: Belshazzar's feast^{[citation needed]}
• Huw Watkins Piano Concerto^{[citation needed]}
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Die Soldaten^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Guban