Castanets- a small shell-like instrument made of solid wood. It serves as an accompaniment to such varieties of flamenco dance as fandango, seguidillo, as well as Spanish folk songs. It is not so easy to combine playing the castanets and dancing, and doing it beautifully and directly, bringing out a fascinating pace, is even more difficult, therefore, at the present time, professional mastery of this instrument is becoming less and less common.
You will need
- - castanets
- - lace for castanets
Instruction
1. Remember that castanets are musical instrument. This is important, because if you do not take them seriously, it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve huge sensations in their development. There are two schools of play Spanish castanets: classical and folk. Both of them assume different handling of castanets, the method of fastening on the hand is also different in both cases.
2. In order to play the castanets, adhering to the classical genre, fasten them on your thumbs. Two halves, or shells, from the whole castanets are connected with a cord. It must be wrapped around the thumb so that the flaps close on one side, and are ajar on the other, so that it is allowed to tap on the upper half with your fingers, making a sound.
3. In your right hand, take the one of the castanets that gives the most high and brilliant sound. Its name is hembra. Second, the castanet sounds softer and quieter, it is called macho. The right hand is dedicated to bringing out trills and weaves, while the left hand emphasizes the core tempo with individual notes.
4. The popular genre of the game assumes a slightly different mount, because even the castanets themselves are used slightly different. They are larger in size, and their sound is lower than that of the classical ones. In order to secure them, wrap the lace not only around the thumb, but also around some other ones. For folk game no specific method has been developed for holding castanets, because all actors act a little differently. Therefore, fasten the instruments the way your teacher or favorite performer does, or be guided by considerations of sound production comfort.
Castanets used as a rhythmic accompaniment to dance. They are made from ebony, rosewood and other hardwoods. By the way, contrary to popular belief, the birthplace of castanets is not Spain, but Ancient Egypt, because it was there that it was allowed to meet the prototypes of modern castanets. From the 6th century BC, Greek frescoes began to depict dancing women holding a crotalo (from the Spanish crotalo - “rattle”, “ratchet”), which resembled long wooden castanets. Play on castanets not difficult.
Instruction
1. There are two main game genres castanets– typical and universal. Playing in classical genre, the musician fastens the castanets to the thumbs of both hands with the help of a cord, which fastens the two halves of the musical instrument. In the right hand, you should hold the castanet, which sounds brighter and higher (it is called hembra). The second, which is held in the left hand, is called macho. It is customary to play the castanet with the right hand with four fingers (index, middle, ring, little finger), which, like hammers, extract swift trills (or carretillas) along the outer half of the castanet. The left hand emphasizes the tempo with the help of separate notes (golpes).
2. Playing in folk genre, the musician usually uses castanets lower in sound and bigger size. Such castanets are attached to one or more fingers with the help of laces. Under the action of the hand, the halves of the instrument strike the palm of the hand and produce a loud, staccato sound, one that differs from the sound when played by the typical method.
3. According to classical school when playing on castanets it is allowed to extract five different sounds (ta, pi, pan, chim, ria), which differ in timbre. With their help, with skillful playing, it is possible to create a lot of beautiful rhythmic patterns.
4. Pick up castanets and practice - hit the castanets with each finger in turn (starting with the little finger) and gradually increase the pace. Be diligent so that all the extracted sound is distinct. When playing the castanet with your left hand, strike with your middle, ring and little fingers at the same time. The pace at which you can start learning, extract with your fingers right hand, and complete it with one note on the "left" castanet. Strive to achieve a rapid pace, alternate playing the right and left hands. It is allowed to occasionally strike castanets against each other.
Related videos
Note!
Instruments similar to castanets exist among other peoples: these are Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Swiss and Turks.
Helpful advice
With the support of castanets, it is possible to extract 5 different sounds, they all differ in timbre. Experienced musicians are able to create delightful rhythmic patterns, using such a small, at first glance, variety.
Word " " came from the Spanish "castañetas". They are percussion instruments. The same family includes, for example, a whip and Latin American sticks. These tools consist of two objects similar in shape. The performer must knock these objects against each other. This is how sound is produced.
They are two concave plates shaped like shells. The plates are made of wood, although Lately for this, fiberglass is increasingly being used. From above, they are interconnected by a cord, with which the castanets are held on thumb performer.
Castanets are very compact in size, which greatly facilitates their transportation. This is a compact tool that can be easily carried even in your pocket. Their size is usually from two and a half to five centimeters. Castanets are most widely used in Spain, southern Italy and Latin America. They were used to accompany dance in Egypt, Rome and Greece. However, the form of castanets that we all know developed in Spain, where this instrument is played important role V cultural life countries.
The name "castanets" in Russian is borrowed from Spanish, where they are called castañuelas ("chestnuts") because of their resemblance to chestnut fruits. In Andalusia, they are more often called palillos (sticks).
Castanets belong to the class of idiophones. This means that the instrument reproduces sounds using the same materials from which the body is made. Not all tools can boast such self-sufficiency. Many of them require additional components, such as strings or stretched animal skin. A violin will not sound without strings and a bow, and a drum will not “sing” without its surface with stretched skin. This is not the case with castanets. The wood needed to make castanets already makes a sound when struck. Simplicity, as you know, is the sister of genius. Castanets are a vivid confirmation of this.
The halves that make up the tool are hollow inside. Because of this, they knock loudly. Only at first glance it may seem that the parts of the instrument are exactly the same. In fact, the halves are divided into female and male. In the technique of Spanish dance left hand plays the male castanet, which has a larger empty volume, giving a lower sound. Right hand holding female half castanets.
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There are also orchestral castanets. They are tied to the handles or fixed on a special stand - "castanets-machine" - to make it more convenient to play on them.
In world culture, castanets are most strongly associated with the image of Spanish music, especially with the music of the Spanish gypsies and the flamenco style. Therefore, this tool is often used in classical music to create a "Spanish flavor" (for example, in the opera Carmen by G. Bizet). Every day the popularity of castanets and the mastery of the art of playing them in Russia is steadily growing. There are even special schools where they teach how to play this unusual instrument.
With the help of castanets it is very good to develop ear for music and a sense of rhythm. To do this, you can use a simple game: tap a simple rhythm or clap your hands, and ask the student to repeat - tap the castanets in the same way. To get started, just hit a certain amount of times, and then you can complicate the tasks more and more.
To play the castanets, the hand must make a certain effort. At the same time, the muscles of the hand are trained, and motor skills of the fingers develop. Castanets firmly entered world culture and confidently continue to win more and more new fans.
Spain is a state with fascinating history and culture. For many people around the world, the country is associated with bullfighting and the charming, expressive flamenco dance. Unfortunately, a real bullfight can only be seen in Spain, but things are much simpler with the national dance - they have learned to dance it all over the globe.
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Photo Gallery: Hot spanish dance flamenco - technique and types of performance
The magic of Spanish dance (photo)
Modern Spanish dances can be divided into several groups. Ethnic ones belong to the first group, they are performed by ordinary Spaniards, classical Spanish dances - flamenco, sardana, saltarella and others belong to the second group, ballroom dances, for example, belong to the third group.
Flamenco is the most famous Spanish dance. His incendiary rhythm and with a striking spectacle he conquered the whole world. There are two types of flamenco, which are stylistically different from each other in performance. dance moves- ancient and modern. In each of the types, another fifty genres are distinguished, but they are sometimes so close in technique that it is impossible to draw a clear line between them.
Like any other dance, flamenco cannot be imagined without such important attribute, like a feminine Spanish outfit. In our case, this is a long floor-length dress, complemented by a fluffy skirt with different frills, low-heeled sandals about 5-8 cm (for zapateado), sometimes helping the dancer beat the rhythm, as well as a Spanish shawl, which is decorated with long tassels. The colors of the outfit mainly consist of deep and burning shades - red, maroon, cherry, yellow, dark green and fiery black.
Flamenco performance is impossible without understanding the concept of duende. Duende is called the soul of the performer. Only the fire inside the dancer, the strength of his energy are capable of such a wonderful creation - flamenco.
Burning flamenco
There are no hard and fast rules in flamenco performance. Partners can safely succumb to improvisation. By the way, only girls often perform flamenco on stage, but in the pair version it looks much more harmonious, when a woman demonstrates her grace and coquetry during the dance, and a man demonstrates strength and courage with frequent steps.
Flamenco technique consists of several main points. First, you need to learn how to accurately basic steps so that the legs beat off a certain rhythm of the dance. Secondly, you need to remember about the proud and graceful body, which should be stretched like a string. And thirdly, we must not forget about the movement of the hands. If the dance is performed to a melody with a slow tempo or consists of a combination of a fast energetic rhythm and a soulful slow one, then it would be appropriate to make movements only with the hands - it looks like you are twisting your palms away from you.
The basic flamenco steps are based on the zapateado strike. For example, if you want to create a resonant blow, then it is worth hitting with the toe of your shoes, if it is more deaf, with the front of the foot.
During the flamenco dance, the following main movements are distinguished:
If you master kicking with your feet along with these two most simple movements flamenco, then you can safely proceed to more complex tricks.
Spanish dance with castanets
Spanish dances are always accompanied by the sounds of castanets. Let's take a closer look at this national musical instrument.
Castanets are made of wood. They are put on the hands of flamenco dancers - castanets serve as an accompaniment during the performance. If you hear the phrase "Spanish dance with castanets", do not be afraid that this is some kind of special dance. In fact, this is the same flamenco, they will simply perform it without additional musical accompaniment- only under the blows of castanets.
In order for the accompaniment to be of high quality, and the sound of the musical instrument to organically merge with the flamenco dance, you need to be able to pick up the castanets correctly, since the sound quality depends on their location.
Only people with extraordinary endurance and patience can play castanets. see these days solo dancers with castanets are rare. More and more dances are performed to traditional Spanish flamenco music played on the guitar.
If you still want to try castanets, here are some tips:
- In the right hand should be high-sounding castanets, in the left - more muffled.
- When picking up the tools, be sure to fasten them on your thumbs.
- Two castanets are connected by a string, which must be wrapped around the thumbs in order to be able to play muffled sounds by tapping the fingers on the surface of the instrument.
Spanish dances for children
Teaching a child the technique of Spanish dance is the right decision of parents. So, in children involved in flamenco, their gait gains confidence, and their posture becomes a beautiful graceful silhouette.
The main advantage of teaching children passionate flamenco is that the dance does not need any preliminary physical training. If a child wants to dance a Spanish folk dance, he and his parents should not worry about stretching, being overweight or underweight, low or tall. Absolutely everyone can dance flamenco, starting with the most early age. Moreover, dance helps many girls gain self-confidence and get rid of complexes, because we all know how scary they are sometimes in school age. Flamenco will make a little coquette out of a girl with good flexibility and plasticity.
As you can see, learning to dance Spanish dances is for everyone who wants to get rid of stiffness and complexes, whether it be physical or spiritual tightness. Moreover, flamenco is able to bring the dancer even out of a state of depression due to its mischievous, cheerful and incendiary rhythm.
We all have long been accustomed to the fact that at the mention of castanets, an image of a dark-haired Spanish dancer in a black and red dress appears before our eyes, beating the rhythm with her heels and writing pirouettes with her hands, while masterfully accompanying herself on the castanets. However, castanets are not a Spanish instrument at all, but first things first…
Origin of castanets
- a percussion musical instrument consisting of two concave parts (similar to shells), fastened together with a cord.
In world culture, castanets are strongly associated with and music, especially . However, Spain is not their homeland. Musical instruments of a similar design were known as early as 3000 BC. V ancient egypt. Later images of a similar instrument are found in Greek frescoes dating back to the 6th century AD, which depict dancing women holding in hands crotal(crotalo - Spanish ratchet, rattle), similar to long wooden castanets.
Castanets came to Europe during the domination of the Arabs on its territory. This instrument penetrated so deeply into the musical and choreographic culture of Spain that even after the departure of the Arabs it did not lose its popularity and became a folk instrument.
Design.
A musical instrument consists of two plates in the form of a shell, fastened together on one side with the concave side to each other.Traditionally, they were made from hardwoods, but progress does not stand still and more and more often they are made from fiberglass.
still exist orchestral variants. In one, they are attached to the handle, and can be either single or double. Double sound is louder.
In the second option, they are installed on a special stand. Both installation methods serve only for the convenience of the game.
1. Castanets are a pair instrument, and before putting them on your hands, you need to determine which one Hembra(Hembra - woman), they usually put a mark on her, and which Macho(Macho is a man). They differ in timbre, hembra gives a higher sound.
2. put on thumbs each hand. In this case, the node must be located with outside brushes. Hembra is worn on the right hand, and Macho on the left. IN folk style castanets are attached on the middle fingers hands In this case, the sound is extracted by hitting one castanet on the palm. The video shows how to properly put on castanets.
3. Repulses with left hand basic rhythm of music, and the rest of the intricate musical pattern is created by playing with the four fingers of the right hand.
When playing, 5 notes are used. These notes are not like the usual "do", "re" ....
Note TA. Played when you hit the left castanet with the ring and middle fingers.
RRI note. To produce this note, you need to strike in turn with the little finger, ring, middle and index finger right hand.
PI note. The sound is produced by the right hand, first you need to hit ring finger and then medium.
Note PAM(sometimes called CHIN). It is removed by striking the castanets against each other.
PAN note. To get this note, you need to hit both castanets with your ring finger and forefinger at the same time. Most often, this note completes the rhythmic sequence.
Video games on castanets.
Castanets video tutorial.
Castanets
Spain… What associations arise when you hear the name of this beautiful country? Of course, olive groves, gentle sea, sunny beaches with golden sand, exciting bullfight with angry bulls and brave bullfighters are presented. In addition, a picture arises in my mind with a graceful dark-haired girl who, to the expressive sounds of a guitar and the virtuoso clicking of castanets, performs an incendiary flamenco. It is hard not to recognize such a dance, the first movements immediately reveal the national Spanish flavor - this is a unique and very impressive sight.
What are castanets? This is a simple percussion musical instrument that creates an incredibly beautiful and clear rhythmic pattern. Castanets are widely used in many countries of the world: Portugal, Italy, Argentina, but only in Spain they are considered a cultural and national treasure, as they are an indispensable attribute of Spanish dance. And it is the performers from this country who master castanets to perfection, captivating the audience, causing delight and admiration.
The history of castanets and many interesting facts read about this musical instrument on our page.
Technique
Castanets are not easy to play. For masterful mastery of technique and virtuoso performance of complex rhythmic patterns on an instrument, it is necessary to study for a long time. The sonorous clicking and dryish sound of castanets, a percussion musical instrument with an indefinite pitch and belonging to the family of idiophones, arises due to the impact of hollow halves - cups. The castanets are played mainly with the fingers, and the finger technique is percussion instruments is the fastest.
There are two ways of performing on the instrument, which differ significantly from each other. One is called folk, the other - classical. At folk style use castanets more large sizes by attaching them to middle finger hands. Sound extraction occurs when the brush moves, which hit the instrument on the palm. This method creates a sharper than with classical style performance, sound.
IN classical style castanets are fixed on the thumb with a cord using two loops: the first is at the base of the finger, the second is near the nail. Instruments for the right and left hand differ in size and sound. The castanet for the right hand is called the hembra: it is smaller in size and has a brighter and more high pitch. It is played with four fingers, performing complex rhythmic patterns and trills. The left-hand castanet is called the macho - it is larger, has a lower tone and creates a rhythmic basis.
In the classical style, rhythmic patterns are created as a result of a different combinational sequence of five game elements extracted on castanets. They are called: TA, RRI, PI, PAM(CHIN), PAN.
Photo:
Interesting Facts
- Castanets are also called palillos in Spanish Andalusia, which means chopsticks in Spanish.
- There is a version that castanets were brought to Spain from the New World by Christopher Columbus.
- For about three hundred years, the Spanish gypsies, and with them flamenco with castanets, were in exile. And only in the 18th century flamenco "became free."
- Castanets sounded in the cinema already in the 30s of the last century in the films "Juan Simon's Daughter", "Maria de la O", "The Fandango Spell", where leading role performed by the magnificent Spanish flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya.
- Castanets are the most popular souvenir that tourists bring with them from sunny Spain.
Design
Castanets are two round halves, in the form of shells with small ears, in which holes are made. A string is inserted into these holes, with which the instrument is attached to the fingers of the performer. The tool is very compact in size and fits easily in the palm of your hand. Its width varies from 2.5 to 5 cm. Castanets today are made of various materials- this is ebony and rosewood, rosewood, boxwood, ivory, fiberglass and sometimes even metal. It is also worth noting that in orchestral practice castanets are used, which are attached to a wooden handle for the convenience of performing on them.
Application and repertoire
The scope of castanets is quite diverse. Commonly used in flamenco dancing, but also for rhythmic decoration of songs and guitar instrumental music, castanets are often used in musical compositions to reflect the characteristic Spanish flavor. The list of such works is quite extensive, the sound of castanets can be heard in the operas of J. Bizet, R. Wagner, K. Saint-Saens; ballets P. Tchaikovsky. S. Prokofiev; in spanish overtures M. Glinka, as well as in the Piano Concerto No. 3 by S. Prokofiev, the opera "Salome" by R. Strauss, the ballet suite "Sid" by J. Massenet, ballet "Don Quixote" L. Minkus, "Spanish Rhapsody" for symphony orchestra M. Ravel, the opera "Let's put on an opera" by B. Britten, the ballet "The Lame Devil" by C. Gide, the ballet "Laurencia" by A. Crane.
Notable artists
The Spaniards say that the sound of castanets conveys the rhythm of their hearts. And although this instrument is an essential attribute of Spanish dance, only real masters can skillfully combine complex pas with virtuoso castanets. The Greatest Performers Of the 20th century, who captivated the audience with their extraordinary performance on the instrument, José de Udaet, as well as his student José Luis Landry, are still considered to be. Among the talented masters who at the present time brilliantly represent castanets on concert venues and delight listeners with the sound of the instrument, it should be noted Lucero Tena, Emma Maleras, Carmen de Vicente, Inma Gonzalez, Console Grau Melet, Montserrat Carles, Belen Cabanes, Teresa Layz, Mar Bezana, Amparo de Triana, Gaby Herzog and Nina Corti.
Story
The history of castanets begins in ancient times. Similar tools were known in ancient times in many countries of the world. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Mauritanians, Chinese and other peoples used sticks - rattles for accompaniment, setting the rhythm of their dances with them. Images of such instruments are found on the frescoes of Egypt and Greece from the period of antiquity, starting from the third millennium BC. But how and when castanets appeared in Iberia, art historians are still arguing. There is an assumption that the Phoenicians or Greeks brought them to the Iberian Peninsula, but it is possible that the tools spread throughout Spain during the Arab conquests. However, castanets could also have appeared among the Spaniards independently of other cultures, and this version is also considered convincing, since archaeologists confirm it with their finds.
The culture of Spain has evolved over the centuries. It was strongly influenced by the Arabs and even the Indian gypsies, who began to settle in the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. For this reason, in Spanish musical genres new rhythms appeared, distinguished by a special color, passion and brightness. This is how flamenco was born - South - Spanish folk music, one of the attributes of which are castanets.
In the 17th century, their sound was used not only in folk music, but also in ballet performances, then in opera, and somewhat later in symphonic works when the music needed to be given a special Spanish flavor. In the middle of the 19th century, a special school was opened in Spain, where they carefully selected and prepared for various performances - dance show the most talented dancers who perfectly mastered not only the technique of performance national dances but also the art of playing the castanets. These artists amazed the audience with their creativity not only in the theaters of the country, but also in other European countries.
In addition to Spain, castanets were also widely used in Portugal, southern Italy and Latin America, but it was in Spain that they received the name and form that is now used throughout the world.
Castanets are a simple, but at the same time very interesting musical instrument. Its sound gives the music an unusually attractive flavor that creates an indelible impression. In Spain, castanets are treated with respect and reverence, because they are musical symbol this country. The Spaniards carefully preserve and develop the performing arts on an instrument that adequately embodies the national musical culture.
Video: listen to castanets
