Claves are a percussion instrument

Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

 (idiophone

Idiophone

An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. It is the first of the four main divisions in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification...

), consisting of a pair of short (about 20 –, thick dowel

Dowel

A dowel is a solid cylindrical rod, usually made of wood, plastic or metal. In its original manufactured form, dowel is called dowel rod.Dowel rod is employed in numerous, diverse applications. It is used to form axles in toys, as detents on gymnastics grips, as knitting needles, as structural...

s. Traditionally they were made of wood, typically rosewood

Rosewood

Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...

, ebony

Ebony

Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...

 or grenadilla. Nowadays they are also made of fibreglass or plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

s due to the greater durability of these materials.
When struck they produce a bright clicking noise. Claves are sometimes hollow and carved in the middle to amplify the sound.

Claves are very important in Afro-Cuban music, such as the son

Son (music)

The Son cubano is a style of music that originated in Cuba and gained worldwide popularity in the 1930s. Son combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arará origin...

 and guaguancó

Guaguancó

Guaguancó is a sub-genre of Cuban rumba, a complex rhythmic music and dance style. The traditional line-up consists of:* three drums, similar to conga drums: the tumba , llamador , and quinto...

, and in certain types of German minimal techno

Minimal techno

Minimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...

. They are often used to play a repeating rhythmic figure throughout a piece, known as clave

Clave (rhythm)

The clave rhythmic pattern is used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as rumba, conga de comparsa, son, son montuno, mambo, salsa, Latin jazz, songo and timba. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Afro-Cuban rhythms...

, a key pattern (or guide-pattern, timeline patter, phrasing referent, bell pattern

Bell pattern

A bell pattern is a rhythmic pattern, often a key pattern , performed on metal bells such as an agogô, gankoqui, cowbell or similar percussion instruments such as the metal shell of the timbales or drum kit cymbal.-sub-Saharan African music:The use of iron bells in sub-Saharan African music is...

) that is also found in African music and Brazilian music. One of the better known recordings featuring claves is the Beatles' recording "And I Love Her

And I Love Her

"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by The Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney . The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.The Beatles performed "And I...

," in addition to "Magic Bus (song)

Magic Bus (song)

"Magic Bus" is a song written by Pete Townshend at the time of My Generation in 1965, but not recorded by The Who until 1968. It is one of the band's most popular songs and has been a concert staple. The record reached #26 in the United Kingdom and #25 in the United States.The song's arrangement...

 by The Who.

Steve Reich

Steve Reich

Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...

's Music for Pieces of Wood is written for five pairs of claves.

Technique

The basic principle when playing claves is to allow at least one of them to resonate. The usual technique is to hold one lightly with the thumb and fingertips of the non-dominant hand, with the palm up. This forms the hand into a resonating chamber for the clave. Holding the clave on top of finger nails makes the sound more clear. The other is held by the dominant hand at one end with a firmer grip, much like how one normally holds a drumstick. With the end of this clave, the player strikes the resting clave in the center.

Sources

• F. Ortiz, La Clave, Editorial Letras Cubanas, La Habana, Cuba, 1995.
• D. Peñalosa, The Clave Matrix – Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins, Bembe Books, Redway California, U.S.A., 2009.
• O. A. Rodríguez, From Afro-Cuban Music to Salsa, Piranha, Berlin, 1998.
• E. Uribe, The Essence of Afro-Cuban Persussion and Drum Set, Warner Brothers Publications, Miami, Florida, 1996.

External links

• Playing and singing with claves