Got Bones?

[brewerpaul]

Anyone here know how to play the bones or spoons? I heard a fellow last night playing spoons, doing one handed rolls, etc, and it sounded terrific. Either instructions posted here, or links to good online tutorials would be appreciated. Thanks

[Norm]

Anyone here know how to play the bones or spoons? I heard a fellow last night playing spoons, doing one handed rolls, etc, and it sounded terrific. Either instructions posted here, or links to good online tutorials would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm currently make a set now out of walnut. Found a book called You Can Play Anything. In it is a plan on how to make your own bones, how to play spoons ect. I'll look up the info for the book and send you the info. Books not at home right now. If you want to make your own bones, you need a bandsaw, belt or drum sander. Get 2 peices of 8" long hard wood, 3/4" thick x 1" high. On the 3/4" edge, draw a double line 3/8" thick from one end to the other using a piece of bendable metal. The ends of the line do not close, should be 3/8" apart all the way. The arch should intersect at the top middle of the wood with the top line. Results should show a 3/8 " double line arching from end to end like a rainbow. Saw off the interior and exterior wood of each piece. You should now have two arching pieces of wood. I temporarly glued the two together, in a stacked, on edge configuration so I now have a 8" long x 2" high x 3/8" thick piece of wood. Now when I sand them, they will be the same. Thats the stage I'm at now. As far as "how to play them?" Your own your own, as I don't know how either.

[SteveK]

Did you look over on the Irish Trad section of the board, Paul. There's a discussion over there. Several threads down. I haven't read the whole thing but there are some bonsers who have participated.

Steve

[BoneQuint]

Anyone here know how to play the bones or spoons?

I play bones in a few bands, and spoons I'm pretty good at too. It's really best to teach in person, especially the bones. Very few people "get it" right away. I certainly didn't!

Here are a few online bones tutorials, I can't vouch for their effictiveness, though:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~cipin/bones.htm
http://www.varietyqld.org/MiscEvents/Bones.htm
http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/articles/bones.html

The HMT one has a good picture on how to hold them, but I've never heard of the "method #2" they describe, certainly I've never heard of anyone using their thumb to move the bone (if that's what they mean).

If those don't help, or you have any specific questions, just ask. Maybe I'll post some pictures or a short video clip. I do have pictures of some of my bones, along with a short clip of me playing each pair at my web page: www.tohu-bohu.com/bones/gallery/ -- click on the name of each pair of bones to hear them played.

I'm thinking of creating a simple tutorial-handout, and an online version as well, since so many people ask me to show them how. If I do that, of course I'll post it here.

Spoons are a bit easier (at least to get started). But again, the visual is easier -- I'll take some pictures and post them soon.

[elendil]

I play bones in a few bands, and spoons I'm pretty good at too. It's really best to teach in person, especially the bones. Very few people "get it" right away. I certainly didn't!

Ain't that the truth!

I have a son who's pretty good with bones and bodhran. I've never been able to get the hang of bones, but I agree they add terrific color. Martin Fay with the Chieftans has some really very tasteful examples of how the bones can add to a tune.

[Mongoose of Righteousness]

Our bodhran player would occssionally pull out bones, or an egg,or a frog (yes, a wooden frog....you run a stick over its back). Anyway, I had to kindly ask her to quit. It was throwing everybody off.

Some percussionists (bodhran included) forget that what they play is an INSTRUMENT...whether it be drum or spoons or frog...and it should be learned and treated with all the respect of any instrument.

When my wife played bodhran she suffered from "amateur percussionist" syndrome. Now that she plays harp there is a completely different attitude and she takes things much more seriously.

It's "only" folk music...but it's still music.

[nashradus]

Paul, I found this pretty cool site that teaches the spoons:

http://www.spoonplayer.com/

Since I don't have access to a pair of bones presently, I'm learning the spoons from there instead. Good luck and have fun with the noise-making !

[BoneQuint]

Okay! Here's a fun quicky spoon lesson, which is a little annoying with the animations I think (I had too much fun making those to not use 'em). You get what you pay for.

http://www.tohu-bohu.com/spoons/lesson/

[Wombat]

Tommy Hayes has a video out on C.W.Productions in which he teaches bodhran, spoons and bones. C.W is a Dublin company. I can give you their address if you want this and can't find a distributer.

[Zubivka]

Naaaow I get why Paul wants a Copeland Low D

he has only ONE tenor recorder, and needs a second broomstick to play
err... low bones?

Then take it in sterling! It can double to play, not exactly spoons, but still silverware

[Wombat]

[Quote: Zubivka]Naaaow I get why Paul wants a Copeland Low D

he has only ONE tenor recorder, and needs a second broomstick to play
err... low bones?

Then take it in sterling! It can double to play, not exactly spoons, but still silverware [/quote]

Trompbones again, eh? How sterling.

[Norm]

Anyone here know how to play the bones or spoons? I heard a fellow last night playing spoons, doing one handed rolls, etc, and it sounded terrific. Either instructions posted here, or links to good online tutorials would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm currently make a set now out of walnut. Found a book called You Can Play Anything. In it is a plan on how to make your own bones, how to play spoons ect. I'll look up the info for the book and send you the info. Books not at home right now. If you want to make your own bones, you need a bandsaw, belt or drum sander. Get 2 peices of 8" long hard wood, 3/4" thick x 1" high. On the 3/4" edge, draw a double line 3/8" thick from one end to the other using a piece of bendable metal. The ends of the line do not close, should be 3/8" apart all the way. The arch should intersect at the top middle of the wood with the top line. Results should show a 3/8 " double line arching from end to end like a rainbow. Saw off the interior and exterior wood of each piece. You should now have two arching pieces of wood. I temporarly glued the two together, in a stacked, on edge configuration so I now have a 8" long x 2" high x 3/8" thick piece of wood. Now when I sand them, they will be the same. Thats the stage I'm at now. As far as "how to play them?" Your own your own, as I don't know how either.

Here is that book information I said I would get for you.
How To Play Nearly Everything - by Dallas Cline
ISBN 0.8256.0199.1 Oak Publications $12.95
Talks about spoons, bones, Kazoo, washboard where to find & how to make & play. I liked it.

[fearfaoin]

The quenticential video for bones players, I understand, is called <A href="http://larkinthemorning.com/product.asp ... 76737">"Mr Bones"</a>.
It features the late Percy Danforth, "master of two-handed bones playing".

There's also a very amusing video, <A href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... deo">"Folk Rhythms"</a> by Appalachian folk musician David Holt.
He teaches many folk percussion techniques.
i.e., Bones, Spoons, Washboard, Paper Bag (seriously).
It's a nifty video, but not as in depth as Mr. Bones.

David Holt also has a video called <A href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ideo">"How to Play the Spoons"</a>.
I haven't seen that one, but I liked Holt's spoon instruction in "Folk Rhythms", so it's probably pretty good.

[cowtime]

A couple of years ago my husband's cousin visited and her husband played bones very well. He actually played with a group in Atlanta. He and I played together and it was great fun. He had never played with anything other than "ragtime" type banjo, etc. so it was new to him to play with me on whistle and shuttlepipe. Even though my music was new to him, he picked up on it immediately.

In the case of spoons, take your mother's best silver tablespoons and bend them till they meet back to back. Then tape the handles together and when the olderfolks are making music you bring out your new instrument and begin playing along to the thrill and amazement of one and all- (except your mother , who is neither thrilled nor amused.) This is what my brother did when he was about twelve anyway.

[BoneQuint]

I just wanted to add a comment on joining the handles or not. I've tried them both ways. It's certainly easier to start out when the handles are joined (near the very end) with rivets, epoxy, tape, wire, what-have-you. It's like training wheels. But you can't play many complicated and subtle rhythms if the handles are connected. You need to be able to vary the tension and pressure in your hand to adjust how "responsive" the spoons are when you're using different techniques. If you start with them joined, try to move to separate spoons as soon as you want to go beyond the very basics.