Sound of a rainstick |
|
| Classification | Percussion instrument |
|---|---|
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 112.13 (vessel rattle) |
| Inventor(s) | uncertain, some theories include: Peru, Aztecs, enslavened African slaves in North America |
| Related instruments | |
| HoshoMaracasRainstickVibraslap | |
Many traditional cultures believed the sound of falling rain that rainsticks made could produce a storm. Although that belief has faded from contemporary society, rainsticks are still used to this day. The instrument is usually made from a long, hollow tube filled with pebbles or beads. Walls of the tube are stick with iron nails, cactus needles or something similar. When the stick is turned over, it produces the sound of falling rain.
Rainsticks may also be made with other common materials like paper towel rolls instead of cactus, and nails or toothpicks instead of thorns and are often sold to tourists visiting parts of Latin America, including the Southern United States.