Castanets can be made of various materials. Many know them as those particularly noisy plastic gadgets, usually sold at carnival, and used by children to drive their parents crazy! However, there are versions of very high quality castanets, made of fiberglass, ebony or rosewood; the right type for you depends on the sound you want to achieve. Most castanets are shaped like two shells with small "ears" on which a hole is made. A cord is passed through the two holes to connect the two halves of the castanets. The two ends of the string are tied together with a slip knot, which allows you to adapt the size to the size of the fingers of the player.
Steps
Step 1. Before picking up the castanets, locate the "macho" (male) castanet and the "hembra" (female) castanet
Usually, the female castanet has a sign, while the male castanet has none. Also, the male castanet produces a slightly deeper sound.
Step 2. Traditionally, castanets were played by wrapping the string around the middle finger of each hand
Although occasionally still played like this in certain regions of Spain, today most castanet players wrap the string around the thumb; do this with the macho castanet in the left hand and the hembra castanet in the right hand. The string should rest on both sides of the thumb knuckle. Keep your fingers wrapped around the castanet inwards, loosely. If the knot is tightened correctly, the castanets open slightly when they are at rest.
Step 3. The basic sounds, which make up almost all of the rhythms produced by playing the castanets, are five
- The first is called "TA". It is obtained by tapping quickly on the castanet first with the ring finger, then with the middle finger.
- The second sound is called "RRI". It is obtained by tapping on the right castanet with the little finger, with the ring finger, with the middle finger and with the index in rapid succession.
- The third sound is called "PI". It is obtained by tapping on the right castanet (hembra) first with the ring finger and then with the middle finger. "PI" is identical to "TA", only it is played with the opposite hand.
- The fourth sound is "PAM", or "CHIN". It is obtained by beating the castanets against each other.
- The fifth and final sound is "PAN". It is often used to end a rhythmic sequence, because it is rather "conclusive". To play it, tap both castanets simultaneously with your ring and middle fingers.
