The Old Jawbone

In researching my book about Fleams, I have been looking up the jawbone as an instrument.  I was first alerted to this possibility by the film Silent Tongue.

A Good Western by Sam Shepherd

This film is highly recommended, with a brilliant Fleamsy travelling medicine show/circus.  Alan Bates (a Derbyshire native) is the leader of the medicine show.  The medicine show band are played by real-life band The Red Clay Ramblers.  They have a song called The Old Jawbone.  I bought one of their CDs and then found out some more about the jawbone as an instrument.

The jawbone is classified as an idiophone, shaken idiophone, rattle idiophone and percussion instrument.

The jawbone has been used as an instrument for several centuries in many cultures.  this instrument was originally created from the jaw of a horse, mule or donkey.  When the bone was removed from the skull, cleaned and thoroughly dried, the teeth became loose and when shaken or struck, produced a loud rattling sound.  this instrument continues to be popular in Latin American music and will often be adorned with small bells to add a different character to the sound.  It was also used as a type of tambourine in the minstrel shows of the late 19th century in the United States.

I am working on a lino-print of a jawbone musical instrument currently for my Fleams ABC project.