 Traditional Style Cactus Rainstick A rainstick is a long, hollow tube which is filled with small baubles such as beads or beans and has small pins arranged helically on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the beads fall to the other end of the tube, making a sound reminiscent of a rainstorm as they bounce off the pins. The rainstick is generally used to create atmospheric sound effects or as a percussion instrument. Image File history File links Rainstick_01. ...
Image File history File links Rainstick_01. ...
A helix (pl: helices), from the Greek word Îλικας/Îλιξ, is a twisted shape like a spring, screw or a spiral (correctly termed helical) staircase. ...
Origins
The rainstick is generally considered to have been invented by Chilean natives in South America, and was played in the belief that it could bring about rainstorms. It was also used in 1521 by the Spaniards along the south coast.
Construction The materials used to create a rainstick vary depending on cultural traditions and the plants and materials available locally, and also the cost of production in bulk manufactured rainsticks.
Traditionally, a rainstick is made from the dried stem of a cactus, the spines of which are pulled out, reversed and then pushed back in. People don't use live plants anymore. They always use plants which have died naturally. Small pebbles or gravel fill the rainstick and strike the spines as they fall. Metal nails are also frequently used however natural cactus spines give a more tonal, musical sound. Genera See Taxonomy of the Cactaceae A cactus (plural cacti, cactuses or cactus)SEE REBECCA I WAS RIGHT is any member of the succulent plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. ...
Rainsticks may also be made from the stems of bamboo plants. Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...
Bulk manufactured rainsticks – for example those often used for educational purposes – are often machined from plastic or metal, the beads also being made from synthetic materials. This decreases the cost greatly.
Playing Technique The rainstick can either be tilted, allowing the beads to fall, creating an atmospheric effect like the sound of rainfall – intensity varying with angle. It can also be tapped to make a more controlled sound, or it can be used to create percussive rhythms as a shaker. The word Shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music. ...
External links - Make your own rainstick
- There is an article in a Peruvian journal, Quepo (Roque & Ramirez 2005. Palos de lluvia y Cactaceas) which describes the Peruvian species of cacti used to make these instruments.
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