Maracas: history, video, interesting facts

Musical instrument: Maracas (maraki)

If you want to visit paradise on earth, be sure to visit one of the countries of the Caribbean region. The warm sea, the silk sand of the beach, the nature of amazing beauty, the sea of ​​entertainment and among them are passionate Latin American dances: salsa, cha-cha-cha, mambo, merengue, bachata, sambo, which cannot leave anyone indifferent. The virtuosic movements of the partners are exciting the imagination and, of course, rhythmic incendiary music that is emotionally acting from the first chord. Latin music ensembles can be very diverse, but they always include instruments that are rightfully considered to be a symbol of Latin American music. This is a shock-noise tool - maracas.

The history of the Maracas and many interesting facts about this musical instrument, read on our page.

Sound

Noisy-rustling sound of maracas is used as a background decoration in various musical compositions. It is formed by shaking the tool body, inside of which is a granular filler. When the granules strike the walls of the hollow body, the specific sound of the maracas turns out.

Instruments are usually used in pairs, and the sound of one maracas is slightly different from the sound of another. The performer holds them in different hands, but sometimes performs them on two instruments and one hand.

Many people think that playing maracas is pretty simple. However, this is not quite true. The performer, firstly, must have a good sense of rhythm, and secondly, be able to master certain techniques, such as staccato, swing, doubles, rolls and rudiments. There are even certain styles of play, among them Mexican, Caribbean and others.

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Interesting Facts

• Maracas are instruments of the group of idiophones, in which the source of the sound is the instrument body.
• Originally maracas were used by Indian shamans in ritual ceremonies. The Indians believed that the maracas had magical powers and helped to get the protection of the nature spirits they worshiped.
• Maracas in different regions of Latin America, in addition to the main, have other variants of the name. In Venezuela - dadoo; in Mexico, sonyah; in Chile, wada; in Guatemala, Chinchin; In Colombia - Alfandok, Karangano and Geras; in Haiti - asson and cha-cha; Panama - nasisi; in Brazil - bapo and carkasa.
• In Russia, tools called maracas have a distorted name. The exact name is maraca, and the plural is maraki. In Spanish, the word maracas is a plural form of the word maraca.
• The first appearance of the maracas in Russia dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. From Paris, they were brought by the outstanding Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, who in 1935 used the tools in his work Romeo and Juliet.
• Leonard Bernstein - the famous American composer, in order to achieve a certain effect in his symphony "Jeremiah" used maracas in a very original way instead of drum sticks.
• Currently, the American company "Latin Percussion", founded in New York in 1964, is considered to be one of the best maracas manufacturers.
• Maracas for tourists in Latin America are a very popular souvenir.

Design

Maracas, in appearance very similar to a baby rattle, have not changed much in their centuries-old history. They also consist of three parts: the body, the filler and the handle.

• The body, usually brightly colored, mostly has a traditional oval or round shape and is made from iguero (burlap tree), coconut nuts, willow rods, leather, wood, as well as modern materials: plastic, acrylic, fiberglass and even metal.
• Peas, beans, shot, beads, small pebbles and other materials are used as filler.
• A handle made of wood or plastic is usually unscrewed so that the performer has the ability to add or remove some of the filler, thereby changing the sound of the instrument.

Application

Currently, the popularity of the maracas is very high. They are very popular tools. It is impossible to find an ensemble performing Latin American music, wherever the maracas are used. Salsa, samba, cha-cha-cha, mambo, dream music, merengue, horopo, bossa-nova and many other musical styles that are difficult to imagine without the sound of maracas. But these instruments decorate with their sound not only Latin music. They are widely used in groups performing popular music, pop and jazz groups, in percussion ensembles, and they have also been used in the works of symphonic music. Such famous composers as Sergei Prokofiev, Leonard Bernstein, Malcolm Arnold and Edgar Vares very effectively introduced the sound of the maracas in their compositions.

It should also be noted that the instruments play an important role in primary music education.

Story

The history of the maracas is centuries old. Man has used various percussion instruments since the Stone Age, perhaps among them were rattle instruments, types of modern maracas. Where this tool appeared now nobody can say for sure, but there are two versions. The first option - the instrument first appeared among the Taino and Arawak Indians, who were indigenous to the Antilles and inhabited Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bogamy and Jamaica. According to the second version, the maracas were brought to Cuba from Africa during colonial times. However, the first option is the most plausible, since there is historical information that the instrument was already known in Latin America in the fifteenth century and led a parallel existence with an African relative.

There is an assumption that the maracas are not the result of the invention of human hands, and the creation of the magician-nature. The fruits of the burlap (calabash) tree, which the Cubans call iguero, dried out so that the seeds of the plant separated from the pulp and began to produce a peculiar noise when shaken. The Indians liked this sound, and they began to make similar ball-shaped rattles using small round-shaped fruits. Two holes were made in the casing, the flesh was taken out, dried and poured into it small pebbles or large seeds of various plants. The hole on the one hand closed, and on the other - attached handle. In addition to the fruits of the calabash tree, coconuts, woven willow twigs and leather were also used to make maracas.

Now maracas are very popular. For their centuries-old history, being initially ritual attributes, today they have entered the category of fashionable instruments, which have become widespread in various modern musical directions, as well as the youth environment. This suggests that a simple in design, but having such an interesting sound, the instrument will for a long time please the listeners, raise their spirits and give a sea of ​​positive.