What are Castanets?

Series Summary

Castanets are a percussion instrument with a long history in Roman, Latin American and Spanish culture. Popularized and most used by Flamenco dancers, castanet performances usually include to pairs of the shell-like instruments. The varying sounds from each pair and the dancer's manipulations of the clicks and snaps are what make watching the performances so delightful. In this free video clip series, our expert introduces you to the essentials of castanet playing. Learn how to hold the instruments, techniques for dancing and playing, finger techniques and performance tips for Flamenco dancers.

Video Transcript

"Hi! Thank you for visiting expertvillage.com. My name is Yvette Parrish. Some average castanets which is a percussion instrument that flamenco dancers use, kind of a same beat as a drum when you use your drum or when you… stomp your foot to a beat… what you are doing is a percussion instrument. So what I am going to do the castanets come in a pair and they have a knot on one side if you can see, there is a knot on one side and then on the other side is just a loop. Most castanets, some castanets not all of them have a marking. This one states R which is for the right hand and this one states L for the left hand. They have a little bit of a different sound to them. The right and has a little bit of a lighter chirpy sound and the left hand usually has a deeper sound, the left one I kind of remember it this way along with your heartbeat. You are doing all the fancywork with your right and when you use your left hand it is kind of like your heartbeat so it is a little deeper of a sound. So, you do not have a little R or little L on your castanets, listen to them and the one that is deeper will be your left hand castanet."