LP Latin Percussion Flex-a-Tone Standard LP1-5

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I aim to comment on and discuss several topics and phenomena I'm interested or specialized in (see underneath for more information). I had to listen more closely to Protoje’s song Hail Rastafari to ensure it was actually a Flexatone used in it. At least on these Culture albums One Stone and Payday, which are further nonetheless overall nice albums, in my opinion (despite subdued percussion, haha). Zuerst war ich über den Preis von LP erschrocken, aber auch hier hat Thomann wieder einmal bewiesen, dass es auch um einiges günstiger geht und trotzdem die Erwartungen erfüllt. Ich persönlich finde die Hausmarke in diesem Fall sogar besser, da hier das Blech nicht so schnarrt wie ein Federhall.

Subsequently, the history of the flexatone became remarkable after it was patented in New York in the year 1924.

Bells (cowbells), shakers (of different kinds), scrapers, thumb pianos, woodblocks, tambourines, cuicas, balafon, rattles, a. The player holds the flexatone in one hand with the palm around the wire frame and the thumb on the free end of the spring steel. The Wikipedia article on the Flexatone describes it as one such later invention, patented first in the 1920s in Britain and soon after the US, and used early on as “funny sound effect”, for theatrical use rather, but also in jazz music circles. On some songs of this One Stone album I seem to hear – softly - the “glissando”, characteristic of the Flexatone, setting it thus apart from other (metal) bells used. Based on existing models, again, yet quite original as such, this Flexatone, as it appeared since the 1920s.

While shaking the handle, apply pressure to the blade with the thumb which give a high/low wah-wah effect. The] flexatone [is a] percussion instrument; shaking it causes two wooden balls, one on either side, to strike a metal blade subject to thumb pressure, which thereby can produce spooky glissando effects. Percussion is also creative in Tom Waits’ more experimental work (like on the album Swordfish Trombones). The flexatone is notated using tremolo lines (rolls) to indicate shaking the instrument and lines to indicate the desired direction of the glissando or a wavy line ( chevron) to indicate alternating thumb pressure.I am pleased to notice, anyway, that the younger percussionists in current Jamaican music, continue the varied percussion (drums and idiophones) use of their veteran predecessors since the 1970s, like Uzziah “Sticky” Thompson, Noel “Scully” Simms, Bongo Herman (Davis) and others. I argue therefore that the flexatone does not sound very European – or out of place – within an often Africa-focussed - and at least African-influenced genre - like Reggae. Khachaturian included a musical saw in the score for his first piano concerto, a part now usually played by a violin.