Outstanding healing percussion that I fell in love with at first sight!!

I'm Satoshi Sammy Saito, a percussionist. This time, I will introduce healing percussion.
There are various types of healing percussion such as crystal bowls, steel tongue drums, handpans, slit drums, energy chimes, chajchas, and bird flutes. This time, I will introduce healing percussion that use grain (beads).

Healing percussion with beads

When it comes to healing percussion that uses beads, rainsticks and ocean drums come to mind. The common part of both is the sound of water. There are differences in the shape of the instrument, but by handling (rolling) the beads, you can play sounds related to water such as waves and rain. This time, I would like to focus on rainsticks.

● Rainstick

I think many people know rainsticks. It has a very simple structure, and in the extreme, it has almost the same structure as a shaker. You can play the sound of rain or ripples by holding both ends of the rainstick and moving the beads inside up and down so that the beads flow from the top to the bottom. At first glance, it sounds like an easy-to-play percussion, but it's actually very difficult to control the beads inside. This is because (1)rainsticks have different sizes(lengths) of musical instruments, and (2) the shape of the musical instrument may be almost the same, but the internal structure may be different. For example, if the inside of the rainstick is a wide cavity, more beads move faster, so delicate movement is required. On the other hand, if the inside of the rainstick is narrow and distorted, the movement speed of the beads will be slow and the amount of movement will be small, so delicate movement is not necessary and a little rough movement is required. In this way, the rainstick control method changes depending on the individual rainstick. However, the fact that the control method changes depending on the individual instrument means that the tones will also differ, so there is an advantage in that you can prepare several types of rainsticks and using them properly depending on the song or scene, so not just one, but several types.

Healing percussion that I fell in love with at first sight

This is a Strumok !!!

Strumok : A percussion designed and devised by Ukrainian musicians, the tone can be played with the sound of water , similar to rainsticks and ocean drums. There are four sizes of Strumok,[30 cm, 25 cm, 18.5 cm, 12 cm] and the surface design changes depending on the time of manufacture. As shown in the photo, they are disc-shaped, easy to hold and lightweight, but they’re not as durable as a rainstick, so care must be taken when transporting or playing. The playing method is simple, you can hold the Strumok with both hands (you can also hold it with one hand) and turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to play the sound. There are three main tones of Strumok: (1) babbling of a stream, (2) ripples, and (3)strong or heavy rain. If you want to make these changes, just change the speed at which the Strumok is turned to change the tone.

Design and sound

・Advantages of the circular design

① It is possible to play in a flowing manner without any interruption in sound.
② When stopping the sound, a small amount of beads roll and a beautiful fade-out occurs.
③ You can always play in the same position, so you can record with a microphone without worry.
④ It has a presence because it is hard to imagine what kind of sound will be produced from the outside.

・Role of surface design

The appeal of the Strumok is not just the beauty of the sound it plays. As mentioned above, the advantage and beauty of the circular instrument design is one of the attractions, but the most attractive and impressive one is the surface design. For all musical instruments, the beauty and coolness of the design is an important element that motivates musicians who play the instrument, and it is also an important element as a visual part of staging that is impressive. Not only does the Strumok surface design fully meet those elements, but a myriad of small sound holes are provided on the Strumok surface as part of the design to make it sound better. In other words, the surface of the Strumok is designed so that you can hear beautiful sounds while always showing a beautiful surface design to the audience regardless of whether you use a microphone or not.

Which beaded percussion is the best?

There are three beaded percussion names mentioned this time: rainstick, ocean drum(no detailed explanation), and strumok. But if I'm honest, I cannot say which of these is the best beaded percussion. It's difficult to compare because they all have different tones, volumes, and designs. However, if I’m asked “What is a beaded percussion that anyone can handle immediately and be ready for action?”, I can say that it is the strumok. This is because the internal structure of the Strumok is not just a cavity, but there’s also a stopper that can be applied to prevent the beads from going wild during performance (the maximum amount of beads that roll does not exceed the specified value), and there is no delicate control. In other words, even if you are not a percussionist, you can easily play the sound as a spatial or sound effect percussion, and as mentioned above, anyone can handle it immediately. It becomes a force to be reckoned with.
Beaded percussion sounds are all beautiful and have an impact. There are different tastes, but I can recommend the Strumok not only percussionists but also non-percussionists, so please try one out to get a new tone!

* Check out the sound of the Strumok in this video !!

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