Claves: Australian musical instrument

Claves are a percussion instrument that consists of a pair of short thick dowels of about 20-30cm. they are traditionally produced from woods, specifically rosewood, ebony or granadilla. In the modern day, the instrument is made produced of fiberglass or plastic because of the greater durability of these materials. When these instruments are struck, they produce a bright sharp noise. The claves are sometimes hollow and shaped in the middle to amplify the sound that it produces.

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Claves are so significant in Cuban music such as the son and guaguanco. The musical instruments are mostly used to play a repeating rhythmic figure throughout a piece that is recognized as clave which can also be found in African music and the Brazilian music.

The basic underlying principle or law when a player is handling this musical instrument is to allow at least one of them to resonate. The usual format is to hold one of them lightly with the thumb and fingertips of the non-dominant hand having your palm up. This will position the hand into a resonating chamber for the instruments. The sound of the claves become more clear when the player holds it on top of his ginger nails and hold the other on the dominant hand at one end with a firmer handling much like when one is holding a drum stick. And with the end of this clave, the player is now meant to strike the other resting clave on the center to give out the desired sound. Traditionally, the resting clave is known as the female “la hembra” while the striking clave is known as the male “el macho” and this expression is used even when the claves are identical.