Musical Bones

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A hand with two long, white bones between the fingers

The musical bones are most commonly known as an Irish folk instrument, but their history is richer than that. Bones are one of the oldest instruments in existence, said to have been played as early as 3000 BC in ancient Greece, Rome, and China. In more recent history in the US, they have appeared in genres such as 19th century minstrel shows, blues, bluegrass, and zydeco music. A player can make crisp ‘clack’ sounds by holding the bones in between their fingers and flicking the wrist to make them collide into each other in various rhythmic patterns.

How to Obtain

Authentic animal bones usually come from rib or leg bones of large animals. However, artificial bones made of wood also sound wonderful and are more commercially available. For authentic bones, I recommend searching on Etsy. For wooden bones, try Lark in the Morning’s online store.