To make things brief: There’s a new Mickey Mouse cartoon out, with Mickey in Rio for the Carnaval.
At one point, to aid in a Samba, Goofy starts playing an odd instrument. Which appears, with the relative lack of detail in the animation taken into account, to just be a straw-sized stick, held up to the mouse, and clicked against the teeth with two fingers, and producing a wooden clicking noise. Neat.
But I have no idea what this very simple instrument is, or what it’s called, and my efforts at searching for the answer—not exactly the easiest thing I’ve ever tried to pull off—have completely come to naught. Can anyone help me out? Before I go mad?
I have never heard of an instrument that is played by clacking against the teeth. The sound might be from a legitimate instrument, but I doubt that it’s played as depicted. Immediately after that it shows Mickey making a sound with his mouth that is actually from another Brazilian instrument, the friction drum. So I would not assume this cartoon is an ethnomusicology documentary.
As it so happens, I have been studying the Hornbostel-Sachs musical instrument classification. What we have here is clearly a 111 class struck idiophone.
Possibly classified as a 111.11: Directly-struck idiophone/ concussion stick.
Or a percussion idiophone (111.2 class) perhaps a 111.211 percussion stick.
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It sure does *sound *like the cartoon. He is not striking his teeth with that but there are two sticks that clack together, with the mouth acting as a resonant cavity and altering the tone. Also, the Clackamore is a one-off by one company, and not a Brazilian instrument.
As CookingWithGas said, Mickey is in the next scene imitating the cuíca with his mouth.
Minnie is rebolando and sambando with such vigor that she begins to fly. Mickey chases after to save her. When she realizes she is flying “Minnie, you’re flying!” she looks down and immediately falls. He then tells her to samba again, she says no, he then tells everyone to start playing music for her. So Goofy and Mickey improvise their instruments in the heat of the moment.
Neat little cartoon.
ETA: By the way, Brazilians will beat out a samba rhythm on anything available to them–it’s called batucando and is how everyone can contribute to the music.
Not arguing the ethnicity, but the Clackamore is not a new idea - I’ve seen that concept before somewhere (although it may not have been exactly the same - I think one rendition I saw comprised a Bic crystal pen resting on the lower lip, tapped with the finger and clicking against the lower teeth
I believe I’ve cited it for it’s content once and for it’s demonstration of the quick and accurate resourcefulness of the GQ community.
ETA: Memory chain:
tried to bullshit an answer for HS classification of bull roarer, which I had never heard of, and was publicly zinged by Professor.
On Music GMAT, or whatever they call it, was inordinately (and still am) I knew what a nail violin is.
My Brazilian friend said there is no such thing in Brazil. He said the sound is like when they play a tambourine with a stick. So I’m thinking they had a soundtrack and just put silly images to the sounds.
