This article is about the musical instrument. For other uses, see Wood block (disambiguation).
Wood block
Dos bloques.JPG
Percussion instrument
Classification Percussion
Hornbostel–Sachs classification 111.2
(Percussion idiophones)
Related instruments
slit drum, temple blocks, log drums, muyu, jam block, simantra
Tubular wood block
A wood block (also spelled as a single word, woodblock) is a small, two-toned slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. The term generally signifies the Western orchestral instrument, though it is related to the time-beaters used by the Han Chinese and called ban. For this reason, the Western instrument is sometimes referred to as "Chinese woodblock". Alternative names sometimes used in ragtime and jazz are clog box and tap box (Blades and Holland 2001).
The orchestral wood-block instrument of the West is generally made from teak or another hardwood. The dimensions of this instrument vary, although it is either a rectangular or cylindrical block of wood with one or sometimes two longitudinal cavities (Blades and Holland 2001). It is played by striking it with a stick, which produces a sharp crack (Montagu 2002b).
In a drum kit, a woodblock was traditionally mounted on a clamp fixed to the top of the rear rim of the bass drum.