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{{Short description|Percussion instrument}}{{About|the percussion instrument|Chinese wood blocks|Wooden fish|other uses|Temple Block (disambiguation){{!}}Temple Block}}

factoids

| classification = Percussion| hornbostel_sachs = 111.242.221| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Sets of hanging bells without internal strikers| inventors = Woodblock (instrument)>wooden fish|slit drum}}Latin Percussion (company)>Pearl Drums>Meinl}}| range = | articles = }}Temple blocks are a type of percussion instrument consisting of a set of woodblocks. It is descended from the muyu, an instrument originating from eastern Asia, where it is commonly used in religious ceremonies.BOOK, Blades, James, Percussion Instruments and Their History, Bold Strummer, 1992, 978-0-933224-71-1, Rev., 391, 28230162, BOOK, Beck, John H., Encyclopedia of Percussion, Routledge, 2014, 978-0-415971-23-2, 2nd, 92, 939052116,

Description

It is a carved hollow wooden instrument with a large slit. In its traditional form, the muyu, the shape is somewhat bulbous like a bell, but modern instruments are often rectangular in shape.BOOK, Cook, Gary, Teaching Percussion, Cengage, 2018, 978-1-337-6722-2-1, 3rd, 243, 1100674819, They are generally played in sets of four or more to give a variety of pitches, in which they are also known as "tone blocks".BOOK, Kalani, All About Hand Percussion, 2008, Alfred Music, 978-0-7390-4964-8, 31, 227032333, In Western music, they can be traced back to early jazz drummers where they were used as exotic instruments before being later adopted into widespread orchestral use.BOOK, Cirone, Anthony J., The Art of Percussion Playing, Grover, Neil, Whaley, Garwood, Meredith Music, 2006, 1-57463-047-4, 1st, 88, 70782197, An updated version of the instrument made by Latin Percussion, known as "granite blocks", is made out of plastic rather than wood.WEB, Kight, Jacob Marcus, 2020, The Rearrangement and Assignment of Wind Band Percussion Parts for Optimal Performance,weblink Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations, Florida State University, 8, The sound of temple blocks is similar to that of normal woodblocks, although temple blocks have a darker, more "hollow" timbre.WEB, Skidmore, David, 2012, Wood / Temple Blocks: Vic Firth Percussion 101,weblink YouTube, Vic Firth, 0:38, video, In their most common configuration of five, temple blocks are typically tuned to a pentatonic scale. Chromatic and diatonic sets have also been made.BOOK, Holland, James, Practical Percussion: A Guide to the Instruments and Their Sources, Scarecrow Press, 2005, 978-1-4616-7063-6, Rev., 50, 681550519, Despite this, they are not commonly treated as pitched percussion.BOOK, Black, Dave, Essential Dictionary of Orchestration, Gerou, Tom, 1998, Alfred Music, 978-1-4574-1299-8, 246, 1120720854, Temple blocks are often used as sound effects, such as in Leroy Anderson's "The Syncopated Clock" and "Sleigh Ride", where they mimic a ticking clock and a galloping horse, respectively.BOOK, Kruckenberg, Sven, The Symphony Orchestra and Its Instruments, 2002, Chartwell Books, 0-7858-1522-8, 197, 51725370, They can also be used to reinforce the melody. John Barnes Chance's Incantation and Dance and Variations on a Korean Folk Song both have temple blocks introduce and double the motifs that appear within the music, with the latter using the pentatonic nature of the temple blocks to evoke the sound of the Orient.BOOK, Linaberry, Robin, Strategies, Tips & Activities for the Effective Band Director, Taylor & Francis, 2021, 978-1-003-03419-3, 20, 1200832393,

References

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