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Cowbell
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The cowbell is an idiophone hand percussion instrument used in various styles of music including salsa and infrequently in popular music. It is named after the similar bell historically used by herdsmen to keep track of the whereabouts of cows.
Origins
While the cowbell is commonly found in musical contexts, its origin can be traced to freely roaming animals. In order to help identify the herd to which these animals belonged herdsmen placed these bells around the animal's neck.
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Encyclopedia
The cowbell is an idiophone hand percussion instrument used in various styles of music including salsa and infrequently in popular music. It is named after the similar bell historically used by herdsmen to keep track of the whereabouts of cows.
Background
Origins
While the cowbell is commonly found in musical contexts, its origin can be traced to freely roaming animals. In order to help identify the herd to which these animals belonged herdsmen placed these bells around the animal's neck. As the animals moved about the bell would ring, thus making it easier to know of the animal's whereabouts. Though the bells were used on various types of animals, they are typically referred to as "cowbells" due to their extensive use with cattle.
Almglocken
Almglocken, sometimes known as Alpine Bells, typically refer to bulbuous brass bells that are used to play music as a novelty act or tourist attraction in the northern Alps. Since they are tuned differently to distinguish individual animals, they can be collected "from the pasture" in random tunings, but commercial sets in equal temperament are also available. The metal clapper is retained, and they sound much more noisy than handbells, which are otherwise used similarly in ensembles.
Composers who included almglocken among their musical palette include Toru Takemitsu, Gustav Mahler, Roy Harter, and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Clapperless cowbells
Clapperless cowbells made of metal are an important element in Latin-American and go go music. These cowbells are struck with a stick - the tone being modulated by striking different parts of the bell and by damping with the hand holding the bell.
In several parts of the world (notably in West Africa) pairs or trios of clapperless bells are joined in such a way that they can be struck separately or clashed together. The Brazilian name for these is "agogo" bells. Cylindrical wood blocks played in the same way are also called "agogo". In Cuban music the cowbell is called cencerro and often played by the same player as the bongos. In Caribbean music two or three are often mounted together with a pair of Timbales.
This type of cowbell can also be bowed with a double bass bow. This produces a high-pitched, ghastly noise.
Cowbells in popular music
There are numerous examples of the cowbell being featured as an instrument in popular music. Early pop recording examples include The Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today" and Hugh Masekela's 1968 instrumental "Grazin' in the Grass". The Roland TR-808 drum machine was noted for its distinctive cowbell sound, which sounded almost nothing like an actual cowbell; the sound was highly electronic with a sharp, short decay. Regardless of its lack of realism, the TR-808 cowbell became a popular sound in 1980s R&B and hip hop music, popularized by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis-produced artists such as The SOS Band and Janet Jackson. Its distinctive and notorious timbre has enjoyed continued use by hip hop and R&B artists well into the 1990s and 2000s, as well as by bands in other genres such as Skinny Puppy ("Dig It"), the Super Furry Animals ("Juxtaposed With U"), Think Tank ("A Knife & a Fork") and the Dismemberment Plan ("You Are Invited"). DFA Records are noted for using a lot of cowbell in their remixes.
The cowbell gained popular attention as the subject of a famous Saturday Night Live skit popularly known as "More Cowbell." That skit parodied Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", one of the more successful pieces of popular music to feature the cowbell. Though Queens of the Stone Age have also used the cowbell in many songs, the cowbell sound in their 2005 single "Little Sister" was actually achieved using a jam block, but when they performed it on Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell, dressed like Gene Frenkle from the More Cowbell skit, played the jam block part on the cowbell.
Cowbells have been prominently used in songs like "Electioneering" by Radiohead, "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain, "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult, "Hair of the Dog" by Nazareth, Pigs (Three Different Ones) by Pink Floyd, "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad, "A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" by Dead or Alive, "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard, "Feeling This" by Blink-182 and in drum solos by Neil Peart of Rush also in Atreyu's song "Blow". The band Rage Against The Machine utilized the cowbell in many songs, such as "Township Rebellion", "Freedom", and "Killing in the Name". Tommy Lee uses cowbell in some Mötley Crüe songs such as "Live Wire" and "Dr. Feelgood". "Good Times, Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin.
In 2007, at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, one hundred and forty eight professed cowbell players came together and called first Executive Assembly's Conference of the International Association of Cowbell Players to order.
The world's largest cowbell is owned by its designer and builder, master percussionist Austin Giles. After being evicted from his apartment in April, 2008 for repeated cowbell-related noise violations, Giles has been living on the streets in Portland, OR, towing his cowbell in a purpose-built wagon and playing it for money on the street and at house shows. Giles is saving money for his next project, which he describes on his blog: "It's the largest cowbell anyone will ever dare to build. It will be just over 14 feet tall, and proportionate in all other respects to my current bell. Due to my recent housing crisis I've also decided to design the interior so that I will be able to inhabit it. It wasn't hard to make the internal structure work with the resonance, except that a window will unfortunately be impossible."
Sports use
Cowbells are sometimes popular noisemakers at sporting events, despite attempts to suppress them. In the United States, they are most closely identified with Mississippi State University, whose football fans smuggle in cowbells by the thousands despite a ban on artificial noisemakers by its conference, the Southeastern Conference. Elsewhere in college football, the cowbell can be found at Penn State football games, where it is played with a particular rhythm and accompanying chant.
Worldwide, in cross-country skiing, cowbells are often rung vigorously at the start and finishes of races. Cornell ice hockey fans who are also known for their zealous support of their team have cheers that feature use of a cowbell while in Lynah Rink. The San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League are also (in)famous for their fans' use of cowbells. In New Zealand, supporters of the Waikato Rugby Union invariably use cowbells at home matches; this has been carried over to home matches of the Chiefs, the Super 14 franchise centered on the Waikato region. They are also rung vigorously during cyclo-cross races. During University of New Hampshire ice hockey games, a small group of fans at the base of the student section show their support for the UNH Wildcats with a cowbell. This group also leads the chants and shows their support with posters and other props. Finally the 2006-2007 American Baskeball Association (ABA) champion Vermont Frost Heaves have a large cowbell following at their home games.
A small, intrepid band of Toronto Blue Jays fans at Rogers Centre frequently bring cowbells to Blue Jays home games. They are common enough at Tampa Bay Rays home games that the stadium scoreboard graphics crew have a pre-built graphic that says "More Cowbell!!". The Everett Silvertips fans also use cowbells, after the team watched the Saturday Night Live skit while on their tour bus in their inaugural season, and said they wanted the fans to have cowbells. They have a "more cowbell" that sometimes shows on the jumbotron. The Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League used the skit on their video scoreboard and "More Cowbell" as a catchphrase during the 2007 playoffs. Their goalie Edward Pasquale has several Will Ferrell characters painted on his goalie mask, including the one from the Saturday Night Live skit with the cowbell.
At Shea Stadium, the home of the New York Mets a season ticket holder referred to as "Cow-Bell-Poopy-Man" brings a cowbell to Mets home games to get the fans into the game and cheer on the Mets. He walks around all the sections of the stadium as fans go up to him to shake his hand and take a picture with him. Some Mets fans find him annoying but other appreciate his passion as a loyal Mets fan. At Shea during promotional Latin nights fans bring cowbells to the game. When Pedro Martínez is on the mound you can find a cowbell or two in the stands.
See also
External links
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