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The Cowbell (cencerro)

The Cowbell is made out of hard metal and used to play strong rhythms. The musician holds the cowbell securely in the palm of his left hand and strikes it hard with a short metal stick. Often a wooden stick is used to play the cow-bell. It produces two distinct sounds depending upon whether the upper part or the edge of the instrument is being hit. At times in creating cuban rhythms two cencerros are used, one large one and another smaller one that is attached at the edge of the Timbales. In Rumbas and Congas the Cencerro is very important, but it does not lend itself to the Boleros or other smooth rhythmic styles. It is an important guide for the other rhythmic instruments and controls those which are part of the band. In the United States the Cencerro is known as the Cowbell because it is worn by cows.

Translated by Maureen Turner from Historia de la Música Cubana by Elena Perez Sajurjo

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