The skrabalai is a Lithuanian

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tuned percussion A pitched percussion instrument (also known as a melodic or tuned percussion instrument) is a percussion instrument used to produce musical notes of one or more pitches, as opposed to an unpitched percussion instrument which is used to produce ...

instrument consisting of wooden bells.

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-shaped wooden troughs of various sizes in several vertical rows with one or two wooden or metal small clappers hanging inside them. It is played with two wooden sticks. When the skrabalai is moved a clapper knocks at the wall of the trough. The pitch of the sound depends on the size of the wooden trough. The skrabalai is gouged from a piece of hard wood –

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

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. The size of the troughs varies from small ones (7–12 cm. long, 5– cm. wide, 6–7 cm. high), to larger ones. The walls are 2–3 cm. thick. The skrabalai was used by shepherds from ancient times. They used to tie a wooden bell of this kind on a cow's neck, thus making it easier to find the animals in a forest if they strayed from the herd.

External links

Skrabalai audio examples
{{Percussion Lithuanian musical instruments Struck idiophones Bells (percussion) Pitched percussion instruments