Wood Blocks

The Wood Block is an instrument of Chinese origin consisting of a piece of hardwood in the shape of a parallelepiped, and on the 2 longer and narrower surfaces, deep grooves are carved (Nowadays it is common to find them made of special plastic material).

They are somewhat an evolution of the clog box or tap box, an instrument included in the drum kit that was used at the beginning of the 1900s in Jazz music.

Be careful, as you may also encounter the German word Holztrommel (wood drum) in a score, which is a somewhat ambiguous term because it can refer to either the wood block or the African slit drum.

Sometimes you might even come across the word 'legno' (wood), where it isn't clear what it refers to, so usually the percussionist arrives with something that resembles a wood block 😉

Thanks Valchiria, very precise 😉

> Sometimes you even happen to find the word wood, which no one knows what it is

Do you have examples to give?