You wouldn't think that these simple percussion instruments would sound like much. But they make beautiful, melodic music, and look fun at the same time.
Sometimes it is the simple things that make the best sounds. Such is the case with boomwhackers. At first glance they seem very basic. A set of boomwhackers consists of brightly coloured hollow plastic tubes of varying lengths. That is all there is to them. There are no holes to cover or valves to press or strings to pluck. They make sounds when they are struck against another object. They can be hit against the floor, a table, or even struck with a mallet. Because they are different lengths, each boomwhacker will play a different note when, well, whacked.
Boomwhackers can be purchased in a number of different sets of either five, six, seven, or eight tubes. These sets are either pentatonic, diatonic, or chromatic scales. Higher notes are played with the shorter tubes while lower notes are played with the longer tubes. Since each tube in a set is a different colour, you can follow a piece of music by playing the corresponding colour, or note. Music is available to buy that shows the different notes in colour for those who are still learning to read music. All the boomwhacker tubes are the same diameter, at 1-3/4" around. They range in length from about eight inches up to about four feet.
There are many things to like about boomwhackers. They are a good choice to purchase because:
- they make a pleasant sound
- they are portable
- they are inexpensive
- any age can play them
- it is relatively quick and easy to learn to make music with them
- the colour coded music helps teach people to read music
- they sound equally good when played singularly or in a group
While the manufacturer, Whacky Music, Inc., has sold over four million boomwhackers to date, you still may not find them in your local department store. If you have a higher quality toy store in your area, that would be the first place to look. Otherwise, many stores do sell them by mail order. Depending on where in the world you live, you could try the following retailers:
- Grand River Toy Company (Canada)
- Empire Music (Canada)
- Out of the Box Toys (USA)
- Lark in the Morning (USA)
- Knock on Wood (U.K.)
- Judius (Australia)
