I howl in Greeting, Rakash!
Rakash currently don't have any OFFICIAL racial instruments. While I can't say what we'll end up doing for this -- is there any instrument (not currently already associated with a race) that exists in Dragonrealms (or doesn't exist!) that you think "fits" the Rakash vibe? Give reasons! Be specific!
I may only lurk this thread from this point onward.
~Evike
DR-EVIKE
THETECHNOCRACY
Re: Rakash Racial Instruments
06/12/2016 01:59 PM CDT
The Rakash language has a word for drums, vungadina, but not for anything else musical. Some sort of drum would be nice.
CAMUS
Re: Rakash Racial Instruments
06/13/2016 04:24 PM CDT
I always got the impression that a lot of Rakash culture has been really heavily influenced by the migration. Even when you get Rakash favors, there are visions of the migration, of flight from home, etc. I wonder if whatever musical trends exist among the Rakash now wouldn’t have also been influenced by that. Musical styles also emerge in very short timeframes. For example, jazz and blues, rock and roll. A popular music can emerge in less than a decade.
If Rakash music and style were influenced by the migration this might mean instruments that are durable, easy to carry, perhaps semi-makeshift. They might resemble the instruments of a nomadic culture or a people on the move. This would mean few instruments that required delicate metalworking or time-consuming construction. Fewer stringed instruments, which are more delicate, or instead stringed instruments with fewer strings.
This would probably mean lots of percussion instruments, but not as many percussion instruments with membranes or skins and such (membranophones). Fewer large drums with hides.
Here are a few examples already in-game that might have been practical migration instruments:
The guiro. It’s durable and small, you can just stick it in your bag.
Castanets, same.
The steelpan. Not really as heavy as it seems and more durable than a membrane drum. It’s not an actual drum but an idiophone, as it has no membrane. This also tends to mean it has a wide range of pitch though, so one steelpan might hold it down where one drum wouldn’t. I think steelpan has also been used in real life situations as a sort of background accompaniment to traditional storytelling. It seems like something the Rakash might have to me for reasons beyond the migration.
A walking stick flute (the Bardic recall on this made it sound like it served as an actual walking stick but it wasn’t totally clear).
Clay flutes & reed flutes. These can be made and carved easily on the spot and discarded as needed.
Bird-bone flute. Bardic recall says, “Small bird bones, each one carefully cleaned and hollowed out, have been drilled with an array of holes and strung upon a rawhide thong for wearing around the neck.” That’s kind of neat, probably also practical if it is to be worn around the neck, lightweight.
Shekere. Bardic recall describes it this way, “The shekere consists of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. The shape of the gourd determines the sound of the instrument, and bead work is added, as well as color. The shekere may be twisted, shaken or slapped producing a subtle variety of effects."
Claves. Bardic recall on these, “Claves are a percussion instrument, consisting of a pair of short, thick dowels. Claves are almost always made of wood, typically rosewood, ebony or blackwood. When struck claves produce a bright clicking noise, and are sometimes hollow and carved in the middle to amplify the sound. The usual technique is to hold one lightly with the thumb and fingertips of the non-dominant hand, with the palm up. This forms the hand into a resonating chamber for the clave.” These are also durable, lightweight, practical for a migrating people.
Gemshorn. Basically the remaining horn option, made from animal horn.
Here are some instruments not in-game that might work:
The cajon. This is just a box with a round sound hole cut in it. Part of the origins of this instrument might have just been old crates. I guess I could imagine Rakash on the migration packing their stuff up in these boxes, then sitting on them and playing them like percussion instruments in the evenings.
There are one-stringed instruments like the benta or the diddly bow. Some don’t have sound holes and are essentially a stick with a string. The benta was even made from a big stick of bamboo, with the string being a strip of bamboo pealed from it and left connected on one end. These would be easier to transport and maintain than a multi-stringed instrument.
Marímbula. It’s a little wooden box with like metal keys, or plates or strips over it that are pressed and plucked for sound. It can take a bit of a beating, can be small and easily portable, has a wide range of pitch.
Dhantal. This is kind of a fun instrument, it came from the iron yokes of oxen and was played with a horseshoe. In modern instruments you might see something that looks vaguely like an elongated yoke in steel that is played with a round steel device. If there were any pack animals during the migration maybe this was a thing too.
That's all I got. Maxwelinski, Rakash Bard.
If Rakash music and style were influenced by the migration this might mean instruments that are durable, easy to carry, perhaps semi-makeshift. They might resemble the instruments of a nomadic culture or a people on the move. This would mean few instruments that required delicate metalworking or time-consuming construction. Fewer stringed instruments, which are more delicate, or instead stringed instruments with fewer strings.
This would probably mean lots of percussion instruments, but not as many percussion instruments with membranes or skins and such (membranophones). Fewer large drums with hides.
Here are a few examples already in-game that might have been practical migration instruments:
The guiro. It’s durable and small, you can just stick it in your bag.
Castanets, same.
The steelpan. Not really as heavy as it seems and more durable than a membrane drum. It’s not an actual drum but an idiophone, as it has no membrane. This also tends to mean it has a wide range of pitch though, so one steelpan might hold it down where one drum wouldn’t. I think steelpan has also been used in real life situations as a sort of background accompaniment to traditional storytelling. It seems like something the Rakash might have to me for reasons beyond the migration.
A walking stick flute (the Bardic recall on this made it sound like it served as an actual walking stick but it wasn’t totally clear).
Clay flutes & reed flutes. These can be made and carved easily on the spot and discarded as needed.
Bird-bone flute. Bardic recall says, “Small bird bones, each one carefully cleaned and hollowed out, have been drilled with an array of holes and strung upon a rawhide thong for wearing around the neck.” That’s kind of neat, probably also practical if it is to be worn around the neck, lightweight.
Shekere. Bardic recall describes it this way, “The shekere consists of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. The shape of the gourd determines the sound of the instrument, and bead work is added, as well as color. The shekere may be twisted, shaken or slapped producing a subtle variety of effects."
Claves. Bardic recall on these, “Claves are a percussion instrument, consisting of a pair of short, thick dowels. Claves are almost always made of wood, typically rosewood, ebony or blackwood. When struck claves produce a bright clicking noise, and are sometimes hollow and carved in the middle to amplify the sound. The usual technique is to hold one lightly with the thumb and fingertips of the non-dominant hand, with the palm up. This forms the hand into a resonating chamber for the clave.” These are also durable, lightweight, practical for a migrating people.
Gemshorn. Basically the remaining horn option, made from animal horn.
Here are some instruments not in-game that might work:
The cajon. This is just a box with a round sound hole cut in it. Part of the origins of this instrument might have just been old crates. I guess I could imagine Rakash on the migration packing their stuff up in these boxes, then sitting on them and playing them like percussion instruments in the evenings.
There are one-stringed instruments like the benta or the diddly bow. Some don’t have sound holes and are essentially a stick with a string. The benta was even made from a big stick of bamboo, with the string being a strip of bamboo pealed from it and left connected on one end. These would be easier to transport and maintain than a multi-stringed instrument.
Marímbula. It’s a little wooden box with like metal keys, or plates or strips over it that are pressed and plucked for sound. It can take a bit of a beating, can be small and easily portable, has a wide range of pitch.
Dhantal. This is kind of a fun instrument, it came from the iron yokes of oxen and was played with a horseshoe. In modern instruments you might see something that looks vaguely like an elongated yoke in steel that is played with a round steel device. If there were any pack animals during the migration maybe this was a thing too.
That's all I got. Maxwelinski, Rakash Bard.
