Musical Spoons

Musical spoons from Trophy and Percussion Artisanale, in traditional pairs and Pro Series models.

Playing spoons is a folk tradition found across Ireland, Quebec, the Appalachians and Russia, and it is one of the few percussion techniques that is genuinely fun to learn. The two spoons are held back to back with a finger between them, then bounced between the other hand and the thigh, which produces a rapid clicking roll.

The instruments here are joined or shaped for playing rather than being kitchen spoons, so the bowls stay aligned and the spacing stays right, which is what makes a clean roll possible for a beginner.

Pro Series spoons from Percussion Artisanale are made in Quebec in the tradition of Québécois folk music, where spoons sit alongside the fiddle and the foot-tapper.

For a classroom, spoons are worth knowing about because the technique is a whole-body coordination exercise disguised as a party trick, and students will practise it without being asked to.