A Most Unusual Musical Instrument – the Triccheballacche

Key Facts

The Triccheballacche is a traditional Italian musical instrument made of wood, featuring three mallets that create rhythmic clacking sounds.To experience the Triccheballacche live, visit Naples or Calabria, where folk groups often perform with this instrument.For a taste of its music, check out the Tarantella Riggitana on YouTube, featuring virtuoso Alberto Luvará.

The Triccheballacche (top marks if you can pronounce it, by the way!) is a traditional Italian musical instrument. Made of wood, this instrument consists of three wooden mallets which clank or clack to the rhythm when the Triccheballacche player moves the outer hammers towards the inner one.

To see Triccheballacche’s in musical action, you’ll probably have to head towards Naples, or further south. In Naples and its surrounding area, you might come across folk groups with a Triccheballacche player. You’ll also come across these basic musical instruments even further in Italy’s south in Calabria.

Should a trip to Italy for a Triccheballacche hunt not be on the cards, read on.

I guess you are now itching to hear a Triccheballacche in action. Well, it just so happens that music with Triccheballacche players can be found lurking within the depths of YouTube.

Here’s a video in which you can hear a Triccheballacche in action:

Tarantella Riggitana

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOgqxigp7RU[/youtube]

Alberto Luvará is the, er, triccheballacchionist (?) virtuoso, with Nino Romeo on tambourine and Gabriele Pasceri on the squeeze box.

Italy has other curious musical instruments too. More of which, another time.

—–

Triccheballacche photo by ARCHIsavio.

Test your knowledge

Chad

+Alex Roe is from the UK, but has lived and worked in Milan, Italy, for many years. Alex has been interviewed by the BBC on Italy issues.He tweets news and information about Italy to over 37,000 Twitter followers via @newsfromitaly on Twitter.

Salvo Spagna Believes in Italy

Salvo Spagna, who I’m lucky enough to have as one of my clients, is an Italian who is

Gianluca Pellerito – Italy’s Jazz Drumming Prodigy

Gianluca Pellerito is not even 20 yet, but this Sicilian-born Italian jazz drummer has already made quite a

Rome’s Rip Off Passetto Restaurant?

Situated a mere stones-throw away from Rome’s famous Piazza Navona, a romantic meal for two Japanese tourists in the Passetto restaurant turned out to be such as costly experience that it probably left a bad taste in the two diners mouths.

The Mafia Moves into Milan

While the mafia has long been associated with Italy’s poorer southern regions and Sicily, there is now strong

Categories

The Eclisse Liquorice and Chocolate Experience

This week’s Food and Wine Friday feature takes a look at an Italian liquorice based liqueur.

The Inside of bar Cheerful in Milan, Italy

The Italian Bar

Italian bars come in many shapes and sizes, but they can be divided into two quite distinct categories – those that open in the morning and close at about the same time as the shops do – that is around 7.30 and the bars which are more akin to the English pub – except that they open in the early evening and finally close at around 2 in the morning.

Tornado Hits Venice

At around 11am today, a tornado hit Venice in Italy. Initial reports indicate that trees were damaged, market stalls overturned and some buildings were damaged.

Italy, One, P2, P3

Strange days in Italy. Whilst digging into illicit goings on surrounding the awarding of contracts for wind farms in Sardinia, Italy’s carabinieri police appear to have uncovered the insidious sequel to a mysterious illegal masonic group known as Propaganda 2, or P2 for short. Italy’s press have wasted no time in labelling the sequel, Propaganda 3. Or P3 for short.