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The cowbell is a percussion instrument.In areas where cattle, sheep and goats are free to roam, bells may be used to identify those belonging to a particular herd and help trace their whereabouts when the herdsman needs to gather them in. They are commonly trapezoid, cylindrical or cup-shaped. These bells have been used in various musical contexts.
Greek herdsmen often use several bells attached to principal animals which produce a distinctive chord. The scale on which this chord is based is then reproduced in the herdsman's pipe - so he can play along with the herd! Similar bells have been used in Western European "Classical" music where a pastoral mood is invoked.
Clapperless cowbells made of metal are an important element in Latin-American music. These are struck with a stick - the tone being modulated by striking different parts of the bell and by damping with the hand holding the bell.
In several parts of the world (notably in West Africa) pairs or trios of clapperless bells are joined in such a way that they can be struck separately or clashed together. The Brasilian name for these is "agogo" bells. Cylindrical wood blocks played in the same way are also called "agogo".
Many popular recordings have featured the cowbell, most notably War's Low Rider.
During a popular Saturday Night Live sketch, Christopher Walken played famous music producer Bruce Dickinson, insisting that "more cowbell" is the key to making Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" a success: "Hey, guess what? I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cowbell."
Cowbells are sometimes popular noisemakers at sporting events, despite attempts to suppress them. In the United States, they are most closely identified with Mississippi State University, whose football fans smuggle in cowbells by the thousands despite a ban on artificial noisemakers by its conferenceNCAA conferences Division I Division I-A football Atlantic Coast Conference Big East Conference Big Ten Conference Big Twelve Conference Conference USA Mid-American Conference Mountain West Conference Pacific Ten Conference Southeastern Conference Sun Bel, the Southeastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a college athletic conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I-A. History The SEC was established in December 1932, when the 13 members of the Southern Conferen. The San Jose SaberCatsThe are an Arena Football League team. The Cats began play in 1995. The team plays at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, also the home of the San Jose Sharks franchise of the National Hockey League. The SaberCats are one of Arena's premier organizat of the Arena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League was founded in 1987 as an American football indoor league. Attendance at AFL games in 2004 averaged about 12,000 people per game. The Arena Football League also maintains a minor league called af2. The AFL was founded by Jim Fost are also (in)famous for their fans' use of cowbells. In New ZealandFor alternative meanings, see New Zealand (disambiguation). New Zealand is a country formed of two major islands and a number of smaller islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A common Mori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa popularly translated as Land, supporters of the Waikato Rugby Union invariably use cowbells at home matches.
Idiophones
Latin percussion
Drum kit components
