Aspects Junkanoo Music

Distinctively Bahamian, the music you hear at Junkanoo today is very much as it has always been. Rhythmic goombay drums, copper bells and mouth whistles soon sweep you up in the Junkanoo beat. Music is the most important part of Junkanoo. The rhythmic sounds of goatskin drums and cowbells -- accompanied by a separate brass section -- create a beat that’s too strong to resist!
Slaves, who originally made their musical instruments from cast-off items, fashioned rum or food containers into drums and scrap metal into bells. Today’s musicians use similar methods. Like their ancestors, they stretch goatskin across the drum opening and "tune" it by burning a candle under the skin to tighten it to the right pitch.


There are three main types of Junkanoo instruments.


Drums
The drums that are used are got skin drums. The barrels are usually wooden with an open bottom. In the earlier days the drums were on of the only instruments in junkanoo apart from the cowbells. The drums set up the basic rhythm of jukanoo and there are there is tum tum that is done by the drums alone.


Cowbells

The bells have been made from tin or cast iron. They range from sizes 6 to 14 inches. Cowbells keep the timing of the music being played. They are also a part of the original music of Junkanoo.


Brass Instruments.
In 1976 a new era of junkanoo had begun the brass era. This is the back line and sometimes the biggest and loudest section. It is the section that really brings the music out into songs the people know. It is one of the most favored section.