The Goat Skin Drum

The Goombay drum is the main rhythmic component in rake-n-scrape. It is also referred to as a goatskin drum due to the fact that the skin of a goat( or sheep or cow) is stretched over a wooden barrel and secured with nails. It is decorated by simple or complex geometric designs using bright colours. The drum must al-ways be heated over fire to retain its tone. In 1971, when manufacturers started shipping products in metal barrels, wooden barrels were no longer readily avail-able so Bahamian drum makers (more so the junkanooers) used metal drums instead which slightly changed the tone of the drum.

The Quadrille is a very intricate dance. It encompasses a series of different parts originating as far back as the 18th/19th century in Europe and its colonies; performed by four couples in a rectangular for-mation. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six contredanses, and was frequently danced to a med-ley of opera melodies.

The Saw

Between 1920 and 1940 this musical genre was brought to the Bahami-an Territory by immigrants from the Turks and Caicos Islands. The blend of both cultures and Traditions gave rake and scrape music, the saw being the pri-mary instrument.

The saw creates sounds that can be compared to like instruments such as the Nigerian wood Guiro and the Cabash without the nuances pitch. Not only does it produce the scraping sound that can be done on many other percussion instruments in Latin American, African, Indian and Caribbean cultures to name a few. The wobbly sound created by the bending, hitting and scraping of the saw introduces unexplainable harmonic textures.

Rake and scrape music is played in the Bahamas, it's most distinctive characteristic is the common handsaw as the primary instrument.

The Accordion

Passing on the legacy of Rake 'n Scrape.

Hundreds of years ago our ancestors observed Europeans dance. The saw and goat skin drums imposed an African rhythm to the Quadrille dances.

The accordion was added later creating a musical style known as the Rake’ ‘N Scrape. For two hundred years, little boys on Cat Island learned to play by lis-tening and observing their elders at music gatherings in their village. However, as it was forbidden to touch the instrument, they had to find ways to sneak the instrument to try to reproduce what they had seen and heard. Diana Hamilton is the creator of the Accordion & French Camp (CIAO) who’s mission is to form a new generation of highly skilled accordionists and save this art from becoming totally extinct. The project sees the partici-pation of the last three pole bearers of this oral tradition :Ophie Webb, Franck Williams and Alfred “Pompey” Johnson.

They get to interact, share their music and tell their incredible stories. Jam sessions allow the children to practice with these seasoned musicians and forge a bridge between their future and their past.