Clapping sticks

Make some clapsticks and get going with some rhythm and rhyme.

You will need:

sandpaper
paint brushes
Paint
2 wood dowels or sticks ( up to 30 cm long )

Clapsticks, clapsticks, clapsticks, clapping out the beat
Clap them while you’re standing, clap them in your seat.
Clap them high and clap them low; clap them all around
Clap them fast and clap them slow, clap them on the ground.

There’s lots of different clapsticks, from all around the world
All the way through history – before we wrote the words
We Koori mob have used them to mark the music's time
And sing our songs of Dreamings – from long creation lines

Now when we live in cities we don’t use them quite so much
But when we hear them clapping, it gives us quite a rush;
It reminds us of our music, of life that went before;
Our culture is so rich and deep with what we have in store.

Depending where you hold them, the sounds they make will change
Tap them softly, clap them hard, and try to find the range.
Clapsticks, clapsticks, clapsticks, clap them all around
Hardwood ones are better – for making richer sounds.

We hope you like this poem – with rhythm and with rhyme
Clap it with your clapsticks, and try to keep to time.
Clap them to a song you like; clap them with a friend;
Clap them any time at all, clap right to the end.