Teponaztli · the Mexica two-note drum

What it is

A horizontal trunk, hollowed underneath, with two tongues cut into the upper face in the shape of an H. It is struck with rubber-tipped beaters.

The two tongues are of different length, so they give two different notes. One instrument, two pitches: that is what sets it apart from any other Mesoamerican drum.

What is missing

The instrument was borrowed and has to be obtained again. Two recordings hold up what there is, but it is not the same as a long series with the two tongues separately, several strikes and several beater positions.

When it returns, it will be re-measured and this page will be updated with whatever comes out.

What exactly was measured

Synthesised from original recordings. The process was this: a replica of the instrument was played and recorded, and from that take the parameters the engine uses were extracted by analysis.

A replica is built today, by someone with their own view of what measurements and materials the original had. Its timbre is that replica's — not that of a museum piece, and still less of one that sounded in Tenochtitlan.

That is why the timbre is declared measured and not attested: the measurement started from a real object, and that object is recent.

The original takes are not kept. What is published here is the sound the engine produces from them, with its fingerprint so that anyone can check it is the file it claims to be.

Questions that reach this page

What is the teponaztli? A horizontal Mexica drum, of hollowed trunk, with two tongues cut in the shape of an H. It is struck with rubber-tipped beaters.

Why does the teponaztli give two notes? Because its two tongues are of different length. It is one instrument with two voices, and that sets it apart from any other Mesoamerican drum.

What is the difference between huehuetl and teponaztli? The huehuetl is vertical, of hide, and played with the hands; the teponaztli is horizontal, of solid wood, and struck with beaters. One gives one pitch and a low body; the other two dry pitches.

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