Raganella

The raganella (Italian for "tree frog") is a percussion instrument common in the folk music of Calabria in southern Italy. Technically, the "raganella" is a "cog rattle," producing a sound that is enough of a "croak" to have derived the folk name of the instrument from the Italian name of the common tree-frog. The "raganella" is about the size of a breadbox and consists of a wooden frame into which are fastened four or five stiff but flexible wooden tines fastened to one side of the frame; the other ends of the tines are struck in rapid succession by a cog wheel that is turned by a crank handle mounted on the side of the frame. Ottorino Respighi asks for one in the first movement of his orchestral work "Pini di Roma" ("Pines of Rome"). It is also used in "Gnomus" in Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition".In orchestral percussion writing a ratchet is used as a substitute.