The vibraslap comes from the African
jawbone instrument. This is the lower jawbone of a donkey or a zebra which has loose teeth that rattle when the instrument is struck. The instrument was carried by enslaved people to South America where it became known as the jawbone (quijada in Spanish). It became used in Latin American music in the ensuing centuries. The modern vibraslap was invented by Martin Cohen in 1967. Cohen was told by percussionist
Bobby Rosengarden, "If you want to make some money, make a jawbone that doesn't break." About the inventing process, Cohen remembers, "I had never seen a jawbone before, but I had heard one on a
Cal Tjader album. I found out that it was an animal skull that you would strike, and the sound would come from the teeth-rattling in the loose sockets. So I took that concept and invented the Vibraslap, which was my first patent." The vibraslap was the first patent granted to the instrument manufacturing company
Latin Percussion. ==References==