Flexatone
{{Infobox instrument | name = Flexatone | names = | image = Flexatone 2005.jpg | image_capt = | background = Percussion | classification = Percussion | hornbostel_sachs = 112.12 | hornbostel_sachs_desc = Frame rattles | inventors = | developed = 1922 |range={{Plain image with caption|Range flexatone.png| E4–G5 / E5–E6 E2–G#4 / D#3–D#5|130px|center|bottom}} | pitch = medium | timbre = bright, metallic | volume = medium | attack = fast | decay = slow | related = musical saw, ondes Martenot, slide whistle, vibraphone, water gong | musicians = | builders = Playatone, Kolberg Percussion Steve Weiss Music | articles = }} The flexatone or fleximetal' is a modern percussion instrument (an indirectly struck idiophone) consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle. Used in classic cartoons for its glissando effect, its sound is comparable to the musical saw. History, construction and technique An invention for a flexatone occurs in the British Patent Records of 1922 and 1923. In 1924 the 'Flex-a-tone' was patented in the USA by the Playatone Company of New York. "An instrument called the 'Flex-a-tone' was patented in the U.S.A. in 1924 by the Playertone Company of New York. It was introduced as a new instrument, making 'jazz jazzier' and announced as combining the tone effect of musical saw, orchestra bells, and song whistle." "Small sheet of spring steel in a frame with wooden strikers mounted on either side. The player shakes the beater while bending the steel in order to change the pitch." The instrument was first used in 1920s jazz bands as an effect but is now mainly and rarely used in orchestral music. Wooden knobs mounted on strips of spring steel lie on each side of the metal sheet. The player holds the flexatone in one hand with the palm around the wire frame and the thumb on the free end of the spring steel. The player then shakes the instrument with a trembling movement which causes the beaters to strike the sides of the metal sheet. While shaking the handle, the musician makes a high- or low-pitched sound depending on the curve given to the blade by the pressure from his or her thumb: "As the thumb depresses the vibrating metal sheet, the relative pitch of the instrument ascends; as the thumb pressure is released, the relative pitch of the instrument descends." A vibrato is thus produced. While the instrument has a very limited dynamic range, volume can be controlled by how vigorously or delicately the player shakes the Flexatone. "Vibes generally make a perfectly acceptable alternative, especially when the music is somewhat indeterminate anyway." An alternate technique involves removing the two wooden knobs and their mounting springs, and then using a small metal rod (e.g., a triangle beater) held in the free hand striking the strip of spring steel. The pitch is altered in the same manner as the previous technique. "This method give the player greater control of the sound of the flexatone