# Jam block

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jam_block.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_block
> Source revision: 1317187764
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Modern percussion instrument}}
{{Infobox Instrument
| name = Jam block
| names = {{hlist|Gock block|blast block}}
| image = Jam Block on white background.jpg
| background = percussion
| classification = Percussion
| hornbostel_sachs = 111.242.1
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Individual bells
| inventors = Martin Cohen
| developed = 
| range = 
| related = {{hlist|[Woodblock](/source/Woodblock_(instrument))|[temple block](/source/temple_block)s|[muyu](/source/Wooden_fish)|[slit drum](/source/slit_drum)}}
| builders = {{hlist|[Latin Percussion](/source/Latin_Percussion_(company))|[Pearl](/source/Pearl_Drums)|[Meinl](/source/Meinl_Percussion)}}
| articles = 
}}

A '''jam block''' is a [percussion instrument](/source/percussion_instrument) developed as a modern, hard plastic version of the [woodblock](/source/Woodblock_(instrument)).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strain |first=James Allen |url= |title=A Dictionary for the Modern Percussionist and Drummer |publisher=[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers](/source/Rowman_%26_Littlefield_Publishers) |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8108-8693-3 |page=95 |oclc=974035735}}</ref> They are popularly used for their durability when compared to the traditional woodblock. They were created by Martin Cohen, founder of [Latin Percussion](/source/Latin_Percussion), after percussionist [Marc Quiñones](/source/Marc_Qui%C3%B1ones) requested a sturdier version of the woodblock.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lapidus |first=Benjamin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adAMEAAAQBAJ&dq=Martin+Cohen+jam+block&pg=PT93 |title=New York and the International Sound of Latin Music, 1940-1990 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4968-3132-3 |chapter=More Mass Production: Martin Cohen's Latin Production |oclc=1224583345}}</ref>

Jam blocks are usually attached to [timbales](/source/timbales) and [drum kit](/source/drum_kit)s, but they can also be used as standalone orchestral instruments. They are often used in [salsa](/source/Salsa_(music)) and other [Latin American](/source/Latin_American_music) styles, although some modern drummers have used them in [rock](/source/rock_music). They are also often used to keep time during marching band rehearsals where they are popularly known as "gock blocks".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Colwell |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmgPEAAAQBAJ&dq=gock+block+marching+band&pg=PA153 |title=The Teaching of Instrumental Music. |last2=Fonder |first2=Mark |last3=Hewitt |first3=Michael |publisher=[Taylor and Francis](/source/Taylor_and_Francis) |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-317-21273-7 |edition=5th |pages=157 |oclc=1007082083}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Woodblock](/source/Woodblock_(instrument))
*[Slit drum](/source/Slit_drum)
*[Log drum](/source/Log_drum)
*[Cowbell](/source/Cowbell_(instrument))

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Percussion}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jam Block}}
Category:Percussion idiophones
Category:Drum kit components
Category:Musical instruments played with drum sticks
Category:20th-century percussion instruments 
Category:Hand percussion
Category:Orchestral percussion instruments

[de:Jam-Block](/source/de%3AJam-Block)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jam block](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_block) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_block?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.