Drumstick

In Cantonese opera, primary percussion instruments accompany the melodic instruments and include different sizes of woodblocks (large: bangzi or buyu) or (medium/small: duk or dik) played with wooden sticks (drumsticks). Percussion instruments play functions to accompany movements, speech, and song, suggest moods or emotions and used to create special sound effects, such as thunder or the sound of galloping horses. Wood block players must know every detail of the opera as they control the tempo of the accompaniment to the singing passages, and providing signals to the other percussionists.

Cantonese opera set of four cylindrical wooden percussion sticks or drumsticks (parts a to d).