• . Robert Boer - He began making rhythm bones from beef ribs about two years ago, as "Dem Dry Bones," in Black Mountain, NC. He loves continually improving the product, and enjoying the huge amount of different sounds that real bone can make. For members, they're priced at $25 with free shipping in the continental U.S. Visit his site at www.demdrybones.biz, and/or email him at demdrybones@charter.net. Dem Dry Bones
• . Steve Brown. After years of making and purveying shinbone bones, is branching out into wooden bones as well. Healso sells Danforth bones, and those of other nearby makers occasionally.
  • Phone: (978)297-1104 Email Address: bones@crystal-mtn.com
  • . Tom Connolly. I make bones as a hobby that pays the bills for my music habit :-). I'm a self taught player, mostly use one pair but I love playing two handed as well, to Irish trad music mostly, but I like to play to any music with a good beat. I also play banjo, mandolin, bodhran and a little piano, accordion and ukulele.
    I also make the odd jig doll and have a character called Reeling Ray based on my Dad.
    I made my first pair of bones in 1979 and I still have them. They are still one of my favourite pairs. I like to make different sizes and shapes of bones and I love getting different tones from them. I make mostly ribs, and some shins. I have customised bones for a few people and love the challenge of meeting different preferences. Finally I decorate all my bones with simple logos and love when people ask for specific designs/logos/dedications.
    I supply all my bones with a carry bag, tied together neatly so you can't lose one, and a small leaflet describing how I play. I believe that in the world there is at least one playing style and one size-shape preference per bones player! Check out my website at www.irishbones.com. Slán go fóill, Tom
    
  . The Gillette Brothers. Guy & Pipp Gillette make rhythm bones from the ribs of Texas cattle that have dried in the sun and cured to make a resonant and loud instrument.
  
  • Camp St. Cafe & Store, 215 S. 3rd St., Crockett, TX 75835 1-877-544-8656 toll free
    http://www.campstreetcafe.com click on Buy Our Stuff. There is a printable order form.

• . Plunkett Percussion, Aaron Plunkett is a bones player, bones maker, and world percussionist. His site sells a variety of percussion instruments, including goat-rib bone bones joined with a leather thong, rounded lignum vitae bones, resin bones, and his instructional video. His latest creation is 'Blue Bones,' plastic bones cast in two sizes and tones, Alpha for regular and large hands with higher tone and Omega for smaller hands with lower tone.
  • Phone: 818-569-5465 Address: 1231 Blair St., South Pasadena, CA 91030
  • Link: http://www.world-beats.com/store/index.htm

• Link: http://geminichildrensmusic.com/
• . Triskele Rhythm Bones. Jim Hesch is a bones and bodhran player hand crafting rhythm bones made from alternative bones as well as domestic and exotic woods. Examples include 100 year old oak and elk. Quality instruments with significantly unique tones and appearance. Pictures and videos of these Rhythm Bones can be seen on EBay and Facebook at Triskele Rhythm Bones. Telephone: (518) 506-3119. Website: http://triskelerhythmbones.com. Email Address:Triskele_Rhythm_Bones@yahoo.com

Go To Top

Where to Buy Rhythm Bones the old-fashioned way:

• Bedroom Acoustic Music Wooden bones from Ampthill Bedfordshire, UK. They sell rosewood bones. To buy click on link, then click e-mail and send them an inquiry.
  • Phone: 01525 404304
  • Address: Kings Arms Yard, AMPTHILL, Bedfordshire, MK45 2PJ, ENGLAND
  • Link: http://www.bedroomacousticmusic.co.uk
• Cabin Creek Music they list bones available in native or exotic hardwoods. Mainly a dulcimer shop.
  • Phone: 276-388-3202
  • Address: 290 Bakers Branch Lane, Mouth Of Wilson, VA 24363
  • Link: http://cabincreekmusic.com/
• Celtic Shop New Zealand Wooden bones made by Peter Collier, and bone bones. Prices in New Zealand Dollars.
  • Phone: 0064 9 524-5949
  • Address: 252 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Link: http://www.celts.co.nz/music/instrum.htm
• Dr. Horsehair Music Co. Dr. Horsehair sells ebony and walnut bones-- just click on the "accessories link" for picture, and bones jokes! Also lots of Banjo stuff.
  • Phone: (909) 924-9888
  • Address: P.O.Box 9950, Moreno Valley, CA 92552
  • Link: http://www.drhorsehair.com/accy.html
• History Lives/Cooperman This site is also associated with Cooperman fife and drums. They sell bones as one of many historical museum-type items.
  • Phone:
  • Address:
  • Link: http://www.historylives.com/music.htm
• Musantiqua At 5.95 Canadian dollars, maybe the most economical bones anywhere. In French and English (it's a Qebequois outfit). There's a brief tutorial on bones, spoons, and limberjack, as well.
  • Phone: (450) 658-4962
  • Address: 848, 1ère rue, Richelieu, Qc, CANADA J3L 3W5
  • Link: http://www.musantiqua.ca/mus/inst/quebec/cuiller.html
• Noteworthy Instruments This is John Huron's shop in Bristol TN. He makes and sells bones made of cherry, mahogany, walnut, maple, figured woods, american chestnut (!), and persimmon (that's the only North American relative of ebony, folks). Also banjos, dulcimers, and many far stranger things.
  • Phone: (423) 764-3332
  • Address: John Huron, 1220 Windsor Ave., Bristol, TN 37620
  • Link: http://www.noteworthyjohn.com/bones.htm
• Rainbow Farms Dulcimer Works This dulcimer shop sells very affordable bones; look in the "other instruments" section, not the "percussion" section.
  • Phone: (770) 587-2523
  • Address: 360 Breechblock Drive, Roswell, GA 30076
  • Link: http://members.aol.com/rainbowfm/pricelst.htm

Go To Top

• Andy's Front Hall They say they are no longer a full service busines, but they still sell Danforth bones as well as the Sue Barber's How to Play the Bones booklet and CD. Pay online with credit card or PayPal.
  • Phone: (518) 765-4193
  • Address: Andy's Front Hall, PO Box 307, Wormer Road, Voorheesville, NY 12186
  • Link: http://www.andysfronthall.com/paypal/bones.html
• Ebay You can almost always find LP Worldbeat rosewood bones here, every single day of the year. Fairly often (maybe once every month or two), someone finds an old pair of Joe Birl's "Rhythm Bones" brand black plastic bones and puts them on auction (sometimes they're broken though-- be careful). Lately, his newer black wooden "Rhythm Bones" brand bones have been appearing. Less often, there are more unusual set of bones for sale.
  • Link: http://www.ebay.com
• Elderly Instruments These folks sell Danforth bones. They sometimes also carry other brands (As of 2006, bones made by Clif Ervin are in stock, for example). They sell several of the video tutorials reviewed here, as well. They are a big hitter in the folk music online/mail-order retail business.
  • Phone: 1-888-473-5810
  • Address: 1100 N Washington, Lansing, MI 48906
  • Link: http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/PER.htm
• Hobgoblin Instruments/Stoney End Searhc the catalog for 'bones.' They sell Atlas bones, Tommy Hayes DVD and Nick Drive Tutor
  • USA Phone: 1-877-866-3936
  • UK Phone: +44 (0)845 130 9500
  • USA Address: 920 State Highway 19, Red Wing, MN 55066
  • UK Address: P.O. Box 2522, Henfield, BN5 9SN, U.K.
  • Link: http://www.hobgoblin-usa.com/local/contfram.htm
• House of Musical Traditions These folks sell Steve Brown bones, and they also sell Whamdiddle bones for prices similar to Whamdiddle's. General folk instruments, also.
  • Phone: (301) 270-9090
  • Address: 7010 Westmoreland Ave. Takoma Park, MD 20912
  • Link: http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/percussion/percsml.html
• Lark in the Morning One of the biggest folk instrument retailers out there, period. Very wide selection-- bone bones, striped bones, laminated (wooden) bones, Shooting Star bones, Danforth bones, other wooden bones, and spoons. They also sell several of the video tutorials reviewed on this site.
  • Phone: (707) 964-5569
  • Address: PO Box 1176, Mendocino, CA 95460
  • Link: http://www.larkinam.com/BonesSpoons.html
• Barry Patton Barry sells bones in many hardwoods, mentioning ebony, osage orange, and rosewood on his site. He used to have a tutorial video for sale, and was promising another one ("Advanced Bone Playing"). His web site hasn't been updated for years, however, so send him an email and bug him!
  • Phone:
  • Address:
  • Link: http://www.barrybonespatton.com
• Planet TX Music Store These folks sell hardwood bones made by Walton's of Ireland (who are famous for making irish tin whistles and bodhrans, and who unfortunately never mention their line of bones on their own website). Prices are in Australian dollars.
  • Phone: (02) 4474 5000
  • Address: P.O. Box 265, MORUYA NSW 2537, Australia
  • Link: Look for them on Facebook.com
• Rhythm Fusion They sell Shooting Star Bones, made by their friend Mardeen Gordon. They also sell a package of 9 mixed pairs with a display case, which is really unusual. The display was described as being "made of clear plastic shaped like a rectangle paper holder."
  • Phone: (831) 423-2048, Address: 1541-C Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
  • Link: http://www.rhythmfusion.com
• River Lark Music Their hardwood bones are made in Tenessee by John Huron. Other folk percussion, dulcimers, and musical supplies, too.
  • Phone: 901-725-6976 or 1-800-366-5275
  • Address: P.O. Box 40081, Memphis, TN 38174
  • Link: http://www.riverlark.com/rhythm/index.html
• Roundstone Musical Instruments Malachy Kearns is an Irish bodhran maker He says, "I stock the original cow rib bones now...as well as ebony bones." Go to "order," click on your homeland, and you can see them in the price list.
  • Phone: +353 95 35808
  • Address: Roundstone Music Craft & Fashion, Roundstone, Connemara, Co. Galway, Ireland
  • Link: http://www.bodhran.com/
• Triskelion Folk Music These guys seems to sell mainly to folks who play or re-enact medieval or renaissance music. Wide variety of woods in several price ranges: low-- fir, mahogany, ash, oak, cherry; med-- maple walnut, curly maple, birdseye maple; high-- tropical hardwoods, including ebony; top-- ox shin bone.
  • Phone: 805-497-6421
  • Link: http://renaissance-faire.com/shop/Tri-Bones-and-spoons.htm

• Phone: (206) 910-8259, email: rick@whamdiddle.com
• Address: Whamdiddle, 1916 Pike Place Box 906, Seattle, WA 98101-1097
• Link: http://www.whamdiddle.com