The Skulls which are also known as a temple block are a percussion instrument originating in eastern Asia, where it is used in religious ceremonies. The sound of temple blocks is similar to that of wooden blocks, although temple blocks have a darker, more “hollow” timbre.

It is a carved hollow wooden instrument with a large slit. The shape is somewhat bulbous. Several skulls of varying sizes are often used together to give a variety of pitches. Each skull is mounted with a clamp. In Western music, their use can be traced back to early jazz drummers, and they are also used in modern orchestral music, where they are also called dragons’ mouths. The particular skulls at the AJM are made of soft wood and are believed to be hand carved.

The significant skulls here at the museum was donated by a generous woman named Richelle McKenzie. The story behind these skulls itself is quite remarkable. She found these skulls while she was clearing out the shed. Her father used to be part of dance band in the early 1910’s where he played this 5-piece temple block. She wanted to find a safer and permanent home for these relic skulls and eventually found us. She was more than happy to donate the skulls to the Australian Jazz Museum knowing they are going to be well taken care of at the museum and displayed to the public.

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Ron Saindilands performing on the Skulls at Australian Jazz Museum.

In the early days Skulls used to be a popular instrument in jazz bands. They were commonly used to get different types of sound effects and noises related to studio work or theatre music. Nowadays skulls are rarely used in Jazz music.

When the skulls came into the museum they were in a poor condition. They were damaged, some were broken and all of them had to be re-painted before being displayed to the public. Frank Hambridge who is a great volunteer at our museum, kindly offered to repair them and he has brought them back to life. Thanks Frank, a great job.