Brown’s Bones (Bone) Steve Brown

“Real” bone percussive bones made by Steve Brown. Sold in pairs (2 pieces for 1 hand). Standard length are approximately 7 inches in length; shorter length is approx. 6 inches or slightly less). 

Brown’s Bones are solid bone with no marrow. Each pair is matched for sound and shape. With some pairs, each bone is curved. With other pairs, one bone is straight and the other curved (a technique the Drivers would occasionally used).

If you have specific needs for straight vs. curved, or a specific length, please call us during open hours to discuss your order (email is usually answered off-site, where we can’t see our current stock). Steve’s production continues to be very limited, so we appreciate your flexibility – we cannot always honor requests for specific shapes/sizes.

Steve learned bones playing from Percy Danforth and first worked with Milton Shipanka (an old Merchant Marine sailor) to learn how to make them. Brown’s Bones are very much like those produced by the Driver Family of Suffolk, England. The Drivers were the largest producers and exporters of bone bones dating back to the late 19th Century. Initially they made them out of Whale bone, but when Whale bone became illegal, they began to use bone from the leg of the cow.

Steve Brown has been making and playing bones since the early 1980s. He has been Executive Director of the Rhythm Bones Society for almost 20 years, and holds two All-Ireland titles. His bones are played by some of the best: Junior Davey, Mel Mercier, Tommy Hayes, James Yoshizawa, and Graham Hargrove.