A shaker is a wonderful musical instrument that can be shaken, rattled, or tapped using your hand. It is played in a rhythmic way, which can be simple such as a 1, 2, 3, 4 pattern shaking the instruments on each note. It can however, be played more complex. It has been used in music and film production for a long period of time.
Whilst they are usually played in pairs, you can play them as singles which depending on the situation can be more or less effective. The sound from the shaker varies from instrument to instrument and they are usually made from small stone pebbles, seeds, beads, glass, plastic, wood, and any other material that is small enough to fit inside.
Shaker variations
- Egg Shaker
- Maraca
- Shekere
- Gourd shaker
- Cabassa
- Tambourine
- Caxixi
- Rattle
- Rainstick
- Foot Jingle
- Shamanic shaker
- Cas-Cas
- Rubber Seed
- Cha-cha Shaker
There are too many types of shaker to name them all, nonetheless, they are all fun to play. Shakers are musical instruments that can be used by children under supervision. Musical instrument can help develop fine motor skills, and have also been known to support creative imaginative play, as well as their social and emotional development for when they are playing musical instruments together in a group.
For this reason, they make a great gift for Christmas and birthdays for those aged between 5 years plus. For little ones you should ensure that you purchase instruments that have no small parts as this can be a choking hazard. For younger ones I would recommend either a tambourine or a shamanic maraca which would be great for their palmar grip. After use musical instrument should be put away out of reach of children to ensure safety. Kids must not play instruments aggressively as they could damage the instrument or cause injury. Musicians use shakers all around the world, and enjoy them whilst recording in the studio and also whilst performing on a stage. Tribes use shamanic shakers and drums around the fire whilst chanting on a spiritual journey.
We have a huge range of shakers made from natural seed pods, bamboo, exotic woods, fruits, cactus, coconuts and even cinnamon sticks, so check out our range of unique percussive music instruments and remember to get 10% off your first order with the discount code on our announcement at the top of the page.
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