Shakers & Maracas

Shakers and maracas for classroom rhythm work, early years groups and wellness sessions, from EMUS, Groove Masters Percussion, NINO, MEINL, REMO, SUZUKI and Latin Percussion.

Both make their sound the same way, with small hard objects moving inside a hollow body, but they behave differently in a group. A shaker gives a continuous wash as long as the hand keeps moving, which fills texture. A maraca has a handle and a weighted head, so the beads land all at once with a definite attack, which makes it possible to play an actual rhythm rather than a general rustle.

For the youngest players, egg shakers and handle egg maracas are the practical choice. They are light, they cannot be dropped hard enough to break, and they come in packs up to eighty for whole-class use.

Traditional maracas in Mexican hardwood come in seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven inch, and the larger ones carry across a room. Rawhide and vinyl models sit between the two in weight and volume.

Beyond the standard forms there are seed pod shakers, goat hoof chajchas, fruit and vegetable sets, mini cajon shakers, the caxixi and the kashaka, and wearable shakers worn on the foot or wrist.