Collection: Blocs sablés

EMUS sand blocks, in two models.

A sand block is a wooden block faced with sandpaper, with a knob or handle on top. They are played in pairs, brushed or rubbed against each other, and the sound is a soft, dry hiss with no pitch and no attack.

That quietness is the point. Sand blocks are one of the very few classroom instruments that can play underneath singing without covering it, so they work for a texture part where a tambourine or a shaker would take over the room.

They are also the most forgiving instrument in an early years music session. There is no grip to learn and no wrong way to hold them, and the sound responds directly to how fast the hands move, which makes them a good first lesson in dynamics for a child too young for anything else.

The sandpaper faces wear down with use and are the part that eventually needs replacing rather than the blocks themselves.