Shaker: description of the instrument, composition, how to choose and play

A shaker is not only a container for mixing cocktails, which bartenders masterfully master. The concept combines several varieties of musical instruments at once. They are used to create rhythms. The use of a shaker in the dexterous hands of a musician can give the music an original sound.

Description of the tool

The shaker belongs to the percussion family. Sound is produced by shaking and hitting. The body can be of the most diverse shape, made of various materials. There are simple designs in the form of a ball or an egg. But there are also real masterpieces that differ in size, characteristics and pitch.

Sound production during the Play occurs due to filling the container with fine bulk material and rhythmic shaking. As a filler, sand, beads, pebbles, plant grains, shot can be used.

How to make a shaker

The purity, tone, softness of the sound depends on the materials of manufacture. The main condition is that it should fit comfortably in the hand so that it is convenient for the musician to carry out various rhythmic movements.

As a body, the softest sound is obtained from wooden “rattles”. But it is not easy to make a wooden case on your own. Therefore, other improvised items are used: coffee cans, a cardboard cylinder from paper towels, plastic cups glued together, aluminum beer cans.

The shaker can be of any shape. Cylindrical – the most common. At home, a percussion noise instrument is filled with cereals (rice, millet, peas, buckwheat). The contents must be at least 2/5 parts of the entire container. The case can be decorated by pasting it with colored paper, foil, painting with paints. Such a “rattle” is suitable for children, they can easily cope with playing a homemade percussion.

How to play the instrument

The filler makes a sound when shaken. Small beads, grains, sand or other material strikes the body. The musician during the Play holds the idiophone in his hands, shakes it in the direction to the right, to the left, up and down. For lyrical melodic songs, soft technique is more suitable. To extract a hard percussive sound, more active movements are made.

True professionals master the technique of playing with their feet. To do this, the tool is attached to the shoe.

How to choose a shaker

Plastic, ceramic, wooden, metal – manufacturers offer musicians a wide variety of types, but choosing a shaker for a beginner is not easy. Firstly, it should lie comfortably in the hand and not hinder the movement of the brush. Secondly, you can only find out how percussion sounds, whether it has a soft sound or an instrument sets an attacking rhythm, only by trying to play it yourself.

Instrumental accompaniment of songs, melodies with the help of a shaker is actively used in jazz, pop and folk music, in ethnic directions. Its sound makes the composition more expressive, bright, concentrates the listener’s attention on the rhythmic characteristics.