How Are Maracas Played?
Maraca Basics Maracas are Latin percussion instruments made from oval-shaped items such as gourds or wood. They are filled with seeds, stones or even buckshot, and their sound is produced when the player shakes them in rhythmic fashion to the beat of the music. Played in Pairs Maracas are often played in pairs, either with matching pitch (roughly the same size and with the same material inside) or slightly varying pitch, depending on the needs of the music. Depending on the rhythms and the desired effect, maracas are either played in unison or in more intricate polyrhythms, where both hands play separate but distinct rhythms. Up and Down Shaking a maraca upward produces a slightly different sound than shaking the maraca downward (just as picking upward on a guitar produces a slightly different sound than picking downward). Chicken Shakers A popular alternative to maracas is the “Chicken Shaker,” a hand-held plastic egg filled with beads. This is a smaller, more discreet and more portab
