Wooden Cabasa 8.5 cm | Scraping Percussion Instrument for Schools

Nearly every instrument in a classroom box produces a sound that starts and stops. The cabasa produces one that continues, which is a different musical idea and a different physical action.

Playing it means holding the handle in one hand and rotating the beaded chains against the cylinder with the other — two hands doing genuinely different jobs at once. That is harder than shaking, and it takes children a few attempts to get a smooth continuous sound rather than a stuttering one.

The texture is the other draw. Running the beads under the palm is a strongly tactile experience, and settings with sensory-seeking children find this instrument gets picked up repeatedly for the feel of it as much as the sound.

At 8.5 cm diameter on a wooden handle it is compact and robust, and the chain is fixed at both ends so it cannot be unwound.

• Sustained sound — continues while the child keeps turning
• Two hands doing different jobs: a real coordination task
• Strong tactile feedback for sensory-seeking children
• 8.5 cm cylinder on a wooden handle; chain fixed at both ends
• Recommended ages 4–10

For KG and primary music, sensory rooms and world-music topics.