How to Make Your Own Hand Percussion Instruments

• 1). Collect materials for the shakers. Coffee cans and aluminum cans are ideal containers. Plastic provides a different sound, so mix and match the metal and synthetic materials.
  
  
• 2). Shop for the interior materials for the shakers. Dried beans (navy and pinto beans are usually used) and dried rice work well. Visit a gravel pit or home improvement store for bags of decorative stones and gravel.
  
  
• 3). Organize the variously sized shakers. Large-size shakers will accommodate the larger stones while the smaller containers should hold smaller items, such as the dried rice and beans. The selection will be determined by the types of containers that were collected.
  
  
• 4). Prepare the exterior containers. Spray paint the exteriors of the cans. Be sure to do this in a well-ventilated location where there is also a place to allow the cans to dry. Spray paint designed for metal cans will not adhere to any plastic containers, especially when used for musical instruments, so also purchase specially designed spray paint for any plastic items.
  
  
• 5). Fill the shakers and attach the tops. Place small metal BBs into the plastic eggshells. Seal the edge of both eggs with the permanent glue. Use larger rocks to fill the coffee cans. Cut round circles from the cardboard to create tops for some of the cans. (The cardboard will create a much different sound from the plastic tops that were purchased with the cans.) Tape the lid edges with the narrow duct tape so that the interior materials do not leak out. Place the permanent glue inside the plastic lids and also seal the lids with the duct tape.
  
  
• 6). Put on some music and test the percussion shakers.