Maracas Facts: Play This Musical Instrument Made From Plastic

A musical instrument is a device meant to make musical sounds.

The history of music and musical instruments dates back to the beginning of human culture. An instrument that creates sound by being struck or scraped by a beater is also considered a musical instrument.

Percussion instruments are categorized based on construction, function, and ethnic origin. Percussion instruments are generally classified as idiophones and membranophones. Percussion idiophones include instruments like the xylophone, the hang, and gongs, which create sound by vibration without using air, membranes, or strings, whereas drums belong to the membranophones category.

Maracas, an idiophone percussion instrument, are often employed in genres of music like Latin and Caribbean, and South American music. One of the well-known maracas facts is that they are played in pairs. Though maracas may seem simple and can shake with a natural grip, mastering maracas needs practice and coordination.

History & Origin Of The Maracas

Known by various names, such as rattles, shack-shacks, and rumba shakers, maracas are a hand percussion instrument and believed to have existed as rattles for millennia in the Pacific Islands, the Americas, and also in Africa.

The history of maracas can be traced through the artwork of pre-Columbian Indians, such as tribes in Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Around 500 BC, the Araucanian people described gourd rattles as maracas, and they may have been the first to use the word 'maraca'. However, some historians believe that the word 'maraca' originated from the Tupi people in pre-colonial Brazil. Brazilian Tupinamba and other Indian tribes like the Guarani and Garifuna considered maracas as the rattles of divination.

Ancient records of maracas show that the Guinean legend in West Africa describes the maraca as being made by a goddess out of a gourd and white pebbles. 

Whatever may be the history and origin of this percussion instrument, maracas have established an important status and place in the world of music.

Different Types Of Maracas

Maracas players in South America favor different varieties of gourds though they are also available in wood, fiber, rawhide, and plastic.

Music in Colombia employs the typical maracas. Music ensembled in the Andes Mountains plays maracas known as gapachos, which are smaller in size and filled with the gapacho plant's seeds.

Paraguay musicians, percussionists, and music composers use maracas made from the porrongo gourd.

Plastic maracas in bright colors with small, round bells are also used as fun toys and teaching tools for children.

Maracas also differ in the sound they produce. They can be higher or lower than one another, and composers will pick one depending on the desired sound. 

The Manufacturing Process

Musical instruments are made out of various materials and vary by application and culture, and so do maracas.

According to West African legend, the first maracas were made by a goddess, the rind of the calabash fruit was used to make maracas. Human hair was fastened on the top, and a slit cut represented a mouth to utter shamans.

A few pebbles were inserted inside to make the maracas rattle, and red feathers of the guarás were used to crown them.

Three major parts are needed to manufacture maracas; the hollow oval top called the bell, the filler in the bell, and the handle to shake it.

The bell can be made by drying and hollowing out almost any kind of gourd. Mass manufacturers of gourd rattle maracas usually source gourds from farmers. After thoroughly cleaning them, both the gourds and their seeds are dried in climate-controlled rooms for months. Later, they are fashioned into maracas by filling them with seeds, beans, or stones.

The drying and cleaning process involves cutting off the gourd's narrow end using a thin-bladed band saw. The membranes and seeds are then scraped out of the gourd using knives or spoons with long handles and a narrow bowl. The seeds get washed, dried, and saved while the membranes get disposed of.

The outside of dried gourds are sanded to smoothen the surface. Then the gourd is filled partially with seeds and other things like small stones, beans, or white pebbles.

Manufacturers use their special formula for filling the bells in mass production and based on the choice of sounds requested by percussionists in custom-made maracas. An unequal number of pebbles are used in a pair of maracas to make their sound distinctive.

Wooden handles are cut into required lengths and appropriate shapes and fixed to the guards in case the necks of the gourds are not used. The handle is shaped with rounded ridges using a lathe, giving maracas an easy grip when you shake them.

If the neck end of the gourd is cut off for the easy removal of membranes and seeds, and for quick drying, then the end of the handle is cut into a funnel-like shape to fit inside the gourd. Once fitted to the guard, the handles are glued onto the gourds.

After the glue has dried, the gourd-handle is sanded to smoothen the joint.

Another method is used when handles are not matched to the bells. A transition join may be required between the handle and each gourd in this case.

A round piece of wood glued to both sections and wrapped with binding is used in some maraca styles to give them an attractive finish.

A twine soaked in glue is wound around the handle top and the lower end of the bell is another method used to tie them together. The second layer of twine binding gives them the required smoothness in appearance.

Some handles resemble wood pieces called dowels and are much simpler. The handles in various shapes and types are stored for assembly when the gourds are ready.

Bells of maracas nowadays have also been made with leather, plastic, and wood.

Though plastic and other materials are now used to make maracas, they fulfill the same role in music accompaniment in Latin bands, retaining the same distinctive sound.

Famous Maraca Players In The World

Mick Jagger, an English singer, was one of the founder members of the Rolling Stones, an English rock band. He was also an actor, songwriter, and film producer. Mick Jagger rocked the maracas or rumba shakers in many of the Rolling Stone’s singles.

Jack Ashford, known as Jashford, is an American musician and percussionist. He performed in the 1960s and early 1970s for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band. Ashford became famous for playing the tambourine in Motown recordings.

Mark Berry, an English percussionist, dancer, and DJ, also known as Bez, is a member of the rock bands, Happy Mondays and Black Grape. Bez is famous as a dancer, maraca player, and mascot of the rock band, called Happy Mondays. Well-known for his bizarre style of dancing and maracas use, Mark is a media personality.

Jerome Green was famous for playing maracas. He was an occasional lyricist and vocalist. Green's performances on maracas often consisted of two or more in each hand. This influenced British R&B groups, including the Rolling Stones, Them, The Pretty Things, Manfred Mann, and The Animals to incorporate maracas in their shows.

Edward Harrison, the Artist Faculty and Head of Percussion at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, is the Principal Timpanist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He is an internationally known maraca expert.

The world's first concerto for a maraca soloist was performed by him in 1999 at Chicago's Orchestra Hall. It was written for him by Ricardo Lorenz and was performed with the symphony orchestra.

FAQs

Do maracas come from Morocco?

No. Maracas are believed to have originated in South America, though it was believed that some kinds of rattles were used in West African civilizations.

Who used maracas?

Maracas were used by musicians to keep the beat and provide rhythmic accompaniment.

Are maracas used in Brazil?

Yes, maracas are used in Brazil.

What sound do maracas make?

Maracas produce different rattling sounds depending on the outer material, inner fillings, and size of the maracas.

Who is the best maraca player?

There are many well-known maraca players. It is believed that Mick Jagger is one of the best who ever played maracas in different Rolling Stone’s singles.

What were maracas originally used for?

Latin America's indigenous inhabitants used maracas originally in religious ceremonies and chants in Latin America.

Who invented the maracas?

The maracas are believed to have been invented by the Tainos, the native Indians of Puerto Rico, originally made from the round-shaped fruit of the higuera tree.