Other Shakers

other shakers

Other Shakers

Shakers can be made out of anything hollow that you can open and seal shut. Just use your imagination! Or look through a catalog from West Music, or some other music source. They sell many shakers, and many of them can also be made at home, with little effort.

You can make shakers out of:

Small Whitman's chocolate boxes
plastic fruit or vegetables
pop cans or plastic bottles
empty spice containers - these are simple!
dried gourds
sample size shampoo or lotion bottles
yogurt containers
plastic Easter Eggs, Silly Putty or Leggs eggs
plastic film containers
Many more things!

You can fill the shakers with:

rocks, sand, beads, BB's
rice, barley, lentils, split peas
unpopped popcorn
beans, chickpeas
peppercorns
nuts and small screws
plastic shavings

Other materials needed:

exacto knife
super glue to seal holes
paper towels
small funnel

You can make many creative combinations from this list alone, or experiment in order to find the sound you like most! Below are some basic instructions on making shakers; but these will vary as you use different things to make or fill the shaker.

Plastic Veggy Shakers

1. Get some plastic ornamental fruit or vegetables that are thin and hollow. Get matching pairs if you wish.

2. Choose a plastic vegetable. Look for a seam or small round opening. Cut a slit about 3/4 inch long along the seam. Make the slit just big enough for the tip of the funnel to fit in. (If you're using bigger beans or rocks, you might have to put them in one by one.) Try to place the seam where the contents will not be shaking much against it, if possible.

3. Put beans, rocks, BB's, sand, or whatever you like inside the plastic shell to make it rattle. (I used popcorn.) Add as much as you like, considering weight, sound, resonance as deciding factors. If you're making a matched pair, try to make the weight of the two shakers equal to each other.

4. Daub super glue inside the slit and any other holes that there might be in the plastic shell. If necessary, use clamp to hold the slit closed. Allow to dry. That's it!

veggy and spice shakers

click to hear the sound of the veggy shakers

Spice Bottle Shakers with Lid

1. Take an empty spice bottle and fill it around halfway with things that rattle.

2. Seal the lid with super glue, applied on the inner thread of the lid. Put lid on, wipe away any excess, and allow to dry. (see finished photo of all shakers, above)

click to hear the sound of the spice bottle shakers