Shekere

Shekere (in Portuguese, Xequeré) is a percussion instrument used in many musical genres, such as samba.

How does it work?

There are two ways to play the shekere. The musician can support mesh seed in his hands and turn the gourd (instrument's body) by its extremity. The sound is produced by friction with the surface of seeds of the gourd, for its interior is hollow. Another way to produce sound is strike the instrument against the hand's palm.

A bit of history...

The instrument has African origins and came to Brazil by slaves during the 19th century. Spread to the Brazilian states and nowadays is present in musical groups mainly in Bahia and Pernambuco, among others.