Shekeres come in a wide variety of sizes and bead colors. The nylon cord used for the African shekere net is traditional white. Motherland Music can special order custom shekeres of 16" diameter and larger (warning: they aren't cheap), and we do have a nice selection (15" and smaller) already in stock. Each shekere is a handmade work of art, and all Motherland shekeres are guaranteed to sound very good or great!

Due to geometry (area increases with 4 Π × radius) and cost of materials, a shekere 11" (28 cm) or larger in diameter is considered professional size and will be substantially higher in price than a smaller instrument. Also due to the semi-fragile nature of the gourd used in the shekere, it is not warranted against damage if mishandled (dropped or crushed).

Here's sample math: a 5" shekere surface is about 78 square inches, but a 10" shekere is about 314 square inches, and an 11" shekere surface area is roughly 380 square inches, so the area of the bead net of a 5" shekere about makes up the difference between a 10 and 11-inch shekere!

For another comparison, a 15" shekere surface area is about 707 square inches, which is roughly 100 square inches more than the area of a standard 20" × 30" pillowcase. That's a lot of bead-stringing work! If you think making a shekere is easy, we suggest you try it some time (and show us your best work; if we're impressed, we'll gladly publish your image on this page).

There is one feature of a shekere (and of some axatses) that is little known by non-percussionists: the bottom cord that is left over from stringing can be left on long or cut off. If it is left on and is long enough, it can be used to play the instrument with special 'whipping' techniques (this is beyond the scope of this page—please check here later for more photos of our shekeres).

To learn how to play shekere, we recommend that you either study Robetito Melendez's book Percussions (available @ Motherland Music) or find an experienced shekere/Afro-Latin teacher near you. We offer the Melendez book at a 20% discount for those buying a pro-sized shekere (to ease the pain of getting and learning a pro instrument). If you've never heard the shekere played by Poncho Sanchez and his group, you may not have a realistic idea of its musical possibilities. And that's not to mention many other traditional African and other folkloric contexts that feature this versatile, attractive shaker!