The 7 Best Egg Shakers for Adults and Kids (2024)
Egg shakers are a fun and great-sounding percussion instrument that just about anybody can learn how to play! They are great for musicians and recording, as well as fun for children to learn how percussion works.
Egg shakers are essentially a type of rattle – little egg-shaped (thus the name) rattles made from plastic or wood filled with small metal, sand, or some other material particles that make the sound when shaken. As with all rattles, they are as old as the human species and are one of the first instruments ever made in human history.
My top pick is the Meinl Percussion 4-piece Egg Shaker Set. This is a high-quality egg shaker set from a well-known manufacturer and each egg shaker offers a different sound from soft to extra loud.
My budget Pick is the Tycoon Percussion Egg Shaker. This is a budget-friendly option from a reputable percussion manufacturer, useful for professional use.
Contents
- The 7 Best Egg Shakers for Adults and Kids (2024)
- 1. Meinl Percussion 4-piece Egg Shaker Set
- 2. Tycoon Percussion Egg Shaker
- 3. MIHEY Natural Wood Egg Shaker Pair
- 4. Nino Percussion Plastic Egg Shaker Set, 4 Pieces
- 5. Lovermusic’s Egg Shaker Pair
- 6. SallyFashion Wooden Percussion Musical Egg Shakers
- 7. Augshy 18PCS Plastic Egg Shakers with 8 Colors
- More About Egg Shakers
- Conclusion
The 7 Best Egg Shakers for Adults and Kids (2024)
Our first two options are great for musicians and studio recordings. The next 3 are great as toys and musical learning tools for children.
Great for musicians and studio recordings
Great as toys and music learning tools for children
Now let’s compare them in more detail:
1. Meinl Percussion 4-piece Egg Shaker Set
The Meinl Percussion 4-piece Egg Shaker Set is sure to give you everything you need from egg shakers ever. It consists of, as the name suggests, four different egg shakers. They are all different in their sound and are marked soft, medium, loud, and extra loud.
The sound difference is notable when you play them one by one, as the soft one has that crisp, almost hi-hat sound and no after-rattle at all, and loud and extra loud ones have a long rattle with them and a much higher pitch of the sound.
These shakers are made to be combined with different instruments like cajon and drums. Louder ones can be too loud for acoustic setups, but you are sure to get the right combination with these babies. The Meinl 4-piece egg shaker set is cheap price-wise and is made from sturdy plastic so there is no need for worrying.
2. Tycoon Percussion Egg Shaker
The Tycoon Percussion Egg Shaker is another professional set of egg shakers produced for adult use in music. They come in a pair of two and consist of a plastic casing with a seam in the middle and are filled with metal bearings.
The two shakers make the same sound, which is a brittle, classic egg shaker sound, and are sure to endure a lot of stress and damage. Of course, they are not indestructible, but if you use them with normal care you should be fine.
These are a great addition to any musician whether you play professionally or just for a hobby. Additionally, they come at a very affordable price so the value-for-price ratio could not be more on point!
3. MIHEY Natural Wood Egg Shaker Pair
The MIHEY Natural Wood Egg Shaker Pair is yet another pro-grade set of egg shakers that can be used professionally. This pair is extremely durable, made from natural wood, and can withstand the rigors of traveling and touring.
You have two options available when purchasing this product as it comes as a 2-pair and 4-pair choice. If you have the need for more, you can always go for 4 egg shakers.
The MIHEY Egg Shakers offer a soft and mellow sound that is great for a professional recording but it can also be useful for children since they don’t break easily and will withstand rough play.
4. Nino Percussion Plastic Egg Shaker Set, 4 Pieces
The Nino Percussion Egg Shaker Set is pretty much the same as the Meinl 4-piece set but is made for kids primarily. This set consists of four egg shakers, all made from plastic and filled with small metal bearings to make the sound.
They are all different colored and they produce the same sound, which can be a bit boring, but as these are intended for little children, the real use of different sounds is rarely going to be a problem.
These shakers are a bit smaller than the normal shakers and as such are perfect for little kids, whether at home or in a music class. Also, they can be used as toys or to learn colors, and they are sturdy enough to survive kids beating on them. All in all, this is a great little set for your children to start learning about music.
The Lovermusic’s Egg Shaker Pair is a great wooden shaker option. It’s made from wood, so you can be sure it’s not dangerous if the kid puts it in the mouth or something.
They are mainly produced for kids, and as such is a little bit smaller and are made to be durable. They can surely withstand some rough play or if they are thrown.
The sound on these things is a bit quieter than in the plastic ones, simply because of the materials used for building it, so it’s actually the perfect present for your toddlers if you don’t want to listen to loud rattling all day long.
6. SallyFashion Wooden Percussion Musical Egg Shakers
These cute egg shakers are made for kids’ use and you can tell that just by looking at them. The SallyFashion Wooden Percussion Musical Egg Shakers are a brightly colored and beautifully painted set of 6 wooden egg shakers that your children will absolutely love.
They are made from wood and are painted with non-toxic colors, but still, it’s not advised you let your children put them in their mouths. They are declared as 3+ age for use. Sound-wise these are not for professional use and they all have the same sound, but your kids will not care for musical nuances while playing with them.
Being wooden, they have a muffled sound, which is great if you want to avoid them going on your nerves. Also, these can be used in an Easter egg hunt as they are so beautifully painted with non-toxic paint (tasteless) in different animals or prints.
7. Augshy 18PCS Plastic Egg Shakers with 8 Colors
The Augshy 18PCS Plastic Egg Shakers with 8 Colors is a massive set for children to play with. They can be painted over and used as a DIY set if you want the little ones to have a little fun and make them a custom set.
These plastic egg shakers are child-safe and filled with mini plastic balls and cannot be opened. You get 18 pieces with 8 different colors (2 by color), 3 white, and 3 black pieces for better painting.
These egg shakers can be used as a building block for kids to form a strong foundation for rhythm or for school music. Additionally, this entire set is extremely affordable!
More About Egg Shakers
Egg shakers are usually played as a sort of backing sound, used to give ambiance to the song itself. The two most used ways of playing include just shaking the egg shaker up and down, giving it an almost closed hi-hat sound, or twirling it and creating the iconic rattle-snake sound (similar to the tambourine) that can be great for giving the jive to the song and making it so much better.
Egg shakers are most known for their use in Brazilian folk music, samba most notedly, where they have a big part in that iconic sound and are responsible for giving samba that fast-paced tempo and passion you can feel every time you listen to it, almost as if you’re in the carnival yourself.
Also, they are heavily used by today’s music producers around the world to give that subtle sound in the background when recording all sorts of genres and music styles and are usually used live when playing acoustic gigs.
Because of their size and price, they are a no-brainer on whether to buy them and can be taken everywhere, since they can easily fit in your pocket and they don’t need any maintenance or protection. Also, they are a favorite children’s instrument, as they are easy to use and are used around the world in music classes to help educate children on music.
As such, there are different ones made for children specifically, with bright colors and fun prints and professional music ones that look… well, more professional.
Conclusion
Even though they are often neglected and overlooked, egg shakers are an incredibly versatile and handy thing to have whether you’re a professional musician and producer, or just a hobbyist playing at home. Also, these are great for your children to start learning about music.
My top pick is the Meinl Percussion 4-piece Egg Shaker Set, a high-quality egg shaker set from a well-known brand, and each egg shaker offers a different sound from soft to extra loud.
My budget Pick is the Tycoon Percussion Egg Shaker, a budget-friendly option from a reputable percussion manufacturer, useful for professional use.
Featured image by: Cody McComas from USA [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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