To play as a shaker hold in one or both hands and rock back and forth. To play as a rainstick hold in both hands and slowly tip the rainstick upside down. The slower you do the tipping, the longer the "rain" will last. Try rotating the rainstick as you tip it as this can help to dislodge extra bits of "rain".

A rainstick is a long, hollow tube partially filled with small pebbles, beads or beans, and has small pins or thorns arranged helically on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the pebbles fall to the other end of the tube, making a sound like rain falling.  

The rainstick is believed to have been invented in Chile or Peru, and was played in the belief that it could bring about rainstorms. It is also said that the rainstick was introduced in Mexican music in the 1960s. Rainsticks are often made from any of several species of cactus. The cacti, which are hollow, are dried in the sun. The spines are removed, then driven into the cactus like nails. Pebbles or other small objects are placed inside the rainstick, and the ends are sealed.

Rainsticks may be made with other common materials, such as paper towel rolls instead of cactus, and nails or toothpicks instead of thorns. Our rainsticks are made from eco-friendly bamboo.