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A percussion instrument in the form of a hollow gourd or gourd-shaped container filled with dried beans or similar objects and played, usually in pairs, by being shaken.
‘He recalled that he'd flown the coup, aged 17, and learned to play the maracas, harmonica and guitar.’
‘In sharp contrast - and contrasts define the album - marimba, piano and maracas set up a sepia-tone backdrop for track two, ‘The Nurse’.’
‘The men in sombreros were miked and amped and they were shaking maracas and playing guitar.’
‘The band's sound was driven by the four-strong marimba/drum section, which was augmented by bass guitar, saxophone, maracas and two electric guitars - one rhythm, the other lead.’
‘‘White Moon’ is a slow piano paean, stinging with maracas, moonlight-sonata piano, and subtle drums.’
‘Some of today's Grenadian American calypso bands also use electric guitars, maracas, and steel drums.’
‘Throughout the song, we hear tinkling piano, barely-tapped chimes and sporadic maracas.’
‘But any concert that features mock sadomasochism, skull-shaped maracas and an accordion player wearing tinted goggles is either the work of lunatics or of a band with a very healthy sense of irony indeed.’
‘He jumps up on the riser, picks up a pair of maracas and gets them to double the tempo!’
‘There have also been a number of instrument peripherals, from maracas and guitars to turntables.’
‘We were given drums, triangles, maracas and tambourines to experiment with.’
‘Larger bands have trumpets and strings as well as extensive percussion sections in which maracas, guiros, and bongos are primary instruments.’
‘Nearby, a pair of high-school girls shook wired maracas, precisely mimicking a pair of maraca-shaking characters on a video screen.’
‘That zone now belongs to the hordes of zealots invited there personally to take up maracas and other such percussion.’
‘These three main patterns are amplified by turtle shells, claves, timbales, bongos, congas, maracas and tambourines.’
‘Its instruments include maracas, drums, and turtle shells.’
‘Bonus points awarded to the band for having a guy named Iggi Sniff playing tambourine and maracas; double bonus points to Mr. Sniff for getting a gig playing tambourine and maracas.’
‘The clack and tip tap of the dancers heeled shoes echoed in short rhythmic steps to the time of the varied instruments: seeded maracas and strings of hand made guitars, violins, flutes and drums.’
‘And despite a lack of any real visual element to their performance (apart from when the guitarist downs tools for a bit to hit some maracas with a stick) they are never dull.’
‘One morning the youngest children shook maracas, banged small cymbals, and danced and skipped to international music in a room lined with colorful banners and maps.’
Origin
Early 17th century: from Portuguese maracá, from Tupi.