The original cabasa was made from a gourd with a netting of beads wrapped around it and it was played like a rattle. The more modern cabasa is made of wood with a wood handle and strands of steal ball chain wrapped around the cylinder of the cabasa. Used in musical education, musical games and in school bands, the cabasa has proven to be a useful teaching instrument for rhythym. Considered a leader in the Latin percussion genre, the cabasa is a popular and well loved instrument. To play, using the dominant hand, shake the instrument in a rhythmic beat like a rattle while the non dominant hand taps the metal beads for a more complex sound. By Trademark Innovations.