The Cabasa is crafted of a wooden wheel complimented by strings of steel beads.
By twisting, the beads roll back and forth over the corrugated metal and produce a great "shoop shoop" sound, higher in pitch than the coconut Cabasa. The player places his non-dominant hand on the beads to provide pressure while holding the handle with the other hand and twisting the instrument back and forth as per the rhythmic pattern desired.
Originally of African origin, they were constructed from dried oval or pear-shaped gourds with beads strung on the outer surface.
