Do's and Don'ts

1. Have fun and let your imagination roam. These instruments have been used by professional performers, sound engineers and recording studio composers. Each group has found unique and satisfying ways to invent new sounds and rhythms for NAL instruments.

2. As a starter, check out our Box and Stick  technique section listed under VIDEOS. These provide a great baseline for understanding the breadth of what NAL instruments can do.

3. Playing an instrument will “roughen it up” a little. The finish can be restored in seconds. We recommend a high quality beeswax product that contains very little or no oil. Use small amounts when polishing the instrument. You want to avoid saturating the instrument with a oil.

1.Do not subject the instrument to conditions you personally would not tolerate. Would you sit in your attic for a month during the summer? Your NAL shaker won't like it either. Extremes in heat, humidity and cold are not good environments for any fine musical instrument. Take your instrument with you and everything will be fine.

2. This is a hand percussion instrument and is meant to be shaken or lightly tapped again the palm or the hand or lap. If striking your hand hurts, you are playing too hard or the background music is too loud. These instruments are mean to generate a significant amount of volume for acoustic performance and studio recording environments. Do not expect to be heard with loud guitars or drums without playing these percussion instruments through a microphone and loudspeakers.

3. These instruments ARE NOT intended to be struck against any other hard objects, including other NAL products. Do not use these instruments to play a drum set, strike against hard objects, or play against other hard surfaces. These instruments are solely designed to be played with the hands or tapped against the lap or leg.

4. These instruments are not children’s toys. We recommend that you keep these instruments from children under the age of five. These instruments are intended for  musicians, performers, recording artists, music teachers and many other musical applications.