Castanets originate from Spain, from Flamenco music. They are hollowed pieces of flat wood,tied together with a thin rope, hung on the thumb and hit with the fingers. The orchestral variety of castanets are modified and either have handles or are fixed to a wooden board and are sprung together, to make them easy to play.
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Kevin Hathway explains about orchestral castanets...
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Listen to a typical flamenco rhythm...
Vibraslap
The Vibraslap mimics the sound of a rattled jawbone, or quijada. It is comprised of a small box, attached to a U-shaped metal handle, with a wooden ball on the other end. The player strikes the ball and the resulting vibration shake small free-moving rivets in the box.
The sound produced is a long sustained rattle which can nevertheless be damped.
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Hear the vibraslap chatter!...
Woodblocks
The woodblock, as it name suggests, is a piece of wood, which has been hollowed out. (Although, these days, woodblocks can also made of plastic). Woodblocks come in varying sizes and can be held in the hand, or fixed to a rack, in size order, to give varying pitches.
Beaters: most beaters work on a woodblock, including the butt end of a snare drum stick or even triangle beaters - for a quiet effect.
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Kevin gives a lession in woodblocks...
Claves
The Claves also originate from Latin America and are frequently used in salsa music. They are two cylindrical sticks of hard wood (such as ebony or rosewood). They produce a distinctive sound which can easily be heard above other instruments.
The claves are played by placing one clave in the hand, using the palm of the hand as a space in which the sound can resonate. This clave remains in this position, while the other clave is held at the end and hits it. The claves should be held lightly, to allow a nice resonant sound to be produced - if they are gripped too tightly, they sound dead and the sound does not carry well.