by Prof. Lydia Ayers

Objectives

• Make a drum using various found materials, such as water bottles and balloons

• Make a shaker

• Practice Rhythms

Drum Elements

• Body– Shallow – frame drum– Deep – barrel drum

• Membrane– Single– Double

• Attachment

• Decoration

cardboard drums

Drum Examples

balloon drums

packing tape drum hand drums

Drum Examples

coffee cuica(friction drum from Brazil)

water drum(water inside the drum

changes its tone)(Native American)

Pow Wow Drum(Native American)

Sources of Drum Bodies• Plastic bottles

• Tin cans

• Cookie tins

• Flower pots

• Wooden kegs

• Round cardboard containers

• Pots, pans, salad bowls or other stuff from the kitchen

Sources of Drumheads• Broken drumheads from music stores• Paper

– 2 thicknesses of wrapping paper glued together– Cardboard– Heavy wrapping paper with cheesecloth attached over it

with shellac– Patapar cooking paper (available at department stores

and used in cooking?)• Cloth

– Canvas, heavy duck, canvas substitutes– Leather, fake leather (a heavy plastic)– Heavy linen

• Plastic bags• Rubber inner tubes (from tires)• Balloons

Make a Drum Usinga Water Bottle

• Cut the flat end off the water bottle• The drum head should use a material that doesn’t break too

easily so you can hit it without destroying the drum• Test the material you want to use for the drum head by

stretching it tightly over the open end of the bottle and hitting it – pull it a little tighter if you don’t get a good sound at first– Balloon– Piece of heavy plastic

• Carefully cut a round drum head and make the circle a little larger than the opening in the bottle

• Carefully glue the drum head tightly to the body of the drum and wait for the glue to dry before you hit the drum– The drum head should be pretty tight to get a good sound

• To make a double-headed drum you can cut off the other end of the water bottle and put a drum head on it

Shakers

• Make a shaker by putting some beans or rice in a small water bottle

double-sided drumswith external rattles

Practice Rhythms

• Practice rhythms using your drums and shakers

• Low tone is in the middle of the drum

• High tone is on the edge of the drum