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How to Make Drums With Things at Home

While professionally made percussion instruments can be incredibly expensive to purchase, their simple design means you can make effective copies easily and cheaply at home. Percussion instruments use the principles of sound echo and amplification to produce deep rumbling sounds or shimmering sonorous sounds. Anything which combines a solid surface that makes a sound when struck with an open or closed chamber to amplify the sound can be used as makeshift percussion instrument. Look around your home for items which fit this description; you are sure to find many.

Things You'll Need

Football
Coffee can
Radiator pipe clamp
3 15-liter paint tubs
Craft knife
Gaffer tape or duct tape
Drill
Pliers
Coat hanger
Metal dish

Instructions

Coffee Can Drum
- 1
  Cut the inner balloon out of the football. Cut the balloon open and cut out a circular shape, at least 1 1/2 times bigger than the circumference of the top of the coffee can.
- 2
  Pull the rubber tight and stretch it over the top of the coffee can. Attach the radiator pipe clamp to the top of the coffee can and pull tight to secure the edge of the rubber against the metal of the can.
- 3
  Beat the rubber at the top of the can with open palms to make a percussive sound. Alternatively, tap it gently with your finger tips to produce a more complex rhythm.
Tube Drums
- 4
  Clean out the insides of three old 15-liter paint tubs. Use a craft knife to cut the bottoms out of the two of the tubs. Take the lid off the one tub with its bottom still intact and stand it on the floor.
- 5
  Turn one of the other tubs upside down and stand it on the other tub. The tops of the two tubs should be pressed against one another. Secure this join with gaffer tape and stand the remaining tub the right way up on top of the second drum. The bottoms of these two drums should be touching.
- 6
  Secure this join with gaffer tape. Put the lid back on the final tub to close the tube. This drum can either be struck with a wooden spoon or baton or beaten with bare hands to make a sound.
Metal Dish Cymbal
- 7
  Drill a hole, about half an inch below the rim of the metal bowl. Measure across the diameter of bowl and drill an identical hole on the exact opposite side of the bowl
- 8
  Use pliers to unwind a steel coat hanger. Stretch the metal wire out into a straight line and feed it through the two holes across the diameter of the bowl.
- 9
  Bend the ends of the coat hanger wire up into two hooks. The bowl can then be hung above your homemade drums and hit with a wooden spoon to create a cymbal-like sound.

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