How to Make Shakers...

Shakers are among the oldest of musical instruments, almost certainly a found instrument in the beginning. After all, a calabash gourd, left to dry for a month or two, will be a crude shaker when you pick it up. Someone somewhere in the pre-dawn of music making must surely have picked up a dry gourd, shook it, and and went "Wow", and brought it home for later ;-) Thus perhaps the first collection of percussion instruments began. 

Gourds are always an excellent source for making shakers and shekeres, instruments of all kinds. As a matter of fact, I planted a batch of ipu seeds from the Gourd Connection this week, and four have come up so far, so next year, we may have some nice gourd shaker making articles for you.

Read more here...

Publish Post

How to Play Water Bottles

 
We call polycarbonate resin containers "Moondrums" because they're the first drum light enough to be carried into space...the underrated sound source of the 21st century.
 
We began using and experimenting with them in 1994. They have served us well, lightweight and reliable tools, whether with a batch of kids in a school or community center somewhere, in the streets of Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth, or in a recording studio somewhere.
When played with the hands, they take on a dreamlike, reflective quality, and played with one wrapped stick or mallet and one hand they are useful in drum circle situations, where a loud instrument is a must...

Read more here...

Learn To Make Coffee Can Drums

The coffee can drum is a portable, versatile, inexpensive drum, an ideal "first Drum project. It responds well to a thin stick, with techniques that vary from scrapng and striking the side of the can to one hand/one stick techniques not unlike those used on sabar, Mandinka drums, or certain Brazilian instruments..

Learn to make them here...