How to Make Percussion Instruments
For casual percussionists, nearly any location is a musical treasure trove. Around your house, there are innumerable objects that can be drummed on or easily turned into percussion instruments with a little imagination. Explore the different tones you can get out of everyday objects, then try making some more ambitious instruments.
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Things You'll Need
- Film canisters Medicine bottles Spoons Pots and pans Other kitchen utensils Drum sticks Sapling Plywood Knife Guitar string Hammer Nails Wooden bowl Glue Saw
Instructions
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Ready-made or Minimal Preparation
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1
Take several film canisters, empty medicine bottles or other small containers. Fill them up with sand for a soft sound, or with rocks or pennies for a harsher, sharper sound. You now have shakers.
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2
Gather together water bottles, wooden boxes, and pots and pans. Drum on them with your hands, kitchen tools or drum sticks. Hit them in different spots to get different tones.
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3
Hold a spoon between your index and middle finger and another between your fourth and fifth finger so that they are facing bowl-to-bowl. Knock them against your legs, hands or nearby objects to click them together. Follow the link below for more info on playing the spoons.
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4
Learn hambone. Drum your hands against your legs, chest and mouth to get different tones.
Musical Bow
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5
Get a flexible stick. You can use a thin piece of plywood, a springy sapling or anything else you can easily bend.
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6
Cut notches about 4 inches from each end of the bow to tie the strings into.
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7
Glue or nail a wooden bowl to the end of the stick. It should be past the notch.
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8
Tie a guitar string securely to the notch in front of the wood. Bend the bow and tie it around the second notch so that the bow bends.
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9
To play the bow, hold a rock against the string with one hand and a small stick in the other. Hit the string with the stick to make a tone and slide the rock up and down to change the pitch.
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