How to Make Percussion Instruments With Different Pitches

The bigger a percussion instrument is, the lower its pitch. If you are interested in experimenting with drum pitches, idiophones---vibrating percussion instruments such as bells, xylophones and woodblocks---are the way to go. They are simpler to construct than membranophones, such as drums; have a more melodic pitch; and do not require you to retune or replace skins. Here is how to make simple percussion instruments with different pitches.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• PVC
• Saw
• Tape
• Duct tape
• Dowel
• Bamboo

1. Get a piece of PVC pipe, about 3 feet long and ½ inch in diameter. Cut 4-, 6-, 9- and 13 ½-inch pieces from it with a small-toothed saw. You can use different lengths if you want, but these lengths will give a pleasing harmonic sequence.

2. Line the PVC pipes up together and tape them using two strips of duct tape. Wrap the tape around a few times so that it is wide enough to hold the pipes above the ground.

3. Cut two 12 to 15-inch lengths of dowel. The dowel should be about 1 inch wide.

4. Wrap duct tape around one end of each dowel to make drumsticks. Keep wrapping until you get a ball about twice as wide as the stick.

5. Place the PVC pipes on a table. Strike them with the duct taped ends of the drumsticks to make different tones.

6. Make another simple percussion instrument. Cut up bamboo into different-sized sections and tape it together using the procedure described in steps 1 and 2. Compare the pitch of the different materials by striking each with your duct taped drumsticks.

Tips & Warnings

• Try lining up bottles and buckets of different sizes on a table. Hit them with the drumsticks to hear their different pitches.