Tag Archives: kids drums

Love Bucket Drumming? Try Mini-Bucket Drumming!

Do you have a young drummer in the house?

You’ll love this simple but awesome drum craft! It’s based on the idea of bucket drumming – taking an unexpected item like a paint bucket and turning it into a drum.  But instead of buckets, this craft reuses coffee cans and here’s what it looks and sounds like.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle a Coffee Can

Start with a regular coffee can, find two unsharpened pencils and tap away. Or kente clothg drum projectyou can print out one of our drum “skins” to color and personalize with your young drummer.

The design we’ve created is based on kente cloth, and each color is symbolic of a trait like beauty and strength.

Two Beaters, Two Heads or Use Your Hands

Try tapping the drum with both sides of the unsharpened pencil. Each will create a different sound. Notice that most coffee cans have a metal side and a plastic one as well. Both sides will also offer a different tone when played. Need more ideas for beaters? Check out our MYO drum beater post below.

rhythm tree playing tubeDrum Roll, Please!

A great way to develop motor skills is learning to create a drum roll. Try this by tapping – slowly at first, but consistently – left stick, right stick, etc. Start slowly and build your speed for an impressive sounding drum roll!

Bang on the Drum All Day

Here are some playing tips and suggestions:

Tap with your hand

Play free form to your favorite music

Tap to the beat of your favorite music

Make several drums and play them together

Make a DIY bongo drum set and try hand drumming (activity pdf below).

Find other objects to add to a drum kit

Pots and Pans?

The classic image of a child at play with drums is one of playing pots and pans. I wwdop - too cool!like to caution parents here that the sound from striking a metal pot with a wooden spoon can be potentially damaging to a child’s hearing – or a parent’s sanity.

Instead of a wooden spoon and metal pots and pans, try cardboard boxes, plastic bowls or containers. If you have a washboard, break that out, too and play if with spoons, a whisk or a wooden spoon.

And – by all means…rock on!

Links and Resources

Kente Drum Coloring Page https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kente-Cloth-For-A-Drum-Craft-Coloring-Page-4248662

playing bongosKente Drum Activity on TPT https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kente-Cloth-African-Drum-Craft-3525491

What Do The Colors in Kente Cloth Mean? https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kente-Cloth-What-Do-The-Colors-Mean-4250185

MYO Bongo Drum  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Latin-American-Instruments-Make-And-Play-Bongo-Drums-1430615

MYO washboard post http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/babies-and-music/play-a-washboard-with-your-child/

MTO Drum Beater http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/classroom-music/make-a-little-drum-beater-for-a-big-drum/

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Posted in African Music, Classroom Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Homeschool Musical Fun, Music and Hearing, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments

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Ocean Drum From A Pie Box – A Thanksgiving Music Craft

Ocean drum completeWho doesn’t love the soothing sound of the surf?  And who doesn’t have too many pie boxes around this time of year?

Combine those two things and you can have a handy, functional ocean drum made from a few materials found around your home.

What Is An Ocean Drum?

If you haven’t already fallen in love with an ocean drum, it’s a simple frame drum with small round objects between the two heads.  (You’ll get a chance to see and hear one below! ) When you tilt it from side to side, the little objects roll and the sound created is like waves lapping against the shore.  And even our craft version can create the relaxing and hypnotic effect of this quieting drum.

apple pie ocean drum suppliesGather A Few Supplies

Make sure you have a sturdy pie box, then look for whatever you have around your house that is small and round.  Almost any item will work, but objects like seed beads or round “acini de pepe” pasta will sound remarkably like the ocean.  Remember, the smaller and rounder the object, the more it will sound like the surf!

Then check your craft area for any supplies to decorate.  You can leave your pie box plain or feel free to make it unique by adding paint, stickers or other creative design ideas.  In the image at the top of this post, you can see that we painted the sides and added our favorite fishy stickers to keep with the ocean theme.

Add It In, Seal It Up!

ocean drum contents 1When you’ve completed your decoration, add your filling to the drum and see how it sounds.  The sound will change when you add more or less of what you’ve chosen to use, so adjust the contents until you’ve found the perfect sound for you.

Last, seal up with clear tape – packing tape works the best to keep all the tiny objects secure inside the box.

Check out the Real Thing… And A Sturdier Craft Version

Love this drum?  Here’s a short video of a real ocean drum demonstration.  And below is a link to a step-by-step tutorial for a sturdier version made with a packing box.  The larger size and the stronger cardboard make for a more resilient version of this enjoyable musical craft.

Special Kids and Adults And the Ocean Drum

This is one of our favorite crafts for creating with kids and adults of all abilities.  There are dozens of ways to personalize and play it, so these crafty oceans drums have been a bit hit when we are asked to do workshops with our special friends!

polka dot ocean drum kimbertonWe hope you love them, too!

Links and Resources

Ocean Drum Tutorial From The TeachersPayTeachers Site: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ocean-Drum-Craft-1567951

Earth Day Craft E-Book With 10 Green Crafts (Including The Ocean Drum)  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Rock-Out-E-Book-With-10-Musical-Activities-653502

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Posted in Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, Homeschool Musical Fun, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments, Special Needs/Kids of All Abilities

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Doum – beka- Doum-beka – Doum! Middle Eastern Drums!

doumbek imageMusic is a great way to explore the world with your kids. If your cultural heritage is from the Middle East, doumbek and darbuka drums are probably part of the soundtrack of your life. If you’re adding music to your family’s fun or studying that region, then this easy-to-play drum is a great first instrument for any child.

Doumbeks and Darbukas

Both the doumbek and darbuka are goblet shaped played throughout the Middle boy and darbukaEast, Turkey and North Africa. There are lots of names for each drum and plenty of variations for the spelling of each name. For doumbeks, you might see “dumbec”, “dumbek” or “doumbec”.  Darbuka style drums are also called debuka, dumbelek tablah, tarabuka and toumperleki.

Historians think that these drums date back to Ancient Babylonia and that the name comes from the Arabic word “darba”, meaning “to strike”.

How Do You Play?

little girl plays darbukaOne of these simple Middle Eastern drums, there are three basic sounds. The “doum” sound comes from striking the drum in the center. Tapping the drum near the edge produces a higher sound called a “tek”. Tapping then muting the drum creates a third sound called a “pa”.

What If You Don’t Have a Drum?

Don’t have a drum? Although it may not sound exactly the same, you can also tap on a round container in these three different ways and make all the basics sounds you might hear on a doumbek or darbuka. You’d be surprised how good a “recycled drum” may sound when using even the most basic material found around your home or garage!

doumbek black and white imageColor A Doumbek!

Although some are plain, many doumbeks and goblet drums have beautiful folk or mosaic patterns that wrap around the body of the drum. In the coloring page below you can create your own colorful Middle Eastern drum.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Middle-Eastern-Drums-Doumbek-Background-Coloring-Page-2049118

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Posted in Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, Homeschool Musical Fun, Multicultural Music, Simple Instruments

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