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Have you ever wanted to own and play a drum, but felt the instruments were too expensive to buy? Or maybe you’re looking to expand your little one’s collection of percussion instruments on a budget. Whatever the reason, homemade drums are fun and easy to make with a variety of materials.
Making a Homemade Drum
For the simplest project, choose any empty cylindrical container. Find something to stretch over the top, such as paper or hard plastic. Cover the end, then attach the drum head with tape or glue. Try out your drum, then decorate it as you wish.
Steps
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Gather your materials. For this method of making a drum, you will need an empty cylindrical container, electrical tape or masking tape, construction paper, crayons or colored pencils (optional), two pencils (optional), and tissue paper (optional).
- For the container, you can use a coffee container, a popcorn tin, or an aluminum can. This is going to be the base of the drum, so look for a container that is clean and in good condition.
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Criss-cross strips of tape over the top of the container until it is completely covered. This is going to form the top of the drum, which needs to be sturdy and firm.
- Try to put at least one to three layers of tape on the top of the can and criss-cross the tape tightly to make the drum more durable.
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Measure the paper by wrapping it around the can. Then, cut the construction paper so it will fit around the container snugly. Tape the paper in place and trim away the excess paper.
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Decorate the drum. Or, let your little one decorate the drum using markers, crayons, or paint.
- You can also cut out shapes from other construction paper and attach them onto the side of the drum.
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Make a pair of drumsticks. Crumple up a piece of tissue paper on the end of a pencil. Wrap masking tape or electrical tape around the tissue ball so it is secured to the pencil.
- Repeat this method on another pencil.
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Test the drum. Now it is time to have some fun with your drum or let your toddler play with it to make sure it will withstand a drumming session.
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Gather your materials. For this method, you will need a clean round container like a coffee can or formula can, balloons, electrical tape or masking tape, and rubber bands (optional). [1] X Research source
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Stretch the balloon around the can. Use your fingers to open the balloon up and expand it so it fits over the top of the can.
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Lay another balloon flat on a hard surface. Do not blow it up, you want to use a limp balloon. Using the scissors, cut small holes into the balloon. They do not need to be uniform or perfect, as they are more for decoration. [2] X Research source
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Stretch the cut up balloon on top of the balloon on the can. Double layering the balloons will make the drum more durable, and the holes in top layer will add a fun decorative effect.
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Wrap tape around the can to secure the balloons. You can also use rubber bands and simply place them around the can to keep the balloons attached. [3] X Research source
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Try out the drums. Or hand them to your little one and let them test them for you.
- If you’d like to add more weight to the drums, you can fill the container up with a handful of rice or dry lentils before you stretch the balloon on the top of the container. [4] X Research source
- Make drum sticks out of pencils and tissue paper or simply use your hands to drum along to your favorite song.
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Gather your materials. For this method, you will need a round tin container or can, a roll of faux leather, a roll of thin rope, a marker, and scissors.
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Place the can on the back side of the leather. Using a marker, draw around the can. Then, move the can over and draw around the can again.
- These circles are going to be the top and bottom parts of the drum.
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Cut out the circles, leaving 2 inches (5.1 cm) of space between the drawn line and your cut. This will give you extra leather to thread with rope.
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Use the scissors to make small snips around the outside of both pieces of leather. These snips will be used to thread the rope around the drum.
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Thread the rope through the holes. Once you have thread the rope through the holes on the top piece and the bottom piece of leather, tie it off with a small knot and cut away the excess rope.
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Place the leather pieces on either end of the can. Then, thread the rope from top to bottom using the threaded rope on the leather pieces, tightening as you go.
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Test out the drum. The drum should not only look good, it should sound good too.
- If you want to make a more durable drum, use eyelet pliers to make holes in the leather to then thread the rope through, as this will make the drum stronger and likely last longer.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionWhat is the proper way to hold a drumstick?Bart Robley is a Drummer, Drum Teacher, and Author based in Ontario, California. Bart has been sharing his expertise in drumming knowledge through teaching for over 30 years. He makes his teachings globally accessible by offering lessons in an online format. Bart has authored three instructional books and created three instructional DVDs. He received a Bronze Telly Award in 2009 for his DVD "School Of Hard Rocks. Additionally, Bart has been the drummer for the Sam Morrison Band for over 25 years.With the French grip you're holding your hands in front of you and your palms are facing each other. You hold the sticks between your thumb and the first knuckle of your index finger. You'll have a pivot point about a third of the way up to this stick. The Germanic and the American grip are both more palm down, with a 45-degree angle, your palms would be facing more down.
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QuestionWhat makes the drum have a high or low frequency?Community AnswerAdding mass decreases the pitch. Decreasing the mass increases the pitch. Also, smaller drums have higher pitch, and bigger drums have lower pitch.
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QuestionHow do I play the drum?Community AnswerBang the tape, balloon, or leather covering with your mallet. It should produce a sound varying in pitch depending on how big your drum is, which material you used, and how hard you hit it.
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Tips
- Increasing tension on the drum head will increase the pitch. Likewise, decreasing will lower the pitch.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- Flip over buckets or pails and use the bottoms! Different sizes and materials will make different pitches and tones, so you can experiment.
- If you use a tube that has a metal bottom, covering the bottom with duct tape will mute the metallic sounds.
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Warnings
- Avoid getting a drum made of paper wet or exposing it to water as this can affect its durability.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
Using Construction Paper
- A cylindrical container
- Electrical tape or masking tape
- construction paper
- crayons or colored pencils (optional)
- 2 pencils (optional)
- tissue paper (optional)
Using A Balloon
- A round aluminum container
- Balloons
- Electrical tape or masking tape
- Rubber bands (optional)
Using Faux Leather
- A round tin container or can
- A roll of faux leather
- Thin rope
- A marker
- Scissors
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about making instruments, check out our in-depth interview with Bart Robley .
References
About This Article
Article Summary
X
To make a homemade drum, you’ll need an empty can, masking tape, construction paper, crayons, 2 pencils, and some tissue. Start by criss-crossing tape over the top of the can until it’s completely covered to create the head of your drum. Then, cut the construction paper to the height of your can and wrap it around the container snugly. Tape the paper in place then use your crayons or markers to decorate it however you like! To make drumsticks for your drum, crumple up 2 pieces of tissue paper and tape them to the ends of 2 pencils. For more advice, like how to make a homemade drum with a balloon, read on!
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Reader Success Stories
- "I am interested in making a set of bongo drums for a friend who will be graduating college soon. He is always drumming on a table, and I thought giving a homemade set of bongos would make a great graduation gift. " ..." more
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