Percussion is the easiest family of instruments to build and play, because a beat needs no sense of pitch. Start with the cheapest and safest pieces, hardwood claves and a gourd shaker, then make a frame drum, and leave the log drum for when you have the time and a seasoned log. Treat any drumhead made from hide as a biological hazard unless you know the animal.
Part of Music & Simple Instrument Making
Struck and shaken instruments: log drums, skin drums, shakers and rhythm sticks, ordered by difficulty and risk.
Four Instruments, Ordered By Effort
Percussion instruments make sound when struck, shaken or scraped. They differ in what is hard about making them:
| Instrument | What makes it hard | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Claves (pair of sticks) | Finding dry, dense wood | Splinters, toxic dust from some woods |
| Shaker or rattle | Drying a gourd; sealing the filler | Choking on small fillers; toxic seeds |
| Frame drum | Preparing and stretching a hide | Anthrax and other infections from hide |
| Log drum | Hollowing a log without cracking it | Fire when burning out; splitting as it dries |
The order in the table is the order to build in. A pair of claves can be finished in an afternoon and teaches the group a beat before any drum exists.
What You Need
- Dry hardwood for sticks and frames; see Wood Seasoning
- Cordage for lashing; see Two-Ply Twist
- A knife and a way to keep it sharp; see Sharpening
- Hide only from a known source for drumheads; see Hide Preparation
Method: Choose By What The Group Needs
For keeping time in a group, claves and sticks cut through other sound. See Claves & Rhythm Sticks.
For a rhythm bed under singing, shakers and rattles give a soft continuous texture. See Shakers & Rattles.
For a deeper pulse, a hand-held frame drum is the simplest hide instrument; a goblet drum on a hollowed trunk is louder. See Skin Drums.
For a signal or ceremony, a log drum carries a few notes and is heavy; see Log Drums & Hollow Trunk.
Common Mistakes
- Starting with the hardest instrument. A log drum that cracks after three weeks of work discourages everyone; build the quick instruments first.
- Using unseasoned wood. Green wood shrinks as it dries, splits a drum and warps a stick.
- Forgetting that percussion is loud. Drums in a closed room can exceed what ears should take for long periods; play outside or in a large space.
Safety
Hide, fire and hearing
Hide: rawhide and untreated skin carry a real infection risk, anthrax above all, from animals of unknown history. See Skin Drums for sourcing rules. Fire: burning out a log is a fire hazard; see Fire Management. Hearing: if you must raise your voice to be heard at arm’s length, the drumming is loud enough to damage hearing over repeated sessions.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Claves & Rhythm Sticks — the quickest first build
- Combine with: Rhythm Training — teaching a group to play together