Tag Archives: ocean drum

Make A Drum That Sounds Like The Ocean!

traditional ocean drumHave you ever heard an ocean drum?  It’s an amazing instrument that sounds almost exactly like the soothing sounds of the surf?  And – guess what?  It’s  a quiet instrument!  It’s great for music and meditation as well as a quiet time activity.  And it’s also perfect project to make and play for for any child or adult on the autistic spectrum.

And, you can make it from all recycled materials!

What Is An Ocean Drum?

It looks like a frame drum from the Middle East, but it is filled with small round objects that, when tilted back and forth, sound remarkably like the waves at the seashore.  It’s sound is soothing and when ocean drums are filled with colorful or interesting objects, they are as beautiful to watch as they are to hear.

apple pie ocean drum suppliesHere are the supplies you need to make one ocean drum:

  • A sturdy box: Flat shipping boxes, or any sturdy small box
  • Clear plastic: You can recycle old report covers, salad bar containers, clear tablecloth covers or purchase a small amount of clear vinyl at a fabric or hardware store. Hint: Don’t use plastic wrap as it simply won’t hold up to the task.
  • Strong tape: Packing tape, masking tape, or electrical tape are good choices.
  • Contents for the drum: Choose any small fillings such as seed beads, pastina pasta, acini de pepe pasta, orzo, pony beads, mung beans, lentils, dried beans, marbles, or small pebbles.

How To Make It

Start with a sturdy box.  It’s a good idea to decorate your box before experimenting with what you want to put inside.  If you started with a plain box from a stationery supply store, you have a clean slate to create an ocean motif or ocean drums makingdecorate with paint, crayons, markers or glitter and glue. If you have an overly busy box, like a pizza box, you may wish to cover it with colored paper (leaving space for the window, of course) and decorate from there.

Next, create the window so you can watch the smaller items move around inside the drum. To do this, get some sturdy clear plastic and cut it into a large square or rectangle.  Draw a slightly smaller square or rectangle on the inside of the top of your ocean drum box and cut it out. Secure the window in place inside the box using a strong tape such as packing tape, electrical tape, or masking tape.

Now choose something to create the sound of the surf. Small, round objects make a sound that is closest to a real ocean drum.  However, you can get creative with what you’d like to try. You can choose tiny pasta like acini de pepe, pastina pasta, seed beads, bee bees, or mung beans. You can fill your drum with lentils, dried peas, marbles, pony beads, larger beans, or orzo pasta for a louder drum. You can mix and match to see what sounds best to your ear.

You may also want to make it interesting by adding colorful beads or other items like marbles, buttons, glitter or confetti that will add to the visual appeal of the drum.

Once you’ve chosen what you want to go inside, you are ready to seal the drum. Cover it with packing tape so that the contents will stay inside.  Seal up all the edges where the smaller objects might come out and then you’re ready to play your ocean drum.

ocean drum sall of usPlaying The Ocean Drum

This is a fun instrument to explore.  Here are a few techniques you can use when playing it:

Tilt it back and forth at gentle angles

Tilt it back and forth at more extreme angles

Tilt the drum for a gentle swooshing sound then turn it on its side to stop the sound

Tap the sides or top with your fingertips  

Shake your instrument as if it were a rattle. 

Many people find the sound and the changing patterns very calming and meditative. You can relax and play it without any other accompaniment or you can play this instrument along with soothing music or any of your favorite songs.  Try to match the beat by tilting the ocean drum along with the rhythms of the song.

If you enjoy this type of drum, you may want to make several as each one will have a distinct sound or might fit better with different musical styles that you enjoy.

Feel free to experiment and make this unusual instrument all your own!

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Make An Ocean Drum for World Oceans Day

me and the dolphinHave you heard of World Oceans Day? Celebrated annually on June 8th, it’s an internationally recognized and celebrated day to learn, share, preserve and promote one of our most magnificent resources, the oceans and seas.

The World Oceans Days website (link below) is a wealth of information – including research on pollution, posters in 15 languages, and a variety of action steps that anyone can take to make a difference. Visit the site to learn how oceans regulate our climate, generate most of the oxygen we breathe, clean the water that we drink and so much more.

Want to combine your learning with a fun recycled music craft?  Here’s a way you can reduce, reuse, recycle and make a great homemade drum that sounds remarkably like the sea!

What Is An Ocean Drum?

If you live near the sea or have visited an ocean, you know the wonderful, traditional ocean drumrelaxing sound of waves coming and going along the seashore. An ocean drum is a 2 sided hand drum that – when played – sounds just like the surf. In fact, if you close your eyes, you can imagine you are right there on the beach, hearing the waves as they come and go.

Above is a picture of a traditional ocean drum.

Make Your Own Recycled Ocean Drum

blue ocean drum kimbertonCheck your recycling bin.  Do you have a sturdy pizza box or a mailing box with dimensions somewhat like the one seen here?  If you do, you can fill the bottom of the box with sand, salt, seed beads or any tiny pasta (like acini de pepe). There’s also some great ways to create a window to the drum, decorate the outside and seal the box so the contents don’t escape and you can use it for weeks to come.

Ocean Drum Tutorial Free

Want a step-by-step tutorial plus other great info on this drum and world music instruments? Until June 16th, we’ve reduced the price of this great kids music resource to – free!  (Note: If you read this post after June 16, 2017 and need a free educator’s copy, just contact daria at dariamusic at yahoo dot com for more info).

Links And Resources

ocean drum pdfFree Tutorial – MYO Ocean Drum – https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ocean-Drum-Craft-1567951

World Oceans Day – Main Sitehttp://www.worldoceansday.org/

Find An Oceans Day Event Near You – http://www.worldoceansday.org/events_list

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

Three Great Musical Projects For Kids Of All Abilities

This post was written as a contribution to the Living Life Special Blog Carnival. The participating bloggers are sharing their experiences in parenting or teaching children with special needs.  Also included are posts on how to educate others about special needs.

Crafting a simple musical instrument is a satisfying project and parents or siblings can each make their own versions of the same craft for added fun.  When the project is complete, you can play your instruments together or along with favorite music. Some instruments; like the quiet rattles or ocean drum, also make excellent activities for taking along in the car or to soothe a child through a rough moment in their day.

Here are three of my favorite crafty musical projects for sharing with kids of all abilities.

A DRUM THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE OCEAN

This is a musical instrument that can be amazingly relaxing.  Tilt it gently from side to side and you can hear the sound of the surf or the waves of the sea.  If you’ve filled it with things such as colored seed beads, you’ll also see a wonderful variety of patterns move as you listen to the sound of your hand-held drum.

Above is a picture of the actual instrument and here is one of our homemade versions as well. Supplies needed for this project are a thin cardboard box (like a shipping box), clear vinyl or a recycled book report cover and small, roundish items to fill the drum.  You can use whatever you have available such as birdseed, dried peas, tiny pasta or small beads.  Seed beads of various colors help create wonderful patterns when this drum is played and tilted from side to side.  You’ll also need some clear packing tape to seal up the project and materials for decorating the outside of the box.

You can find complete step-by-step instructions here:

www.wonderbaby.org/articles/drum-sounds-sea

THE WORLD’S QUIETEST RATTLES

I love making quiet rattles.  They can be played with any type of music and can be different each time you create them.

Supplies needed for this project include any clear recycled container such as a plastic water bottle, soda bottle or milk jug.  Then you’ll need some quiet fillings such as q-tips, cotton puffs, paper clips, tiny pasta, sand, salt or sugar.  You’ll also need some sturdy tape for sealing your instrument.  If you want to add decorative fillings, try confetti, glitter, craft feathers, colorful shredded paper or twisted pipecleaners.

Start with the clean recycled container and begin filling it until you find the sound you like the most.  You can find examples of really quiet rattles and complete instructions here:

http://www.theseedsnetwork.com/search_result.php?i=421/

A HOMEMADE RAINSTICK

Travel to the rainforests by creating your own unique rainstick.  Add designs from South America, Australia or the American Southwest.  You can also decoupage or quilt one and it will last for years!  To make a homemade rainstick, you’ll need sturdy mailing tube (with end caps) a bit of floral wire, jewelry wire, pipecleaners and some different ingredients that will help create the sound of the rain as they trickle back and forth throughout the tube.

Playing a rainstick is easy.  You just turn it over and let the magic begin.  If you are playing one, few people can resist saying, “hey, can I try that, too!”  You can see some additional pictures of creative, homemade rainsticks and complete step-by-step instructions in a pdf here:

http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/RAINSTICK%20Instructions.pdf

WANT TO EXPLORE MORE INSTRUMENTS?

If you and your child would like to explore more musical instruments, feel free to stop by my website.  I have a special section set up where you can click on eight different world music instruments and hear them.  These instruments include didgeridoos, guitars, guiros, shekeres and pow-wow drums. You can also hear a song with each instrument and can color online or print-out coloring pages for each instrument that you find.  Check it out here at:

http://www.dariamusic.com/cajon.php

You can also get creative with 16 other musical instrument crafts such as Latin American maracas, Egyptian sistrums and a Chinese-style gong.  Feel free to explore and make them your own!

http://www.dariamusic.com/crafts.php

Be sure to check out the other amazing bloggers who are contributing to the Living Life Special Blog Carnival.
Living Life Special: Teaching Children CompassionAndie of Crayon Freckles recounts an encounter between her two children and a child with special needs.  Various activities are provided to help children develop compassion for others.
All Things Eyeron - Sylvia from Homeschooling Through Trials, Triumphs, and Tragedies shares a brief account of some experiences in the life of a younger sibling born into the family of a child with special needs.
From Boredom to Hyper-Focusing- Leann from Montessori Tidbits shares how special needs includes children who are gifted, as they have their own special set of needs that must be addressed on a daily basis.Beating the Loneliness of Special Needs - Kim from Tiaras & Bowties explores the loneliness that can accompany children, especially those with special needs as they journey into young adulthood.  Don’t miss these quick tips to help your child beat those feelings of exclusion and rejection while boosting self-esteem

Is There a Child with Special Needs in the Classroom? – Former teacher and insightful author, Susan Case offers guidance on how to prepare students for a child with special needs in the classroom.

One Thing You Should Know – Kim from The Little Stories writes about a mother of a child with autism shares the one that that all of us need to know – the one thing that will show her we understand her child is important and accepted.

I Call You - Sandy from We Can Do All Things, talks about how having a child with special needs pushes a parent into action.  They quickly become not just a parent, but a therapist, medical researcher, teacher, advocate, and expert in their child’s diagnosis.  They do things they never knew they could do, and be things they never knew they could do.

Fine Motor Leads to Fine Art – Debbie Clement is a children’s musician/song-writer, illustrator, author, and public speaker.  The also spent 10 years as a Resource teacher for young children with special needs.  Her article for the carnival examines Fine Motor Development and shares supportive observations for children with special needs on that
topic.