How to Make Cool Percussion Instruments
- 1). Decide what kind of sound you are looking to produce in your music. As almost any object produces a unique sound when struck, there is an unlimited number of options. If you know the emotion and character of the piece of music (or the instrument) it will help guide you toward a certain sound.
- 2). Experiment with unique or unconventional methods of producing noise. It doesn't always have to be a simple strike and resonate pattern. The sound of two balloons rubbing together is technically a percussion instrument and can actually be quite controlled and rhythmic. So can a zipper being zipped or drops of water landing on a plastic sheet.
- 3). Think about using an unlikely striking object to produce a different sound. There are hundred of kinds of mallets in the world of percussion, each with its own character. Think about the difference in sound a cymbal makes when it is tapped with a drumstick or brushed with a wire brush.
- 4). Try re-appropriating another instrument as a percussion instrument. A guitar may be a string instrument by design, but when it is hit with a hammer (or smashed on stage like Pete Townsend) it makes a totally different sound. Henry Cowell, a famous composer in the early 20th century, redefined the sounds a piano could make by scraping his fingernail on the strings in a piece called The Banshee.
- 5). Consider the portability of the instrument. Hitting a bullet casing against a lamp post might make a cool sound, but isn't very helpful if you will be using this instrument often and on stage or in a recording booth. See if you can reduce it as much as possible in size while keeping the intended character.