A clay doumbek

Yesterday, Friday, March 29th, I decided to make a clay drum from scratch. This one is to replace one I gave away to Goodwill last year. In looking back, I think I gave away that drum in error. It was my favorite to date. If this current drum survives kiln firing, perhaps it will be a reasonable substitute. Anyway, here is a photo:

Greenware refers to a clay sculpture prior to kiln firing. This drum will probably need two to three weeks to dry before I have it fired. Hopefully the instrument will survive the process.

Here is the finished product:

Drum paddle

Some rhythm instruments resemble tennis rackets or ping pong paddles. You play these instruments by holding the handle with one hand and striking the drumhead with the other or perhaps with a drumstick or mallet. Here is a makeshift drum paddle consisting of an eight inch diameter embroidery hoop and part of a plastic bag. This is another way of recycling plastic.

Plastic bags are thin. You might consider playing this instrument with hands and fingers. Mallets or drumsticks could tear the drumhead, shortening the life of the instrument. Fortunately, plastic bags are so common, the drumhead can be replaced fairly quickly and easily.

first flower pot doumbek

Here is my first attempt at making a flower pot doumbek. The drumhead is a piece of beach ball. It is half red and half white. The body of the drum is blue because I covered it with duct tape and painted the tape blue. Then I added clear packaging tape to keep the paint from wearing off. The drum's body consists of a six inch flower pot and twelve inch long, four inch diameter length of Schedule 40 PVC pipe. The beach ball drumhead is held in place by a six inch diameter plastic embroidery hoop.

Flower pot drums

Doumbeks are goblet-shaped drums typically found in the Middle East and North Africa. Doumbeks may be made from clay, as well as metal, plastic or fiberglass. You can make simple doumbeks from flower pots. This website may inspire you: http://www.kinderart.com/multic/dumbek.shtml
The instructions call for carpet tubes for the drum body. Personally I have substituted PVC pipe for the carpet tube for a few of my models. When PVC proved to be difficult to cut, I simply used another flower pot instead.

The top part of the flower pot doumbek is a six inch diameter pot. The body may be a four inch diameter carpet tube or four inch diameter Schedule 40 PVC pipe. Cut the tube or pipe to length: about twelve inches is enough. The drumhead rim is a six inch diameter plastic embroidery hoop. I have tried a wood hoop but find plastic is much more durable and flexible. For the actual drumhead, you may use a beach ball or a sheet of thin plastic. An inflatable plastic kiddy pool is  a passable source of this material. Thin plastic may be stretched tight. Beach balls and similar balls may be a bit thicker and have creases when deflated. Stretching the material tightly may be difficult but you can still get a passable sound if you make drumheads from a beach ball. Also, if embroidery hoops are not available, just stretch the drumhead directly over the flower pot and hold in place with a large, strong elastic band or two. Use duct tape or packaging tape to assemble the drum and keep the drumhead, hoop or elastic bands in place. Decorate the finished instrument as you wish.

Here are

photos of plastic doumbeks I have made so far. As an aside, I think these are more successful than my attempts at making authentic looking drums from clay.