Five-gallon plastic drums make great buckets – inverted, the drums have a response head and a built-in resonator. Bucket drums can produce eight tones that correspond to the tones of a standard drum set. This versatility and low investment cost make bucket drums a fast-growing trend in music education – for music teachers who want to add a new dimension to their program on a limited budget or for classroom teachers who are looking for a highly kinetic, collaborative and creative brain break, bucket drums are a great choice.
Starting With the Basics of Music
Bucket drums are usually played with standard “match” grip mallets. A quick demonstration of grip and playing style prepares students for some introductory exercises.
How Many Sounds? Before handing out any barrels, ask the players to visualize all the sounds the barrels could make. As the barrels are distributed, students work together to discover eight (or more) sounds on their instruments.
Call and Response: At this point, the room is noisy, but some simple call and response patterns (repeating a simple rhythm played by the leader) bring everyone together. Once this repetition is established, the next step is a simple formative assessment: Evaluate the accuracy of the response while adding complexity to the rhythm and pitch.
Where is the rhythm? As the teacher plays a repetitive rhythmic pattern, the players find and play a steady beat. This may take some trial, error, and interpretation, but this basic understanding sets the stage for the player’s next activity and a more complete understanding of the music.
Complementary Rhythms: The principle of this “improvisation in the round” is that a few simple ideas played together, in sync, sound and feel better than one person playing a complex pattern or too fast a tempo. Start with a simple repeating rhythmic pattern and then invite players to add different but harmonized rhythmic patterns to the top complementary rhythms. It quickly becomes apparent that simple, consistent ideas work better in a group than complex ones.
Organic Differentiation: Through these exercises, organic differentiation begins to happen. Students begin to understand what their skill limits are, and they play at that level, noticing that exceeding their level disrupts their game and interrupts the flow of the team. This differentiation can occur with minimal guidance from the leader or other players.
Bucket Druming Promotes Social and Emotional Development
Bucket druming can also be used for specific social and emotional goals. It is a great opportunity for music teachers, general classroom teachers, and school counselors to collaborate to supplement music instruction and develop social and emotional skills. In Bucket Drumming, students do more than just beat the drum. Whenever I lead drumming workshops, I’m excited to see players realize that listening and playing together is much more powerful than trying to stand out on their own. Here are some other examples of how barrel drumming promotes social and emotional learning.
Moderated Clapping: At my school, when we praise students, we respond with a simple clap. Everyone claps once when their name is called, and then everyone claps twice after describing why the person is being honored. This simple method allows us to recognize students in a fair and fast-paced manner. The next step is to include an honor bucket drum line. Trusted musicians can lead the applause by playing the drums.
Intergenerational Learning: One of the main venues where I conduct bucket drumming workshops is library programs. These workshops usually have children attending with their parents or even grandparents. This organic difference allows people with different playing abilities to make music together. Doo Wop is a great family activity or outreach program to connect with older or younger students.
Controlling the Volume
The biggest consideration with drumming is the volume. Let students know that if we all play as loud as we can, no one will be able to hear anyone else, and that is uncomfortable for everyone. Teachers need to take every opportunity to demonstrate dynamic contrast. This shows that excitement and interest are built by the contrast between loud and soft sounds, not just loud sounds. Here are a few more points to consider.
Thin Legs: Thin legs are best, not only for volume control, but also to minimize potential damage to the barrel. The size of the leg is determined by the number and letter.7A is a popular lightweight leg that works well with plastic buckets. These can be purchased in bulk on Amazon for a low price.
Outdoor Activities: Drumming is a great outdoor activity. For me, having students bring stools to sit on and play on a paved area works well. Those students who are sensitive to loud noises had no problems once we played outside. Please note that the grass or turf surface absorbs a considerable amount of sound.
Rotating players: Each student can form a circle with their drums. When students are not playing, they will be observing and learning what to do. Rotating every one to two minutes is a great way to keep players sticky.
Opportunities for Creativity
Due to the low cost and versatility of barrel drums, these drums offer creative opportunities not available with more expensive instruments.
Decorating: Students can paint (or repaint) the buckets according to the theme of the performance. Undried paint can be poured over the drums while playing, creating a splatter effect that reflects the Blue Man Band’s performance style. It is also easy to add cardboard or wooden decorations to the drums.
Lighting: Plain white buckets are easy to light up from the inside. One of my coworkers, elementary school music teacher Allison Labita, also purchased chicken legs that light up to enhance this effect during her performances.
Tacks and marching: I drilled eye hooks in the sides of the buckets and purchased inexpensive tacks for informal marching drum lines.
So, when you need a new idea, whether it’s for music lessons or general classroom music indoctrination, go to your local home improvement store, buy some buckets, and start drumming!