Handmade Instrument

Handmade Instrument
Constructed from found objects
(also featured in my video media project under the side link "Video Media" to the left, as "The Magic Drumset")

Part 1/Top Half

Medium: Found objects: Dry erase calendar (with wood placed on top, wood 2x4 frame underneath it for durability and support), Centrum vitamin bottle, Cashew peanut container cut in half with screws placed in top half to simulate a hi-hat, a second peanut container on the right for a mid-tone, a thick rubbermaid container on the right for a deep tone, and in the center, a plastic lunch container with three slots containing many office clips to simulate the cracking snap sound of a snare drum. The black wire was used to record the sounds for part of turning in the project for analysis. | This project was one of my top favorites because I have been a drummer for 8+ years, and to bring music, let alone percussion, into my art was an amazing experience. This project was a part of my Spring 2013 Intermedia class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. My creativity for art and my love for percussion really worked well to not only simulate an actual drumset, but also to listen to precise sounds different objects made to arrange them in ranks of tones. I wanted to make the whole drumset, so I made it two parts. One part, the top, for a table to sit on, and the bottom part to kick to add to the overall actual drumset simulation experience when playing it. Part two details are below, followed by more pictures.

Part 2/Bottom Half

Medium: Found objects: 5-gallon plastic bucket, mounted on leftover wood cut as a platform, lifted by a 2x4 wood frame, and a custom wood base I created for one of my kickpedals I own. Inside the bucket is a pillow to simulate the deep hollow sound of a bass drum. | Part two of my project is the bass drum simulation and the sound I managed to create from merging these objects together was perfect. For a complete demonstration of the sound of each object on this project, click on the side link to the left, "Video Media" and select "The Magic Drumset." I perform briefly on this instrument about half way through the video.