Curious though, what are some favorite percussion instruments of the drummers 'round these parts? @
matt72582, I know you hate this type of music so disregard the songs, but I'm particularly very curious to get your take regarding percussion instruments since I respect you quite a bit as a drummer. I'm curious if you have any tips about how a non-drummer can use percussive instruments to the best of his ability, and which little instruments you find have the best textures and whatnot? I figure since I don't have a drum set, I can get comparatively cheaper percussion instruments and just use those, for now anyway.
Thanks, and yeah I have a few suggestions.. During Easter last year, I saw these plastic eggs, and I thought I'd try to make homemade maracas, and it sounds exact... I have 5-6 eggs, so in some, I put more rice, some less rice...
You can get a cow-bell sound by using a tin-can, and again, you can find many different kinds.. Some full, some empty, some with water, or coffee.. And put it to the test -- record with a microphone.
If you have drum sticks, you can make sounds that come very close to a drum set.. If you could only afford one thing, I'd get a snare drum, since that's something hard to create out of household items. Cymbals aren't THAT important if you are starting from scratch, and I guess you can always mouth it (like in the video)... I only have 8-tracks on my Tascam (if I remember correctly, you have unlimited)..
Hitting the floor makes a good bass drum sound. If you place something heavy to that same place, the pitch goes up obviously, and you can design tom-toms.
Clapping is also pretty cool. Try to clap your hands by making them both symmetric - it creates an awesome popping sound, but it has to be perfect - there'll be some space at the palms, but you'll know what I mean once you make the sound.
Snapping fingers, using all of them.. They won't sound like castanets, but you can make some cool sounds once you layer all the stuff. I've even used rubber bands, stretching them out, or using the big fat ones with little resistance to make a sound with less frequency.
You have drum sticks, right? Even hitting the wall is something, and it's great practice technically, but also with your ear, and being creative with things right in front of you.